The Incident (album)

Last updated

"There was a sign saying 'POLICE – INCIDENT' and everyone was slowing down to see what had happened... Afterwards, it struck me that 'incident' is a very detached word for something so destructive and traumatic for the people involved. And then I had the sensation that the spirit of someone that had died in the accident entered into my car and was sitting next to me. The irony of such a cold expression for such seismic events appealed to me, and I began to pick out other 'incidents' reported in the media and news, I wrote about the evacuation of teenage girls from a religious cult in Texas, a family terrorizing its neighbours, a body found floating in a river by some people on a fishing trip, and more. Each song is written in the first person and tries to humanize the detached media reportage".

Steven Wilson [8]

Reception

The Incident
The Incident cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released14 September 2009
Recorded2009
Genre Progressive rock, progressive metal
Length76:18
Label Roadrunner/Victor
Producer Porcupine Tree
Porcupine Tree chronology
Fear of a Blank Planet
(2007)
The Incident
(2009)
Closure/Continuation
(2022)
Singles from The Incident
  1. "Time Flies"
    Released: 11 August 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 72/100 [9]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [10]
CHARTattack Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Caller-Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
NOW Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Radio City Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Rocksound (9/10) [16]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Weekender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [18]

In January 2010, Eclipsed magazine critics named The Incident their "Album of the Year" and also gave credit to the band for "Best Concert of The Year", while "Time Flies" reached #5 in the "Best Song of the Year" category. [19]

Readers of the Teraz Rock Polish magazine voted Steven Wilson as the "Best Foreign Instrumentalist/Musician of 2009", surpassing other widely known artists, such as The Edge, Jerry Cantrell, Jack White, Kerry King, Kirk Hammett, Tom Morello, Mark Knopfler, and Omar Rodríguez-López. [20]

Classic Rock magazine critics voted Porcupine Tree #1 "Best Band" and The Incident as #1 "Album of the Year"; The Incident tour was voted #4 and Gavin Harrison gained second place for "Best Drummer"; Steven Wilson achieved #4 as "Best Guitarist" and was chosen #1 "Prog Icon of 2009". [21]

Once again, a Porcupine Tree song was chosen "Song of the Day" by NPR. "Drawing the Line" is the second NPR pick from the band since "Sentimental", off 2007's Fear of a Blank Planet . [22]

Indian newspaper The Hindu commented on "Time Flies" by asserting, "The epic 11-minute track is simply one of Porcupine Tree's best. Embodied in melodic simplicity with a rhythmic strumming pattern, the piece undulates with cascading crescendos, a rumbling mid-section and a propulsive finish." [23]

Track listing

Disc one

The first disc of the album was intended to be a single 55-minute song, but it is segmented into 14 sequential tracks.

All lyrics written by Steven Wilson.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Occam's Razor"Steven Wilson1:55
2."The Blind House"Wilson5:47
3."Great Expectations"Wilson1:26
4."Kneel and Disconnect"Wilson2:03
5."Drawing the Line"Wilson4:43
6."The Incident"Wilson5:20
7."Your Unpleasant Family"Wilson1:48
8."The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train"Wilson2:00
9."Time Flies"Wilson11:40
10."Degree Zero of Liberty"Wilson1:45
11."Octane Twisted"Porcupine Tree5:03
12."The Séance"Wilson2:39
13."Circle of Manias"Porcupine Tree2:18
14."I Drive the Hearse"Wilson6:41
Total length:55:15

Disc two

Disc 2 contains tracks recorded outside the song cycle. All lyrics written by Steven Wilson.

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Flicker"Porcupine Tree3:42
2."Bonnie the Cat"Porcupine Tree5:45
3."Black Dahlia" Richard Barbieri 3:40
4."Remember Me Lover"Steven Wilson7:28
Total length:20:35

Some CD pressings and all DVD-A pressings combine both discs on one single disc. [24]

Japanese & iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Way Out of Here" (Live)Porcupine Tree7:49
6."What Happens Now?" (Live)Porcupine Tree8:09

These two bonus tracks were recorded in Tilburg, The Netherlands, in 2008 for the live DVD Anesthetize.

DVD-A edition

No.TitleMusicLength
2."Flicker" Porcupine Tree 3:42
3."Bonnie the Cat"Porcupine Tree5:45
4."Black Dahlia"Richard Barbieri3:40
5."Remember Me Lover"Steven Wilson7:28
6."Extra Features
  • Time Flies Video
  • Octane Twisted Film
  • TV spot
  • Photo Gallery"
  

Personnel

Porcupine Tree

Production

Charts

Chart performance for The Incident
Chart (2009)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [25] 35
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [26] 45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [27] 79
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [28] 40
Canadian Albums ( Billboard ) [29] 23
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [30] 5
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [31] 11
French Albums (SNEP) [32] 35
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [33] 17
Italian Albums (FIMI) [34] 33
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [35] 19
Polish Albums (ZPAV) [36] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [37] 77
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [38] 23
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [39] 20
UK Albums (OCC) [40] 23
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [41] 2
US Billboard 200 [29] 25
US Top Rock Albums ( Billboard ) [29] 7

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