Fear of a Blank Planet is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree and their best selling before 2009's The Incident. It was released on 16 April 2007 in the UK and the rest of Europe by Roadrunner, 24 April 2007 in the United States by Atlantic, 25 April 2007 in Japan by WHD, and 1 May 2007 in Canada by WEA. Steven Wilson has mentioned that the album's title is a direct reference to the 1990 Public Enemy album Fear of a Black Planet; while the former tackled race issues, the latter is about the fear of losing the current generation of youth to various common threats to their mental and social wellbeing, including broken homes, excessive "screen time", and narcotic overuse (prescribed and otherwise) to the point of mental and spiritual "blankness".
The album was written in Tel Aviv and London between January and July 2006. The promotion of the record included a premiere performance of the songs during the shows in support of the Arriving Somewhere... DVD tour between September and November 2006, and a series of listening parties at New York's Legacy Studios, and London's Abbey Road Studios during January 2007.
Fear of a Blank Planet was followed later the same year by release of the Nil Recurring extended play. An additional track titled "Always Recurring" was demoed yet did not receive a formal release on any of the four records (the Fear of a Blank Planet LP, the Fear of a Blank Planet single, the Way Out of Here single, and the Nil Recurring EP) released by Porcupine Tree during this era. With the release of Insurgentes, Wilson's debut solo album, Wilson would further develop some of the ideas on which Fear of a Blank Planet is conceived.
The album charted in almost all European countries and entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at #59. The album was highly acclaimed by critics and was awarded "Album of the Year" by Classic Rock magazine in 2007.
Fear of a Blank Planet is a prog rock album by Porcupine Tree. It's sometimes over- dramatic and complex. An album on which every note is scripted and the gut feelings are tucked away.
In my opinion prog is a juggernaut of a genre right now and I think a lot has to do with the fallout of this album. Where the genre used to be Yes-clones and Queensryche wannabees you've got things like Vola and Riverside, which just butterfly my crumpet. Amazing album, truly a thing of beauty!
7/10
pretty enjoyable, but not totally my thing
I’m all for art rock, but just can’t really get into metal
so a bit of a mixed bag, but I’d say I liked it :)
Porcupine Tree was one of the modern juggernauts of prog-rock. Subtle musicianship, incredibly detailed compositions, atmosphere that leans melancholic and dark. This album is inspired by Bret Easton Ellis's Lunar Park, telling the story of a kid overwhelmed by mass media and technology. Many lyrics are borrowed directly from the book.
In 2007, I thought this was superb. Then I lost interest. Not in this album specifically, but in prog-rock generally. Too much of it is fret-wanking without emotion, just musicians showing off. Revisiting this now, it's stood the test of time. The darkness and bleakness work. The theme feels even more relevant in 2025.
Steven Wilson isn't the flashiest guitarist, but the drummer (Gavin Harrison) is exceptional, and the atmosphere is what makes it work.
A strong album. Personally a 4-star experience, but objectively? This is an essential album for the style. Absolutely belongs on a 1001 albums list.
One likes the driving, intense tempos and edgy focus. Got a little Foals in it. But then too many metal tropes keep creeping back in, way dumbing down the overall experience. So just okay overall. “My Ashes” is strong, well-balanced, thoughtfully executed. It’s all too long, too (occupational hazard with prog, one suposes). Can’t in good faith recommend this for inclusion on list proper, save for replacing any outright metal records (and maybe ELP, too).
Never heard this band or album before. It was pretty good. My initial thoughts were this was like a darker hard rock Radiohead. The 20 minute song is quintessential prof rock though and was really like 3 songs. Overall it was enjoyable and I’d listen to it again. The dark rock tones paired well with the singers style and instrumentals. 7.0/10
Fear of a Blank Planet lasted a bit too long but I didn't mind it, a metal type of prog, it's atmospheric and heavy and I like it, but it feels too mechanical and methodical which I know sounds counter-intuitive but it doesn't breathe enough to become unpredicable. Still, 3, I liked listening to it.
More gloomy Joes. I mean, I'm pretty much on their side ideologically but the lyrical tone is so uniformly dour and humorless, and with a generous pinch of that holier-than-thou vibe that prevails in this particular marketplace of ideas - strong "I don't even OWN a teevee" vibe. Musically I didn't mind its kind of techno-Bolero, though it needed more variety.
Given the text on the Wikipedia page, I was expecting something much more experimental and/or progressive. It ends up being relatively standard. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing.
Grading on the curve of Steven Wilson works, I liked his solo album on here better. Grading on the curve of “keeping the torch of prog rock lit during the 21st century,” I like Mars Volta better
Estilo un poco difícil de clasificar, mezcla de pop y de algo de rock alternativo, cercano con ritmos un tanto oscuros. No me ha aportado nada especial y le noto carente de algo más que me gustase
Waxes too much between harder, metal textures and airy ambience to find its stride – just felt too scattered between the two extremes, rather than a powerful mix of the two. Reminds me of the that one Deafheaven album where they tried actual lyrics rather than screaming, and not in a good way.
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