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Closure/Continuation

Closure/Continuation is the eleventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It is their first since 2009's The Incident. Despite public uncertainty of the band's future after frontman Steven Wilson's focus on a solo career in 2010, the album was recorded intermittently in complete secrecy among Wilson, Gavin Harrison, and Richard Barbieri across the course of the following decade, without longtime bassist Colin Edwin. With the COVID-19 pandemic putting members' separate plans on hold, the band found time to completely finish the record in September 2021. Towards the end of the year, the band's reformation was publicly announced, alongside the album's release date of 24 June 2022. Four singles were released ahead of the record—"Harridan", "Of the New Day", "Herd Culling", and "Rats Return".

Closure/Continuation
Studio album by
Released24 June 2022
Recorded2011–September 2021
StudioHome Studios of each band member
GenreProgressive rock[1]
Length48:01
LabelMusic for Nations
Producer
Porcupine Tree chronology
The Incident
(2009)
Closure/Continuation
(2022)
Singles from Closure/Continuation
  1. "Harridan"
    Released: 1 November 2021
  2. "Of the New Day"
    Released: 8 March 2022
  3. "Herd Culling"
    Released: 20 May 2022
  4. "Rats Return"
    Released: 17 June 2022

The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart and reached number one in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Background Edit

After Porcupine Tree finished the touring cycle for their tenth album, The Incident (2009) in 2010, frontman Steven Wilson felt the need to focus on other musical projects.[2] Wilson felt creatively constrained by the public expectation of what Porcupine Tree music should sound like, and privately resented by the rest of the band, who he felt were upset that Wilson was getting most of the credit for the band's accomplishments and musicianship.[2] Without a specific plan on how to handle the band, Wilson spent the following year recording and releasing his second solo album, Grace for Drowning (2011), and Blackfield's third album, Welcome to My DNA (2011).[2] Initially, Wilson mentioned the possibility of working on new music in early 2012,[3] with drummer Gavin Harrison later estimating that recording would occur across 2012 and release 2013.[4] Plans shortly changed though, with Wilson unexpectedly announcing that he would be focusing on recording, releasing, and touring in support of a third solo album, an effort that would keep him busy through the entirety of 2013.[5][6][7]

Wilson kept in regular contact with Harrison, so he remained unbothered, but other members became dismayed and resentful that they had been left behind by Wilson.[2] In particular, Wilson lost complete contact with bassist Colin Edwin,[8] while keyboardist Richard Barbieri privately became upset that Wilson publicly pushed aside the band.[9] Publicly, Wilson still maintained that the band "haven't split up" and that there are "no intentions of splitting up",[10] but also said there were no specific plans for a new album either.[11] He also explained that his uncertainty of what direction the band should go musically also complicated moving forward, noting that he was tired of the metal musical direction the band prior few albums had taken,[12] and that at least one band member did not appreciate the jazz music direction that some of his solo music had taken at the time.[10] When asked if the band may never reform, Wilson responded that he honestly didn't know, and really just wanted to continue to focus on his solo albums for the time being.[12] Midway through 2013, Wilson reiterated the band's status, stating that it's "not to say the band has broken up or anything like that. It's always conceivable that we could get back together in a year or five years, or 10 years. I really can't say – there are no plans at the moment."[13] Edwin separately reiterated the same stance.[14]

Wilson proceeded with his solo career, including The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) (2013) and Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015).[15] Publicly, Wilson's stance on the band varied, but generally soured over time. In 2015, he noted that if the band returned, it would just be a "side-project" to his solo career.[16] In 2016, he noted that there was a "strong possibility" of Porcupine Tree reforming some day,[17] but later in the year, on the same topic, responded "you'd be waiting for a long time, that band [Porcupine Tree] doesn't exist anymore."[18] In 2017, Wilson reiterated his solo career being the priority, because "[his] solo project has taken off" and "fulfills the musical needs [he has] now."[19] The following year, he went as far as to say that the odds of the band reforming were "zero" and "finished" because he was "not interested in moving backwards", instead preferring to explore new musical styles with various other musicians in his solo work.[20] Years later, Wilson again reversed his stance, suggesting that it was possible and would happen when least expected.[21] In November 2021, the band officially announced they were not only reforming, but a new album, revealed to be named Closure/Continuation, had already been completed in secrecy in September 2021.[22]

Writing and recording Edit

The album was entirely created in complete secrecy over the course of a decade.[9] None of the material originated as content left over from their prior album, The Incident.[9] Unlike prior albums, where Wilson would write and demo extensively himself before presenting it to the band, Closure/Continuation was written collaboratively.[9] Harrison noted that earliest work on the album began as early as 2011, when he and Wilson, living close to one another, still met up to talk and spend time together.[23] Harrison recounted that on one of those dates, Wilson happened to pick up a bass guitar lying around, and started playing it on a whim.[23] This ended up resulting in some extended jam sessions between the two - Wilson on bass and Harrison on drums.[23] The result was far different than when the band had previously attempted to jam and improvise - Wilson usually played guitar, not bass, and they both found it much easier to experiment with ideas with only two instruments being played, rather that the busier 4 person/instrument sessions of the past.[23] The two recorded the jam sessions, and then Wilson would review them and attempt to take segments and later work them into songs.[23] The earliest iterations of the track "Harridan" and "Chimera's Wreck" originated from these sessions.[8][9] Barbieri would later join the sessions with his keyboard playing as well, but Wilson continued to perform on the bass, eventually writing a majority of the album on bass, and later recording all bass parts.[23]

Every aspect of the album was recorded by either Wilson, Harrison, and Barbieri; with the album featuring no guest musicians or contributions from Edwin.[9] Upon writing and demoing the basis of the album among the three members, Wilson opted to take care of bass recording himself, feeling his style of playing the bass more like a guitarist was too different in style from Edwin.[9] With the writing sessions also more focused around the idea of collaboration, they felt it against the spirit of the album to force Edwin to record music he hadn't collaborated on himself.[9] Outside of "Of The New Day", which was written by Wilson alone, all other songs were collaborations among at least 2 members, an approach that was different from prior albums, but deemed necessary by Wilson, who felt that the music would become too similar to his solo work if he simply wrote everything.[9] "Harridan", "Chimera's Wreck", and "Rats Return" were written by Wilson and Harrison, "Dignity" and "Walk the Plank" were written by Wilson and Barbieri, and "Herd Culling" was written by all three.[9] "Herd Culling" was initially a Wilson and Harrison creation that Barbieri struggled to contribute to, until he decided to expand onto it as an outro rather than over the work of Wilson and Harrison.[9] "Harridan" and "Chimera's Wreck" were the earliest created songs, being conceived just a few years after the release of The Incident, while "Herd Culling" was the last song to be created, during a COVID-19 lockdown.[9] Wilson noted that the decade-spanning recording sessions did result in some oddities; one particular line from "Harridan" features two vocal takes done a decade apart.[9]

Wilson, Harrison, and Barbieri would continue to revisit the material off and on over the years, in-between their own individual projects.[24] Harrison noted that at times months or even year long gaps of inactivity occurred.[9] Barbieri became more proactive in his work around 2016, when the band became more serious about completing the material into a full-length album.[9] In 2019, just prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the band had a meeting about scheduling time to finally complete the album, though it wasn't until the extended downtime created by the COVID-19 lockdowns that the three were finally able to put aside enough dedicated time to finish it.[9][25] The band noted:

"'Harridan' and a few of the other new songs have been in play since shortly after the release of The Incident. They initially lived on a hard drive in a slowly growing computer file marked PT2012, later renamed PT2015, PT2018, and so on. There were times when we even forgot they were there, and times when they nagged us to finish them to see where they would take us. Listening to the finished pieces, it was clear that this wasn't like any of our work outside of the band – the combined DNA of the people behind the music meant these tracks were forming what was undeniably, unmistakably, obviously a Porcupine Tree record."[24]

Wilson and Harrison expressed their contentment with the making of the album, having written it with complete creative control, on their own time-table, without intervention from a record label, and not created out of a necessity for money or fame due to their separate projects having failed.[26][25]

Themes and composition Edit

While the album is not a concept album and has no overarching central theme,[9] the album's title is self-referential to the band's reunion.[26] It refers to the uncertainty of the band as to whether the album is wrapping up their career as "closure", or if it is a new beginning and a "continuation" into further music together.[26] The album was written so that it could conceptually serve either scenario.[26] Wilson's lyrics in "Chimera's Wreck" were inspired by the death of his father in 2011; the original lyrics directly addressed the topic, while the final version grew into a more general existential reflection on mortality.[9] "Herd Culling" was inspired by reports of paranormal activity at Skinwalker Ranch and people's reactions to similar situations, though Wilson addressed and appreciated that listeners interpret it to be about issues of violence and paranoia in modern society.[9] Wilson described "Rats Return" as being about "politicians who express having an interest in the public, but when it comes down to it, only want to save themselves".[27] He noted it was inspired by the depression felt by "having lived through Brexit, Trump, and Boris Johnson".[27]

Musically, the band also made effort not to write any particular songs with pop music or single appeal or radio airplay, instead focusing on the album on a collective work.[9] Wilson also purposely lessened the heavy metal music influence seen in the band's prior four albums, as he had grown tired of the sound and style.[9] The album features some heavier guitar riffs, but less than the prior four albums, and one track, "Walk the Plank", features no guitar at all.[9] The song "Of the New Day" was noted to sound like the music from the band's Stupid Dream (1999) and Lightbulb Sun (2000) albums,[28] and according to Wilson and Harrison, features 42 time signature changes across the course of the song.[9]

Promotion and release Edit

After a decade without any public developments by the band, activity started up in late 2021. After multiple days of cryptic teasers from band and band member social media accounts, the band announced their reformation, the name of the album they had been recording in secrecy, Closure/Continuation, and a supporting tour in late 2022. Wilson, Harrison and Barbieri were announced as the band's returning members, with long-time bassist Colin Edwin not returning.[29][30] Wilson noted this was a combination of the band members losing contact with Edwin, and that Wilson himself had written and recorded the album's bass parts anyway.[8] Guitarist Randy McStine and bassist Nate Navarro were recruited to round out the touring lineup.[31] Previous touring guitarist John Wesley was not asked to return, with the band opting to recruit multi-instrumentalists whose versatility could help in using fewer backing tracks in the live performances.[9] The band plans on performing the entire album at each show, but not as a whole, but rather, interspersed with other songs largely from their In Absentia (2002) and Fear of a Blank Planet (2007) albums.[9] Audio from every performance will be recorded by the band.[9]

The album was released on 24 June 2022.[29] The Designers Republic's Ian Anderson provided the album's artwork.[32] The first single, "Harridan", was released on 1 November 2021.[29] A second single, "Of the New Day", was released in March 2022.[33] Songs "Herd Culling" and "Rats Return" were also released ahead of the album in May and June respectively.[34][35]

Reception Edit

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[36]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [37]
Classic Rock     [38]
The Guardian     [39]
Metal Injection9/10[40]
Pitchfork6.9/10[41]
PopMatters          [42]
Record Collector     [28]
Slant Magazine     [43]
Sputnikmusic4/5[44]
Uncut7/10[45]

Prior to publication, Loudwire named the album one of their most anticipated rock and metal albums in 2022.[46] Upon release, the album was generally well-received, getting an average rating of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on nine reviews.[36] Metal Injection praised the album for being "an outstanding and endearing comeback...while it doesn't bring anything new to the table...what it does accomplish and induce is quite exemplary".[40] AllMusic concluded that the album was "A welcome new entry in PT's catalog" that shows that "the band have plenty left to say".[37] Record Collector noted that while the album "perhaps misses the conceptual cogency of earlier Tree peaks", ultimately it "weds a reinvigorated affirmation of band identity to expansive energies, all to confident effect".[28]

Commercial performance Edit

At the mid-week mark, Closure/Continuation was on track to debut at the number one spot on the UK all-format album chart, potentially the band's first album to top the chart.[47] The album ultimately debuted at number two in the official UK album charts, though it debuted at number one for both CD and vinyl sales.

Track listing Edit

Standard edition and 5.1 Blu-Ray (box set only)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Harridan"Gavin Harrison, Steven Wilson8:07
2."Of the New Day"Wilson4:43
3."Rats Return"Harrison, Wilson5:40
4."Dignity"Richard Barbieri, Wilson8:22
5."Herd Culling"Harrison, Barbieri, Wilson7:03
6."Walk the Plank"Barbieri, Wilson4:27
7."Chimera's Wreck"Harrison, Wilson9:39
Total length:48:01
Digital deluxe edition bonus tracks[48]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Population Three" (instrumental)Harrison, Wilson6:51
9."Never Have"Wilson5:07
10."Love in the Past Tense"Harrison, Wilson5:49
Total length:65:48
Box set bonus CD
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Population Three"Harrison, Wilson 
2."Never Have"Wilson 
3."Love in the Past Tense"Harrison, Wilson 
4."Harridan" (instrumental)  
5."Of the New Day" (instrumental)  
6."Rats Return" (instrumental)  
7."Dignity" (instrumental)  
8."Herd Culling" (instrumental)  
9."Walk the Plank" (instrumental)  
10."Chimera's Wreck" (instrumental)  
Total length:65:48

Personnel Edit

Personnel per album liner notes[49][50]

Porcupine Tree

Additional personnel

  • Lisen Rylander Löve – voice sample (track 4)
  • Suzanne Barbieri – voice sample (track 4)
  • Inspector J – ambience field recording (track 4)
  • Klankbeeld – ambience field recording sample (track 7)

Production

  • Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic – art direction, image editor, photography, graphic design, creative director
  • Paul Stacey – additional guitar recording
  • Ed Scull – additional guitar recording engineering
  • Penny Morgan, Peter Rudge, Pro Music Management – management

Charts Edit

References Edit

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External links Edit

  • Official Porcupine Tree website

closure, continuation, eleventh, studio, album, british, progressive, rock, band, porcupine, tree, their, first, since, 2009, incident, despite, public, uncertainty, band, future, after, frontman, steven, wilson, focus, solo, career, 2010, album, recorded, int. Closure Continuation is the eleventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree It is their first since 2009 s The Incident Despite public uncertainty of the band s future after frontman Steven Wilson s focus on a solo career in 2010 the album was recorded intermittently in complete secrecy among Wilson Gavin Harrison and Richard Barbieri across the course of the following decade without longtime bassist Colin Edwin With the COVID 19 pandemic putting members separate plans on hold the band found time to completely finish the record in September 2021 Towards the end of the year the band s reformation was publicly announced alongside the album s release date of 24 June 2022 Four singles were released ahead of the record Harridan Of the New Day Herd Culling and Rats Return Closure ContinuationStudio album by Porcupine TreeReleased24 June 2022Recorded2011 September 2021StudioHome Studios of each band memberGenreProgressive rock 1 Length48 01LabelMusic for NationsProducerSteven WilsonRichard BarbieriGavin HarrisonPorcupine Tree chronologyThe Incident 2009 Closure Continuation 2022 Singles from Closure Continuation Harridan Released 1 November 2021 Of the New Day Released 8 March 2022 Herd Culling Released 20 May 2022 Rats Return Released 17 June 2022The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart and reached number one in Germany the Netherlands and Switzerland Contents 1 Background 2 Writing and recording 3 Themes and composition 4 Promotion and release 5 Reception 6 Commercial performance 7 Track listing 8 Personnel 9 Charts 9 1 Weekly charts 9 2 Year end charts 10 References 11 External linksBackground EditAfter Porcupine Tree finished the touring cycle for their tenth album The Incident 2009 in 2010 frontman Steven Wilson felt the need to focus on other musical projects 2 Wilson felt creatively constrained by the public expectation of what Porcupine Tree music should sound like and privately resented by the rest of the band who he felt were upset that Wilson was getting most of the credit for the band s accomplishments and musicianship 2 Without a specific plan on how to handle the band Wilson spent the following year recording and releasing his second solo album Grace for Drowning 2011 and Blackfield s third album Welcome to My DNA 2011 2 Initially Wilson mentioned the possibility of working on new music in early 2012 3 with drummer Gavin Harrison later estimating that recording would occur across 2012 and release 2013 4 Plans shortly changed though with Wilson unexpectedly announcing that he would be focusing on recording releasing and touring in support of a third solo album an effort that would keep him busy through the entirety of 2013 5 6 7 Wilson kept in regular contact with Harrison so he remained unbothered but other members became dismayed and resentful that they had been left behind by Wilson 2 In particular Wilson lost complete contact with bassist Colin Edwin 8 while keyboardist Richard Barbieri privately became upset that Wilson publicly pushed aside the band 9 Publicly Wilson still maintained that the band haven t split up and that there are no intentions of splitting up 10 but also said there were no specific plans for a new album either 11 He also explained that his uncertainty of what direction the band should go musically also complicated moving forward noting that he was tired of the metal musical direction the band prior few albums had taken 12 and that at least one band member did not appreciate the jazz music direction that some of his solo music had taken at the time 10 When asked if the band may never reform Wilson responded that he honestly didn t know and really just wanted to continue to focus on his solo albums for the time being 12 Midway through 2013 Wilson reiterated the band s status stating that it s not to say the band has broken up or anything like that It s always conceivable that we could get back together in a year or five years or 10 years I really can t say there are no plans at the moment 13 Edwin separately reiterated the same stance 14 Wilson proceeded with his solo career including The Raven That Refused to Sing And Other Stories 2013 and Hand Cannot Erase 2015 15 Publicly Wilson s stance on the band varied but generally soured over time In 2015 he noted that if the band returned it would just be a side project to his solo career 16 In 2016 he noted that there was a strong possibility of Porcupine Tree reforming some day 17 but later in the year on the same topic responded you d be waiting for a long time that band Porcupine Tree doesn t exist anymore 18 In 2017 Wilson reiterated his solo career being the priority because his solo project has taken off and fulfills the musical needs he has now 19 The following year he went as far as to say that the odds of the band reforming were zero and finished because he was not interested in moving backwards instead preferring to explore new musical styles with various other musicians in his solo work 20 Years later Wilson again reversed his stance suggesting that it was possible and would happen when least expected 21 In November 2021 the band officially announced they were not only reforming but a new album revealed to be named Closure Continuation had already been completed in secrecy in September 2021 22 Writing and recording EditThe album was entirely created in complete secrecy over the course of a decade 9 None of the material originated as content left over from their prior album The Incident 9 Unlike prior albums where Wilson would write and demo extensively himself before presenting it to the band Closure Continuation was written collaboratively 9 Harrison noted that earliest work on the album began as early as 2011 when he and Wilson living close to one another still met up to talk and spend time together 23 Harrison recounted that on one of those dates Wilson happened to pick up a bass guitar lying around and started playing it on a whim 23 This ended up resulting in some extended jam sessions between the two Wilson on bass and Harrison on drums 23 The result was far different than when the band had previously attempted to jam and improvise Wilson usually played guitar not bass and they both found it much easier to experiment with ideas with only two instruments being played rather that the busier 4 person instrument sessions of the past 23 The two recorded the jam sessions and then Wilson would review them and attempt to take segments and later work them into songs 23 The earliest iterations of the track Harridan and Chimera s Wreck originated from these sessions 8 9 Barbieri would later join the sessions with his keyboard playing as well but Wilson continued to perform on the bass eventually writing a majority of the album on bass and later recording all bass parts 23 Every aspect of the album was recorded by either Wilson Harrison and Barbieri with the album featuring no guest musicians or contributions from Edwin 9 Upon writing and demoing the basis of the album among the three members Wilson opted to take care of bass recording himself feeling his style of playing the bass more like a guitarist was too different in style from Edwin 9 With the writing sessions also more focused around the idea of collaboration they felt it against the spirit of the album to force Edwin to record music he hadn t collaborated on himself 9 Outside of Of The New Day which was written by Wilson alone all other songs were collaborations among at least 2 members an approach that was different from prior albums but deemed necessary by Wilson who felt that the music would become too similar to his solo work if he simply wrote everything 9 Harridan Chimera s Wreck and Rats Return were written by Wilson and Harrison Dignity and Walk the Plank were written by Wilson and Barbieri and Herd Culling was written by all three 9 Herd Culling was initially a Wilson and Harrison creation that Barbieri struggled to contribute to until he decided to expand onto it as an outro rather than over the work of Wilson and Harrison 9 Harridan and Chimera s Wreck were the earliest created songs being conceived just a few years after the release of The Incident while Herd Culling was the last song to be created during a COVID 19 lockdown 9 Wilson noted that the decade spanning recording sessions did result in some oddities one particular line from Harridan features two vocal takes done a decade apart 9 Wilson Harrison and Barbieri would continue to revisit the material off and on over the years in between their own individual projects 24 Harrison noted that at times months or even year long gaps of inactivity occurred 9 Barbieri became more proactive in his work around 2016 when the band became more serious about completing the material into a full length album 9 In 2019 just prior to the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic the band had a meeting about scheduling time to finally complete the album though it wasn t until the extended downtime created by the COVID 19 lockdowns that the three were finally able to put aside enough dedicated time to finish it 9 25 The band noted Harridan and a few of the other new songs have been in play since shortly after the release of The Incident They initially lived on a hard drive in a slowly growing computer file marked PT2012 later renamed PT2015 PT2018 and so on There were times when we even forgot they were there and times when they nagged us to finish them to see where they would take us Listening to the finished pieces it was clear that this wasn t like any of our work outside of the band the combined DNA of the people behind the music meant these tracks were forming what was undeniably unmistakably obviously a Porcupine Tree record 24 Wilson and Harrison expressed their contentment with the making of the album having written it with complete creative control on their own time table without intervention from a record label and not created out of a necessity for money or fame due to their separate projects having failed 26 25 Themes and composition EditWhile the album is not a concept album and has no overarching central theme 9 the album s title is self referential to the band s reunion 26 It refers to the uncertainty of the band as to whether the album is wrapping up their career as closure or if it is a new beginning and a continuation into further music together 26 The album was written so that it could conceptually serve either scenario 26 Wilson s lyrics in Chimera s Wreck were inspired by the death of his father in 2011 the original lyrics directly addressed the topic while the final version grew into a more general existential reflection on mortality 9 Herd Culling was inspired by reports of paranormal activity at Skinwalker Ranch and people s reactions to similar situations though Wilson addressed and appreciated that listeners interpret it to be about issues of violence and paranoia in modern society 9 Wilson described Rats Return as being about politicians who express having an interest in the public but when it comes down to it only want to save themselves 27 He noted it was inspired by the depression felt by having lived through Brexit Trump and Boris Johnson 27 Musically the band also made effort not to write any particular songs with pop music or single appeal or radio airplay instead focusing on the album on a collective work 9 Wilson also purposely lessened the heavy metal music influence seen in the band s prior four albums as he had grown tired of the sound and style 9 The album features some heavier guitar riffs but less than the prior four albums and one track Walk the Plank features no guitar at all 9 The song Of the New Day was noted to sound like the music from the band s Stupid Dream 1999 and Lightbulb Sun 2000 albums 28 and according to Wilson and Harrison features 42 time signature changes across the course of the song 9 Promotion and release EditAfter a decade without any public developments by the band activity started up in late 2021 After multiple days of cryptic teasers from band and band member social media accounts the band announced their reformation the name of the album they had been recording in secrecy Closure Continuation and a supporting tour in late 2022 Wilson Harrison and Barbieri were announced as the band s returning members with long time bassist Colin Edwin not returning 29 30 Wilson noted this was a combination of the band members losing contact with Edwin and that Wilson himself had written and recorded the album s bass parts anyway 8 Guitarist Randy McStine and bassist Nate Navarro were recruited to round out the touring lineup 31 Previous touring guitarist John Wesley was not asked to return with the band opting to recruit multi instrumentalists whose versatility could help in using fewer backing tracks in the live performances 9 The band plans on performing the entire album at each show but not as a whole but rather interspersed with other songs largely from their In Absentia 2002 and Fear of a Blank Planet 2007 albums 9 Audio from every performance will be recorded by the band 9 The album was released on 24 June 2022 29 The Designers Republic s Ian Anderson provided the album s artwork 32 The first single Harridan was released on 1 November 2021 29 A second single Of the New Day was released in March 2022 33 Songs Herd Culling and Rats Return were also released ahead of the album in May and June respectively 34 35 Reception EditProfessional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRatingMetacritic71 100 36 Review scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 37 Classic Rock nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 38 The Guardian nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 39 Metal Injection9 10 40 Pitchfork6 9 10 41 PopMatters nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 42 Record Collector nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 28 Slant Magazine nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 43 Sputnikmusic4 5 44 Uncut7 10 45 Prior to publication Loudwire named the album one of their most anticipated rock and metal albums in 2022 46 Upon release the album was generally well received getting an average rating of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic based on nine reviews 36 Metal Injection praised the album for being an outstanding and endearing comeback while it doesn t bring anything new to the table what it does accomplish and induce is quite exemplary 40 AllMusic concluded that the album was A welcome new entry in PT s catalog that shows that the band have plenty left to say 37 Record Collector noted that while the album perhaps misses the conceptual cogency of earlier Tree peaks ultimately it weds a reinvigorated affirmation of band identity to expansive energies all to confident effect 28 Commercial performance EditAt the mid week mark Closure Continuation was on track to debut at the number one spot on the UK all format album chart potentially the band s first album to top the chart 47 The album ultimately debuted at number two in the official UK album charts though it debuted at number one for both CD and vinyl sales Track listing EditStandard edition and 5 1 Blu Ray box set only No TitleWriter s Length1 Harridan Gavin Harrison Steven Wilson8 072 Of the New Day Wilson4 433 Rats Return Harrison Wilson5 404 Dignity Richard Barbieri Wilson8 225 Herd Culling Harrison Barbieri Wilson7 036 Walk the Plank Barbieri Wilson4 277 Chimera s Wreck Harrison Wilson9 39Total length 48 01 Digital deluxe edition bonus tracks 48 No TitleWriter s Length8 Population Three instrumental Harrison Wilson6 519 Never Have Wilson5 0710 Love in the Past Tense Harrison Wilson5 49Total length 65 48Box set bonus CDNo TitleMusicLength1 Population Three Harrison Wilson 2 Never Have Wilson 3 Love in the Past Tense Harrison Wilson 4 Harridan instrumental 5 Of the New Day instrumental 6 Rats Return instrumental 7 Dignity instrumental 8 Herd Culling instrumental 9 Walk the Plank instrumental 10 Chimera s Wreck instrumental Total length 65 48Personnel EditPersonnel per album liner notes 49 50 Porcupine Tree Steven Wilson vocals guitars bass piano 51 mixing design concept production Richard Barbieri keyboards synthesisers production Gavin Harrison drums percussion drum mixing productionAdditional personnel Lisen Rylander Love voice sample track 4 Suzanne Barbieri voice sample track 4 Inspector J ambience field recording track 4 Klankbeeld ambience field recording sample track 7 Production Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic art direction image editor photography graphic design creative director Paul Stacey additional guitar recording Ed Scull additional guitar recording engineering Penny Morgan Peter Rudge Pro Music Management managementCharts EditWeekly charts Edit Weekly chart performance for Closure Continuation Chart 2022 PeakpositionAustralian Albums ARIA 52 13Austrian Albums O3 Austria 53 4Belgian Albums Ultratop Flanders 54 11Belgian Albums Ultratop Wallonia 55 3Canadian Albums Billboard 56 76Danish Albums Hitlisten 57 20Dutch Albums Album Top 100 58 1Finnish Albums Suomen virallinen lista 59 2French Albums SNEP 60 24German Albums Offizielle Top 100 61 1Irish Albums OCC 62 42Italian Albums FIMI 63 4New Zealand Albums RMNZ 64 24Norwegian Albums VG lista 65 25Polish Albums ZPAV 66 5Portuguese Albums AFP 67 7Scottish Albums OCC 68 1Spanish Albums PROMUSICAE 69 7Swedish Albums Sverigetopplistan 70 13Swiss Albums Schweizer Hitparade 71 1UK Albums OCC 72 2UK Rock amp Metal Albums OCC 73 1US Billboard 200 74 90 Year end charts Edit Year end chart performance for Closure Continuation Chart 2022 PositionGerman Albums Offizielle Top 100 75 84References Edit Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Album Review 19 June 2022 a b c d Reunited prog rockers Porcupine Tree on surviving their rift You can t help but feel bitter TheGuardian com 10 March 2022 Siwasaki 6 July 2011 Interview Guitarist Steven Wilson of Blackfield and Porcupine Tree Guitar World Archived from the original on 7 November 2011 Retrieved 17 October 2011 Interview Gavin Harrison Solo amp 05Ric Porcupine Tree King Crimson 12 April 2012 Archived from the original on 12 August 2014 Retrieved 9 August 2014 Thodoris December 2011 Interview Steven Wilson solo Porcupine Tree Blackfield No Man Hit Channel published 12 April 2012 Archived from the original on 12 August 2014 Retrieved 14 June 2016 Steven Wilson Luck s What You Make It Allaboutjazz com October 2012 Archived from the original on 2 February 2014 Retrieved 29 June 2014 Steven Wilson Luck s What You Make It Allaboutjazz com October 2012 Archived from the original on 2 February 2014 Retrieved 29 June 2014 a b c Steven Wilson Explains Why Colin Edwin Isn t Part of Porcupine Tree s Reunion 17 June 2022 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Porcupine Tree Collective Action a b discordmagazine com Godaddy com Archived from the original on 17 December 2012 Retrieved 25 June 2021 Steven Wilson The Progressive Music Legend Talks To Stereoboard About His Solo Work Interview P2 Stereoboard 9 December 2011 Retrieved 29 June 2014 a b Backstage with Steven Wilson Rolling Stone India 24 June 2012 Archived from the original on 4 September 2012 Retrieved 29 June 2014 Kielty Martin 18 April 2013 Porcupine Tree On Hold Steven Wilson Confirms Archived from the original on 21 April 2013 Whitman Howard 8 April 2013 Branching Out Entertainmenttell com Interviews Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree TechnologyTell com Archived from the original on 12 April 2013 Retrieved 18 June 2016 The Raven anniversary update from SW Stevenwilsonhq com 18 February 2014 Archived from the original on 23 June 2014 Retrieved 29 June 2014 Steven Wilson Hiding in Plain Sight Under the Radar 2 March 2015 Archived from the original on 7 March 2015 Retrieved 5 March 2015 Steven Wilson Confirms He Will Very Likely Release a New Album With Porcupine Tree Music News Ultimate Guitar Com Archived from the original on 3 August 2016 Steven Wilson Timeline Facebook Archived from the original on 28 April 2018 Retrieved 4 August 2016 via Facebook com A Specialist in Dying Arts An Interview with Steven Wilson popmatters com 30 August 2017 Archived from the original on 27 February 2018 Retrieved 28 April 2018 Steven Wilson eonmusic Interview March 2018 eonmusic music for life Archived from the original on 8 March 2018 Retrieved 28 April 2018 Steven Wilson Porcupine Tree Could Return When Fans Least Expect It Loudwire com 17 February 2021 Retrieved 25 June 2021 Porcupine Tree official website Retrieved 2 November 2021 a b c d e f Steven Wilson I Love Playing Bass but My Ego s Too Big to be a Bassist a b Childers Chad 1 November 2021 Porcupine Tree Drop Harridan First Song in Nearly 12 Years Announce New Album Loudwire Retrieved 2 November 2021 a b Gavin Harrison Talks The Pineapple Thief Porcupine Tree King Crimson amp His Love of Early Meshuggah 28 April 2022 a b c d STEVEN WILSON on PORCUPINE TREE s Reunion Album I Think It Probably is the Last Record We ll Make 11 March 2022 a b Porcupine Tree share video for Rats Return and tell us We re the quintessential cult band NME 17 June 2022 a b c Harley Kevin 17 June 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Review Record Collector Retrieved 24 June 2022 a b c Krol Charlotte 1 November 2021 Porcupine Tree return with new single Harridan and CLOSURE CONTINUATION album announcement NME jomatami 1 November 2021 Porcupine Tree Suddenly Returns With First New Music in 12 Years Full Album Announced Ultimate Guitar Retrieved 8 January 2022 Porcupine Tree Adds Guitarist and Bassist to 2022 Touring Lineup 6 May 2022 Porcupine Tree are back Beatit tv 4 November 2021 Porcupine Tree Announce First Tour in 12 Years Drop New Song Loudwire 8 March 2022 Porcupine Tree drop video for the frenetic Herd Culling 20 May 2022 Porcupine Tree share video for Rats Return and tell us We re the quintessential cult band NME 17 June 2022 a b Closure Continuation by Porcupine Tree Reviews and Tracks Metacritic Retrieved 25 June 2022 a b Jurek Thom 24 June 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Songs Reviews Credits AllMusic Retrieved 21 July 2022 Johnston Emma 24 June 2022 Porcupine Tree s Gorgeous Comeback Album Is an Elegant and Accomplished Treasure Classic Rock Retrieved 25 June 2022 Chick Stevie 24 June 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Review Reunited Prog rockers Remain Emotionally Detached TheGuardian com Retrieved 24 June 2022 a b Blum Jordan 20 June 2022 Album Review Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Metal Injection Retrieved 21 June 2022 Sanders Brad 28 June 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Album Review Pitchfork Retrieved 28 June 2022 Ezell Brice 21 June 2022 Porcupine Tree Return with a Question Mark on Closure Continuation PopMatters Retrieved 24 June 2022 Erickson Steve 20 June 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Review A Prog Rock Legacy on Repeat Slant Magazine Retrieved 21 June 2022 Kuettel Benjamin 24 June 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Sputnikmusic Retrieved 25 June 2022 Sharp Johnny July 2022 Neo prog standard bearers reconvene for inviting 11th LP Uncut No 302 p 31 Retrieved 25 November 2022 38 Most Anticipated Rock Metal Albums of 2022 Loudwire 3 January 2022 Griffiths George 27 June 2022 Porcupine Tree leading the way for possible first UK Number 1 album Official Charts Company Retrieved 28 June 2022 Krol Charlotte 1 November 2021 Porcupine Tree return with new single Harridan and CLOSURE CONTINUATION album announcement NME Retrieved 9 March 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation 24 June 2022 retrieved 15 August 2022 Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation 24 June 2022 retrieved 15 August 2022 Porcupine Tree Harridan In Session Air Studios retrieved 6 September 2022 Australiancharts com Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Hung Medien Retrieved 1 July 2022 Austriancharts at Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation in German Hung Medien Retrieved 8 July 2022 Ultratop be Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved 3 July 2022 Ultratop be Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation in French Hung Medien Retrieved 3 July 2022 Billboard Canadian Albums Week of July 9 2022 Billboard Retrieved 6 July 2022 Danishcharts dk Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Hung Medien Retrieved 6 July 2022 Dutchcharts nl Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved 2 July 2022 Albumit 26 2022 Musiikkituottajat Retrieved 3 July 2022 Top Albums 6 July 2022 Retrieved 6 July 2022 Offiziellecharts de Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved 1 July 2022 Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50 Official Charts Company Retrieved 1 July 2022 Italiancharts com Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Hung Medien Retrieved 2 July 2022 Charts nz Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Hung Medien Retrieved 2 July 2022 Album 2022 uke 26 VG lista Retrieved 2 July 2022 Oficjalna lista sprzedazy OLiS Official Retail Sales Chart OLiS Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry Retrieved 7 July 2022 Portuguesecharts com Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Hung Medien Retrieved 8 July 2022 Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 2 July 2022 Top 100 Albums Weekly El portal de Musica Promusicae Retrieved 5 July 2022 Swedishcharts com Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Hung Medien Retrieved 1 July 2022 Swisscharts com Porcupine Tree Closure Continuation Hung Medien Retrieved 3 July 2022 Official Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 1 July 2022 Official Rock amp Metal Albums Chart Top 40 Official Charts Company Retrieved 2 July 2022 billboardcharts 5 July 2022 Debuts on this week s Billboard200 2 2 Tweet Retrieved 6 July 2022 via Twitter Top 100 Album Jahrescharts 2022 in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved 16 December 2022 External links EditOfficial Porcupine Tree website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Closure Continuation amp oldid 1178136477, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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