Make Great Art. 

Its a good game to play in your free time, if you have no ambitions of conquering the world and having a successful startup launching roman salutes. 

What, in your mind, is the greatest album ever made? Or better yet, what is that one album you’d wished you had made?

The latter presents a much more interesting proposition - its a question asked of you but phrased as something tangential. 

With the former, its unknowable since you will never hear every album ever made. Not to mention not having the good sense and musical taste to be able to appreciate some forms of music. 

To me, “Fear of a Blank Planet” by Porcupine Tree is the album I wish I had made. 

You have to have more than a couple of screws in your head loose to make something like that. Enter Steven Wilson, the mastermind. 

The lyrics are scary because they reflect real life. But draped in that gorgeous Steven Wilson voice, they serve to confuse you as much as to enlighten and entertain. 

It is cerebral, thoughtful and at the same time holds that playful, tongue in cheek humor that rewards the listener. 

Just as a 4 min pop song has its place, so does a magnum opus like Anesthetize, clocking in at 17:42 mins. 

And as a drummer, my sensibilities were shaped by Gavin Harrison playing out of his mind on this album. Its perfect for the song, at the same time being intricate and indulgent. Up there with Martin Lopez’s playing on Blackwater Park by Opeth. 

Its a monstrosity and a gorgeous musical of art at the same time.

Ex-Metal Hammer Editor Alex Milas put it best “If you liken Steven Wilson to a painter, he paints with a full palette. Metal is only one of the colors on his palette.”

And after near 18 years, this album still works its charms in musically nefarious and charming ways. Scaring the life into you.