130-453: 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
260-478: A COVID-19 lockdown . 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. Wilson, Harrison, and Barbieri would continue to revisit the material off and on over the years, in-between their own individual projects. Harrison noted that at times months or even year long gaps of inactivity occurred. Barbieri became more proactive in his work around 2016, when
390-601: A Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance , giving Dream Theater their first Grammy. Bass guitar The bass guitar , electric bass or simply bass ( / b eɪ s / ) is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or acoustic guitar , but with a longer neck and scale length . The bass guitar most commonly has four strings, though five- and six-stringed models are also relatively popular, and bass guitars with even more (or fewer) strings or courses have been built. Since
520-522: A single coil pickup similar to that of a Telecaster . By 1957 the Precision more closely resembled the Fender Stratocaster with the body edges beveled for comfort, and the pickup was changed to a split coil design. The Fender Bass was a revolutionary instrument for gigging musicians. In comparison with the large, heavy upright bass , which had been the main bass instrument in popular music from
650-471: A "side-project" to his solo career. In 2016, he noted that there was a "strong possibility" of Porcupine Tree reforming some day, 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." 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." The following year, he went as far as to say that
780-415: A 30-inch (762 mm) scale-length instrument. The Fender VI , a 6-string bass, was tuned one octave lower than standard guitar tuning. It was released in 1961, and was briefly favored by Jack Bruce of Cream . Gibson introduced its short-scale 30.5-inch (775 mm) EB-3 in 1961, also used by Bruce. The EB-3 had a "mini-humbucker" at the bridge position. Gibson basses tended to be instruments with
910-529: A European, and especially British, phenomenon. Few American bands engaged in it, and the purest representatives of the genre, such as Starcastle and Happy the Man , remained limited to their own geographic regions. This is at least in part due to music industry differences between the US and Great Britain. Cultural factors were also involved, as US musicians tended to come from a blues background, while Europeans tended to have
1040-399: A continuous aesthetic movement between formalism and eclecticism ". Cotner also says that progressive rock incorporates both formal and eclectic elements, "It consists of a combination of factors – some of them intramusical ('within'), others extramusical or social ('without')." One way of conceptualising rock and roll in relation to "progressive music" is that progressive music pushed
1170-443: A diversity of loosely associated style codes. When the "progressive" label arrived, the music was dubbed " progressive pop " before it was called "progressive rock", with the term "progressive" referring to the wide range of attempts to break with standard pop music formula. A number of additional factors contributed to the acquired "progressive" label: lyrics were more poetic; technology was harnessed for new sounds; music approached
1300-452: 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
1430-615: A following. Only Marillion and Saga experienced international success. Neo-prog bands tended to use Peter Gabriel -era Genesis as their "principal model". They were also influenced by funk , hard rock and punk rock . The genre's most successful band, Marillion, suffered particularly from accusations of similarity to Genesis, although they used a different vocal style, incorporated more hard rock elements, and were very influenced by bands including Camel and Pink Floyd . Authors Paul Hegarty and Martin Halliwell have pointed out that
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#17330846057351560-599: A foundation in classical music. North American progressive rock bands and artists often represented hybrid styles such as the complex arrangements of Todd Rundgren's Utopia and Rush , the eclectic psychedelia of Spirit , the hard rock of Captain Beyond , the Southern rock -tinged prog of Kansas , the jazz fusion of Frank Zappa and Return to Forever , and the eclectic fusion of the all-instrumental Dixie Dregs . British progressive rock acts had their greatest US success in
1690-484: A genre continues into the 2020s with existing bands like Yes , Marillion , Porcupine Tree and Magenta , along with more recently notable bands like Riverside and Crown Lands creating new music centered on the style. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, The Prog Report launched a virtual concert, Prog From Home , bringing together many of the biggest artists active in the genre. On April 3, 2022, "The Alien" won
1820-636: A handful of groups purposely emulated or referenced classical music. Writer Emily Robinson says that the narrowed definition of "progressive rock" was a measure against the term's loose application in the late 1960s, when it was "applied to everyone from Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones ". Debate over the genre's criterion continued to the 2010s, particularly on Internet forums dedicated to prog. According to musicologists Paul Hegarty and Martin Halliwell, Bill Martin and Edward Macan authored major books about progressive rock while "effectively accept[ing]
1950-409: A harder sound in the style of arena rock . Few new progressive rock bands formed during this era, and those who did found that record labels were not interested in signing them. The short-lived supergroup U.K. was a notable exception since its members had established reputations; they produced two albums that were stylistically similar to previous artists and did little to advance the genre. Part of
2080-452: A high degree of commercial success during the early 1970s. Between them, the bands Jethro Tull , ELP , Rush , Yes , and Pink Floyd had four albums that reached number one in the US charts, and sixteen that reached the top ten. Mike Oldfield 's Tubular Bells (1973), an excerpt of which was used as the theme for the film The Exorcist , sold 16 million copies. Progressive rock came to be appreciated overseas, but it mostly remained
2210-434: A hybrid between the two. Coated strings have their surface coated with a synthetic layer while tapewound strings feature a metal core with a non-metallic winding. Taperwound strings have a tapered end where the exposed core sits on the bridge saddle without windings. The choice of winding has considerable impact on the sound of the instrument, with certain winding styles often being preferred for certain musical genres. In
2340-472: A new album, revealed to be named Closure/Continuation , had already been completed in secrecy in September 2021. The album was entirely created in complete secrecy over the course of a decade. None of the material originated as content left over from their prior album, The Incident . Unlike prior albums, where Wilson would write and demo extensively himself before presenting it to the band, Closure/Continuation
2470-494: A newfound sophisticated musicality and ambitious lyricism in black pop. Among these musicians were Sly Stone , Stevie Wonder , Marvin Gaye , Curtis Mayfield , and George Clinton . In discussing the development, Bill Martin cites 1970s albums by Wonder ( Talking Book , Innervisions , Songs in the Key of Life ), War ( All Day Music , The World Is a Ghetto , War Live ), and
2600-434: A prescient notion of new wave and punk. New wave, which surfaced around 1978–79 with some of the same attitudes and aesthetic as punk, was characterised by Martin as "progressive" multiplied by "punk". Bands in the genre tended to be less hostile towards progressive rock than the punks, and there were crossovers, such as Fripp and Eno's involvement with Talking Heads , and Yes' replacement of Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson with
2730-422: A progressive idea ... Ironically, and quite paradoxically, 'progressive rock', the classic era of the late 1960s through the mid- and late 1970s, introduces not only the explosive and exploratory sounds of technology ... but traditional music forms (classical and European folk) and (often) a pastiche compositional style and artificial constructs ( concept albums ) which suggests postmodernism ." In 1966,
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#17330846057352860-483: A re-formed Yes released the relatively mainstream 90125 (1983), which yielded their only US number-one single, " Owner of a Lonely Heart ". One band who remained successful into the 1980s while maintaining a progressive approach was Pink Floyd, who released The Wall late in 1979. The album, which brought punk anger into progressive rock, was a huge success and was later filmed as Pink Floyd – The Wall . Punk and progressive rock were not necessarily as opposed as
2990-445: A second generation of neo-prog bands, emerged in the 1990s. The use of the term "progressive" to describe groups that follow in the style of bands from ten to twenty years earlier is somewhat controversial, as it has been seen as a contradiction of the spirit of experimentation and progress. These new bands were aided in part by the availability of personal computer-based recording studios , which reduced album production expenses, and
3120-967: A shorter 30.5" scale length than the Precision. Gibson did not produce a 34-inch (864 mm)-scale bass until 1963 with the release of the Thunderbird . The first commercial fretless bass guitar was the Ampeg AUB-1, introduced in 1966. In the late 1960s, eight-string basses, with four octave paired courses (similar to a 12 string guitar), were introduced, such as the Hagström H8. In 1972, Alembic established what became known as "boutique" or "high-end" electric bass guitars. These expensive, custom-tailored instruments, as used by Phil Lesh , Jack Casady , and Stanley Clarke , featured unique designs, premium hand-finished wood bodies, and innovative construction techniques such as multi-laminate neck-through-body construction and graphite necks. Alembic also pioneered
3250-515: A single pickup . Around 100 were made during this period. Audiovox also sold their "Model 236" bass amplifier. In the 1950s, Leo Fender and George Fullerton developed the first mass-produced electric bass guitar. The Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company began producing the Precision Bass , or P-Bass, in October 1951. The design featured a simple uncontoured "slab" body design and
3380-407: A split live album with Gong offshoot Here & Now . The term " post-progressive " identifies progressive rock that returns to its original principles while dissociating from 1970s progressive rock styles, and may be located after 1978. Martin credits Roxy Music 's Brian Eno as the sub-genre's most important catalyst, explaining that his 1973–77 output merged aspects of progressive rock with
3510-466: A style derivative of English bands. The "Kosmische music" scene in Germany came to be labelled as " krautrock " internationally and is frequently cited as part of the progressive rock genre or an entirely distinct phenomenon. Krautrock bands such as Can , which included two members who had studied under Karlheinz Stockhausen , tended to be more strongly influenced by 20th-century classical music than
3640-463: A third solo album, an effort that would keep him busy through the entirety of 2013. 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. In particular, Wilson lost complete contact with bassist Colin Edwin , while keyboardist Richard Barbieri privately became upset that Wilson publicly pushed aside
3770-431: A wider palette than that drawn on by the most popular 1970s bands. Progressive rock is varied and is based on fusions of styles, approaches, and genres, tapping into broader cultural resonances that connect to avant-garde art, classical music and folk music , performance and the moving image. Although a unidirectional English "progressive" style emerged in the late 1960s, by 1967, progressive rock had come to constitute
3900-425: A year or five years, or 10 years. I really can't say – there are no plans at the moment." Edwin separately reiterated the same stance. Wilson proceeded with his solo career, including The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) (2013) and Hand. Cannot. Erase. (2015). 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
4030-670: Is commonly believed. Both genres reject commercialism, and punk bands did see a need for musical advancement. Author Doyle Green noted that post-punk emerged as "a kind of 'progressive punk ' ". Post-punk artists rejected the high cultural references of 1960s rock artists like the Beatles and Bob Dylan as well as paradigms that defined rock as "progressive", "art", or "studio perfectionism". In contrast to punk rock, it balances punk's energy and skepticism with art school consciousness, Dadaist experimentalism, and atmospheric, ambient soundscapes. World music , especially African and Asian traditions,
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4160-543: Is conceptual by definition, due to its prominent theme of questioning the values of Christianity. Its guttural vocals are sometimes used by bands who can be classified as progressive, such as Mastodon , Mudvayne and Opeth . Symphonic metal is an extension of the tendency towards orchestral passages in early progressive rock. Progressive rock has also served as a key inspiration for genres such as post-rock , post-metal and avant-garde metal , math rock , power metal and neo-classical metal . New prog describes
4290-460: Is implied by unsympathetic critics." In early references to the music, "progressive" was partly related to progressive politics , but those connotations were lost during the 1970s. On "progressive music", Holm-Hudson writes that it "moves continuously between explicit and implicit references to genres and strategies derived not only from European art music, but other cultural domains (such as East Indian, Celtic, folk, and African) and hence involves
4420-495: Is sometimes limited to a stereotype of long solos, long albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. While the genre is often cited for its merging of high culture and low culture , few artists incorporated literal classical themes in their work to any great degree, and only a handful of groups, such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Renaissance , purposely emulated or referenced classical music. The genre coincided with
4550-410: Is termed a fretless bass . The scale of a bass is defined as the length of the freely oscillating strings between the nut and the bridge saddles. On a modern 4-string bass guitar, 30" (76 cm) or less is considered short scale, 32" (81 cm) medium scale, 34" (86 cm) standard or long scale and 35" (89 cm) extra-long scale. Bass pickups are generally attached to the body of the guitar and located beneath
4680-656: Is usually tuned the same as the double bass, which corresponds to pitches one octave lower than the four lowest-pitched strings of a guitar (typically E , A , D , and G ). It is played primarily with the fingers or thumb, or with a pick . The electric bass guitar is acoustically a relatively quiet instrument, so to be heard at a practical performance volume, it requires external amplification . It can also be used in conjunction with direct input boxes , audio interfaces, mixing consoles, computers, or bass effects processors that offer headphone jacks. The majority of bass pickup systems are electromagnetic in nature. According to
4810-572: The Fender Jazz Bass , initially known as the "Deluxe Bass", used a body design known as an offset waist which was first seen on the Jazzmaster guitar in an effort to improve comfort while playing seated. The Jazz bass, or J-Bass, features two single-coil pickups. Providing a more "Gibson-scale" instrument, rather than the 34-inch (864 mm) Jazz and Precision, Fender produced the Mustang Bass ,
4940-572: The Internet , which made it easier for bands outside of the mainstream to reach widespread audiences. Record stores specialising in progressive rock appeared in large cities. The shred music of the 1980s was a major influence on the progressive rock groups of the 1990s. Some of the newer bands, such as the Flower Kings , Spock's Beard and Glass Hammer , played a 1970s-style symphonic prog, but with an updated sound. A number of them began to explore
5070-562: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , an "Electric bass guitar, usually with four heavy strings tuned E 1 '–A 1 '–D 2 –G 2 ." It also defines bass as "Bass (iv). A contraction of Double bass or Electric bass guitar." According to some authors the proper term is "electric bass". Common names for the instrument are "bass guitar", "electric bass guitar", and "electric bass" and some authors claim that they are historically accurate. A bass guitar whose neck lacks frets
5200-451: The StingRay , the first widely produced bass with active (powered) electronics built into the instrument. Basses with active electronics can include a preamplifier and knobs for boosting and cutting the low and high frequencies. In the mid-1970s, five-string basses, with a very low "B" string, were introduced. In 1975, bassist Anthony Jackson commissioned luthier Carl Thompson to build
5330-574: The UK Albums Chart and reached number one in Germany , the Netherlands and Switzerland . 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. Wilson felt creatively constrained by the public expectation of what Porcupine Tree music should sound like, and privately resented by
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5460-425: The hippie counterculture in favour of a modernist , avant-garde approach. Similarities between the two terms are that they both describe a mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility. However, art rock is more likely to have experimental or avant-garde influences. "Prog" was devised in the 1990s as a shorthand term, but later became a transferable adjective, also suggesting
5590-442: The jazz music direction that some of his solo music had taken at the time. 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. 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
5720-451: The new wave of British heavy metal – most notably Iron Maiden – onwards displayed progressive rock influences. Progressive metal reached a point of maturity with Queensrÿche 's 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime , Voivod 's 1989 Nothingface , which featured abstract lyrics and a King Crimson-like texture, and Dream Theater 's 1992 Images and Words . Progressive rock elements appear in other metal subgenres. Black metal
5850-851: The popular song began signalling a new possible means of expression that went beyond the three-minute love song , leading to an intersection between the "underground" and the "establishment" for listening publics. Hegarty and Halliwell identify the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Doors , the Pretty Things , the Zombies , the Byrds , the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd "not merely as precursors of progressive rock but as essential developments of progressiveness in its early days". According to musicologist Walter Everett ,
5980-452: The " Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon " on Chicago II . Jazz influences appeared in the music of British bands such as Traffic , Colosseum and If , together with Canterbury scene bands such as Soft Machine and Caravan . Canterbury scene bands emphasised the use of wind instruments, complex chord changes and long improvisations. Martin writes that in 1968, "full-blown progressive rock"
6110-409: The "Beatle bass". In 1957, Rickenbacker introduced the model 4000, the first bass to feature a neck-through -body design in which the neck is part of the body wood. The Burns London Supersound was introduced in 1958. With the explosion in popularity of rock music in the 1960s, many more manufacturers began making electric basses, including Yamaha , Teisco and Guyatone . Introduced in 1960,
6240-404: The 1930s, musician and inventor Paul Tutmarc of Seattle , Washington, developed the first electric bass guitar in its modern form, a fretted instrument designed to be played horizontally. The 1935 sales catalog for Tutmarc's company Audiovox featured his "Model 736 Bass Fiddle", a solid-bodied electric bass guitar with four strings, a 30 + 1 ⁄ 2 -inch (775-millimetre) scale length, and
6370-556: The 1950s. Kay Musical Instrument Company began production of the K162 in 1952, while Danelectro released the Longhorn in 1956. Also in 1956, at the German trade fair "Musikmesse Frankfurt" the distinctive Höfner 500/1 violin-shaped bass first appeared, constructed using violin techniques by Walter Höfner , a second-generation violin luthier. Due to its use by Paul McCartney , it became known as
6500-524: The Beach Boys and the Beatles ... [They] brought expansions in harmony , instrumentation (and therefore timbre ), duration , rhythm , and the use of recording technology . Of these elements, the first and last were the most important in clearing a pathway toward the development of progressive rock. Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper , with their lyrical unity, extended structure, complexity, eclecticism, experimentalism, and influences derived from classical music forms, are largely viewed as beginnings in
6630-557: The Beatles and the Yardbirds . The Beatles' Paul McCartney said in 1967: "we [the band] got a bit bored with 12 bars all the time, so we tried to get into something else. Then came Dylan, the Who , and the Beach Boys. ... We're all trying to do vaguely the same kind of thing." Rock music started to take itself seriously, paralleling earlier attempts in jazz (as swing gave way to bop , a move which did not succeed with audiences). In this period,
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#17330846057356760-469: The Beatles did, it is fair to assume that there would have been no progressive rock." In the aftermath of Sgt. Pepper , magazines such as Melody Maker drew a sharp line between "pop" and "rock", thus eliminating the "roll" from " rock and roll " (which now refers to the 1950s style). The only artists who remained "rock" would be those who were considered at the vanguard of compositional forms, far from "radio friendly" standards, as Americans increasingly used
6890-557: The Beatles' "experimental timbres, rhythms, tonal structures, and poetic texts" on their albums Rubber Soul (1965) and Revolver (1966) "encouraged a legion of young bands that were to create progressive rock in the early 1970s". Dylan's poetry, the Mothers of Invention 's album Freak Out! (1966) and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) were all important in progressive rock's development. The productions of Phil Spector were key influences, as they introduced
7020-537: The British magazine Prog to honour the genre's established acts and to promote its newer bands. Honorees, however, are not invited to perform at the awards ceremony, as the promoters want an event "that doesn't last three weeks". In 2019, The Prog Report, named Mike Portnoy and Neal Morse artists of the decade for 2010-2019. During this time, Portnoy released 40 albums, 24 of them with Morse, while Morse released an additional 5 albums of his own. Progressive rock as
7150-467: The British progressive rock bands, whose musical vocabulary leaned more towards the Romantic era . Many of these groups were very influential even among bands that had little enthusiasm for the symphonic variety of progressive rock. Concurrently, Black American popular musicians drew from progressive rock's conceptual album-oriented approach. This led to a progressive-soul movement in the 1970s that inspired
7280-513: The Byrds' vocal harmonies inspired those of Yes , and British folk rock bands like Fairport Convention , who emphasised instrumental virtuosity. Some of these artists, such as the Incredible String Band and Shirley and Dolly Collins , would prove influential through their use of instruments borrowed from world music and early music . Many groups and musicians played important roles in this development process, but none more than
7410-566: The Fender Precision Bass around 1957. The bass guitar was intended to appeal to guitarists as well as upright bass players, and many early pioneers of the instrument, such as Carol Kaye , Joe Osborn , and Paul McCartney were originally guitarists. Also in 1953, Gibson released the first short-scale violin -shaped electric bass, the EB-1, with an extendable end pin so a bassist could play it upright or horizontally. In 1958, Gibson released
7540-484: The Isley Brothers ( 3 + 3 ), while noting that the Who's progressive rock-influenced Who Are You (1978) also drew from the soul variant. Dominic Maxwell of The Times calls Wonder's mid-1970s albums "prog soul of the highest order, pushing the form yet always heartfelt, ambitious and listenable". Political and social trends of the late 1970s shifted away from the early 1970s hippie attitudes that had led to
7670-483: The London scene and recorded with a band of English musicians, initiated the trend towards guitar virtuosity and eccentricity in rock music. The Scottish band 1-2-3, later renamed Clouds , were formed in 1966 and began performing at London clubs a year later. According to Mojo 's George Knemeyer: "some claim [that they] had a vital influence on prog-rockers such as Yes, The Nice and Family." Symphonic rock artists in
7800-484: The Moody Blues, Procol Harum and Pink Floyd all contained elements of what is now called progressive rock, but none represented as complete an example of the genre as several bands that formed soon after. Almost all of the genre's major bands, including Jethro Tull, King Crimson , Yes , Genesis , Van der Graaf Generator , ELP , Gentle Giant , Barclay James Harvest and Renaissance , released their debut albums during
7930-519: The New York City art scene of the early 1960s. The trend of bands with names drawn from literature, such as the Doors , Steppenwolf and the Ides of March , were a further sign of rock music aligning itself with high culture. Dylan also led the way in blending rock with folk music styles. This was followed by folk rock groups such as the Byrds, who based their initial sound on that of the Beatles. In turn,
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#17330846057358060-713: The Nice's Ars Longa Vita Brevis . The latter, along with such tracks as " Rondo " and " America ", reflect a greater interest in music that is entirely instrumental. Sgt. Pepper's and Days both represent a growing tendency towards song cycles and suites made up of multiple movements . Focus incorporated and articulated jazz-style chords, and irregular off-beat drumming into their later rock-based riffs, and several bands that included jazz-style horn sections appeared, including Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago . Of these, Martin highlights Chicago in particular for their experimentation with suites and extended compositions, such as
8190-501: The United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid 1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop ", the style was an emergence of psychedelic bands who abandoned standard pop traditions in favour of instrumentation and compositional techniques more frequently associated with jazz , folk , or classical music . Additional elements contributed to its " progressive " label: lyrics were more poetic, technology
8320-441: The adjective "progressive" for groups like Jethro Tull , Family , East of Eden , Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson . According to AllMusic : "Prog-rock began to emerge out of the British psychedelic scene in 1967, specifically a strain of classical/symphonic rock led by the Nice , Procol Harum , and the Moody Blues ( Days of Future Passed )." The availability of newly affordable recording equipment coincided with
8450-452: 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". It was ranked as the 16th best guitar album of 2022 by Guitar World readers. 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
8580-447: The album is not a concept album and has no overarching central theme, the album's title is self-referential to the band's reunion. 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. The album was written so that it could conceptually serve either scenario. Wilson's lyrics in "Chimera's Wreck" were inspired by
8710-528: The album was generally well-received, getting an average rating of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic , based on nine reviews. 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". AllMusic concluded that the album was "A welcome new entry in PT's catalog" that shows that "the band have plenty left to say". Record Collector noted that while
8840-422: The avant-garde since the mid-1970s. The term "progressive rock" is synonymous with " art rock ", "classical rock" (not to be confused with classic rock ), and "symphonic rock". Historically, "art rock" has been used to describe at least two related, but distinct, types of rock music. The first is progressive rock as it is generally understood, while the second usage refers to groups who rejected psychedelia and
8970-423: The band became more serious about completing the material into a full-length album. 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. The band noted: "' Harridan ' and
9100-417: The band opting to recruit multi-instrumentalists whose versatility could help in using fewer backing tracks in the live performances. 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. Audio from every performance will be recorded by the band. The album
9230-466: 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." 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. While
9360-434: The band's first album to top the chart. 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. Personnel per album liner notes Porcupine Tree Additional personnel Production Progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog ) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in
9490-537: The band's prior four albums, as he had grown tired of the sound and style. 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. 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, and according to Wilson and Harrison, features 42 time signature changes across
9620-412: The band's returning members, with long-time bassist Colin Edwin not returning. 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. Guitarist Randy McStine and bassist Nate Navarro were recruited to round out the touring lineup. Previous touring guitarist John Wesley was not asked to return, with
9750-462: The band. Publicly, Wilson still maintained that the band "haven't split up" and that there are "no intentions of splitting up", but also said there were no specific plans for a new album either. 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, and that at least one band member did not appreciate
9880-424: 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. 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. Outside of "Of The New Day", which
10010-459: The characterization of progressive rock offered by its critics. ... they each do so largely unconsciously." Academic John S. Cotner contests Macan's view that progressive rock cannot exist without the continuous and overt assimilation of classical music into rock. Author Kevin Holm-Hudson agrees that "progressive rock is a style far more diverse than what is heard from its mainstream groups and what
10140-421: The condition of "art"; some harmonic language was imported from jazz and 19th-century classical music ; the album format overtook singles ; and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity, which often involved creating music for listening, not dancing. One of the best ways to define progressive rock is that it is a heterogeneous and troublesome genre – a formulation that becomes clear
10270-449: The core. Bass guitar strings vary by the material and cross-sectional shape of the winding. Common variants include roundwound, flatwound, halfwound (groundwound), coated, tapewound and taperwound (not to be confused with tapewound) strings. Roundwound and flatwound strings feature windings with circular and rounded-square cross-sections, respectively, with halfround (also referred to as halfwound, ground wound, pressure wound) strings being
10400-411: The course of the song. 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
10530-634: The creative process that had previously belonged to the artists, and established acts were pressured to create music with simpler harmony and song structures and fewer changes in meter. A number of symphonic pop bands, such as Supertramp , 10cc , the Alan Parsons Project and the Electric Light Orchestra , brought the orchestral-style arrangements into a context that emphasised pop singles while allowing for occasional instances of exploration. Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant and Pink Floyd opted for
10660-525: 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. "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. Wilson described "Rats Return" as being about "politicians who express having an interest in
10790-579: The decline. Music critics, who often labelled the concepts as "pretentious" and the sounds as "pompous" and "overblown", tended to be hostile towards the genre or to completely ignore it. After the late 1970s, progressive rock fragmented in numerous forms. Some bands achieved commercial success well into the 1980s (albeit with changed lineups and more compact song structures) or crossed into symphonic pop , arena rock , or new wave . Early groups who exhibited progressive features are retroactively described as " proto-prog ". The Canterbury scene , originating in
10920-424: The early 20th century to the 1940s, the bass guitar could be easily transported to shows. When amplified, the bass guitar was also less prone than acoustic basses to unwanted audio feedback . The addition of frets enabled bassists to play in tune more easily than on fretless acoustic or electric upright basses , and allowed guitarists to more easily transition to the instrument. In 1953, Monk Montgomery became
11050-594: The first bassist to tour with the Fender bass, in Lionel Hampton 's postwar big band . Montgomery was also possibly the first to record with the electric bass, on July 2, 1953, with the Art Farmer Septet . Roy Johnson (with Lionel Hampton), and Shifty Henry (with Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five ), were other early Fender bass pioneers. Bill Black , who played with Elvis Presley , switched from upright bass to
11180-467: The following decade, without longtime bassist Colin Edwin . With the COVID-19 pandemic putting members' separate plans on hold, the band found time to finish the record in September 2021. Towards the end of the year, the band's reformation was 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 ". The album debuted at number two on
11310-501: The genre fragmented from the late 1970s onwards. In Robert Fripp 's opinion, once "progressive rock" ceased to cover new ground – becoming a set of conventions to be repeated and imitated – the genre's premise had ceased to be "progressive". The era of record labels investing in their artists, giving them freedom to experiment and limited control over their content and marketing ended with the late 1970s. Corporate artists and repertoire staff exerted an increasing amount of control over
11440-410: The genre into greater complexity while retracing the roots of romantic and classical music. Sociologist Paul Willis believes: "We must never be in doubt that 'progressive' music followed rock 'n' roll, and that it could not have been any other way. We can see rock 'n' roll as a deconstruction and 'progressive' music as a reconstruction." Author Will Romano states that "rock itself can be interpreted as
11570-490: The genre's development and popularity. The rise in punk cynicism made the utopian ideals expressed in progressive rock lyrics unfashionable. Virtuosity was rejected, as the expense of purchasing quality instruments and the time investment of learning to play them were seen as barriers to rock's energy and immediacy. There were also changes in the music industry, as record companies disappeared and merged into large media conglomerates . Promoting and developing experimental music
11700-451: The genre's legacy in this period was its influence on other styles, as several European guitarists brought a progressive rock approach to heavy metal and laid the groundwork for progressive metal . Michael Schenker , of UFO ; and Uli Jon Roth , who replaced Schenker in Scorpions , expanded the modal vocabulary available to guitarists. Roth studied classical music with the intent of using
11830-458: The genre's major acts released debut albums between 1983 and 1985 and shared the same manager, Keith Goodwin, a publicist who had been instrumental in promoting progressive rock during the 1970s. The previous decade's bands had the advantage of appearing during a prominent countercultural movement that provided them with a large potential audience, but the neo-prog bands were limited to a relatively niche demographic and found it difficult to attract
11960-427: The genre. These groups retained some of the song complexity and orchestral-style arrangements, but they moved away from lyrical mysticism in favour of more conventional themes such as relationships. These radio-friendly groups have been called "prog lite". Genesis transformed into a successful pop act, the prog supergroup Asia (consisting of members of Yes, King Crimson, and ELP) scored a number-one album in 1982, and
12090-472: The guitar in the way that classical composers used the violin. Finally, the Dutch-born and classically trained Alex and Eddie Van Halen formed Van Halen , featuring ground-breaking whammy-bar, tapping and cross-picking guitar performances that influenced " shred " music in the 1980s. By the early 1980s, progressive rock was thought to be all but dead as a style, an idea reinforced by the fact that some of
12220-590: The late 1960s had some chart success, including the singles " Nights in White Satin " (the Moody Blues, 1967) and " A Whiter Shade of Pale " (Procol Harum, 1967). The Moody Blues established the popularity of symphonic rock when they recorded Days of Future Passed together with the London Festival Orchestra . Classical influences sometimes took the form of pieces adapted from or inspired by classical works, such as Jeff Beck 's " Beck's Bolero " and parts of
12350-612: The late 1960s, denotes a subset of progressive rock bands who emphasised the use of wind instruments , complex chord changes and long improvisations. Rock in Opposition , from the late 1970s, was more avant-garde , and when combined with the Canterbury style, created avant-prog . In the 1980s, a new subgenre, neo-prog , enjoyed some commercial success, although it was also accused of being derivative and lacking in innovation. Post-progressive draws upon newer developments in popular music and
12480-472: The level of social and artistic correspondence among British and American rock musicians dramatically accelerated for bands like the Beatles , the Beach Boys and the Byrds who fused elements of cultivated music with the vernacular traditions of rock. Progressive rock was predicated on the "progressive" pop groups from the 1960s who combined rock and roll with various other music styles such as Indian ragas , oriental melodies and Gregorian chants , like
12610-506: The limits of the CD in the way that earlier groups had stretched the limits of the vinyl LP. Progressive rock and heavy metal have similar timelines. Both emerged from late-1960s psychedelia to achieve great early-1970s success despite a lack of radio airplay and support from critics, then faded in the mid-to-late 1970s and experienced revivals in the early 1980s. Each genre experienced a fragmentation of styles at this time, and many metal bands from
12740-608: The maple arched-top EB-2 described in the Gibson catalog as a "hollow-body electric bass that features a Bass/Baritone pushbutton for two different tonal characteristics". In 1959, these were followed by the more conventional-looking EB-0 Bass . The EB-0 was very similar to a Gibson SG in appearance (although the earliest examples have a slab-sided body shape closer to that of the double-cutaway Les Paul Special). The Fender and Gibson versions used bolt-on and set necks. Several other companies also began manufacturing bass guitars during
12870-474: The mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely come to replace the double bass in popular music due to its lighter weight, the inclusion of frets (for easier intonation ) in most models, and, most importantly, its design for electric amplification. This is also because the double bass is acoustically compromised for its range (like the viola ) in that it is scaled down from the optimal size that would be appropriate for those low notes. The four-string bass guitar
13000-411: The mid-1960s economic boom that allowed record labels to allocate more creative control to their artists, as well as the new journalistic division between "pop" and "rock" that lent generic significance to both terms. It saw a high level of popularity in the early-to-mid-1970s, but faded soon after. Conventional wisdom holds that the rise of punk rock caused this, but several more factors contributed to
13130-483: The moment we leave behind characterizations based only on the most visible bands of the early to mid-1970s Critics of the genre often limit its scope to a stereotype of long solos, overlong albums, fantasy lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. While progressive rock is often cited for its merging of high culture and low culture, few artists incorporated literal classical themes in their work to any great degree, and only
13260-475: The neo-prog bands were not so much plagiarising progressive rock as they were creating a new style from progressive rock elements, just as the bands of a decade before had created a new style from jazz and classical elements. Author Edward Macan counters by pointing out that these bands were at least partially motivated by a nostalgic desire to preserve a past style rather than a drive to innovate. A third wave of progressive rock bands, who can also be described as
13390-405: 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. Years later, Wilson again reversed his stance, suggesting that it was possible and would happen when least expected. In November 2021, the band officially announced they were not only reforming, but
13520-444: The point at which the LP record emerged as a creative format whose importance was equal to or greater than that of the single. Bill Bruford , a veteran of several progressive rock bands, said that Sgt. Pepper transformed both musicians' ideas of what was possible and audiences' ideas of what was acceptable in music. He believed that: "Without the Beatles, or someone else who had done what
13650-590: The point when "all English bands in the genre should have ceased to exist". More of the major bands, including Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant and U.K. , dissolved between 1978 and 1980. Many bands had by the mid-1970s reached the limit of how far they could experiment in a rock context, and fans had wearied of the extended, epic compositions. The sounds of the Hammond , Minimoog and Mellotron had been thoroughly explored, and their use became clichéd. Those bands who continued to record often simplified their sound, and
13780-549: The pop duo the Buggles . When King Crimson reformed in 1981, they released an album, Discipline , which Macan says "inaugurated" the new post-progressive style. The new King Crimson line-up featured guitarist and vocalist Adrian Belew , who also collaborated with Talking Heads, playing live with the band and featuring on their 1980 album Remain in Light . According to Martin, Talking Heads also created "a kind of new-wave music that
13910-552: The possibility of using the recording studio to create music that otherwise could never be achieved. The same is said for the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), which Brian Wilson intended as an answer to Rubber Soul and which in turn influenced the Beatles when they made Sgt. Pepper . Dylan introduced a literary element to rock through his fascination with the Surrealists and the French Symbolists , and his immersion in
14040-445: The principal progressive groups had developed a more commercial sound. ... What went out of the music of these now ex-progressive groups ... was any significant evocation of art music. Some established artists moved towards music that was simpler and more commercially viable. Arena rock bands like Journey , Kansas , Styx , GTR , ELO and Foreigner either had begun as progressive rock bands or included members with strong ties to
14170-524: The progressive rock genre and as turning points wherein rock, which previously had been considered dance music, became music that was made for listening to. Between Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper , the Beach Boys released the single " Good Vibrations " (1966), dubbed a " pocket symphony " by Derek Taylor , the band's publicist. The song contained an eclectic array of exotic instruments and several disjunctive key and modal shifts. Scott Interrante of Popmatters wrote that its influence on progressive rock and
14300-505: The psychedelic movement "can't be overstated". Martin likened the song to the Beatles' " A Day in the Life " from Sgt. Pepper , in that they showcase "the same reasons why much progressive rock is difficult to dance to". Although Sgt. Pepper was preceded by several albums that had begun to bridge the line between "disposable" pop and "serious" rock, it successfully gave an established "commercial" voice to an alternative youth culture and marked
14430-438: The public, but when it comes down to it, only want to save themselves". He noted it was inspired by the depression felt by "having lived through Brexit , Trump , and Boris Johnson ". 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. Wilson also purposely lessened the heavy metal music influence seen in
14560-689: 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. 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). Initially, Wilson mentioned the possibility of working on new music in early 2012, with drummer Gavin Harrison later estimating that recording would occur across 2012 and release 2013. Plans shortly changed though, with Wilson unexpectedly announcing that he would be focusing on recording, releasing, and touring in support of
14690-501: The rise of a London underground scene at which the psychedelic drug LSD was commonly used. Pink Floyd and Soft Machine functioned as house bands at all-night events at locations such as Middle Earth and the UFO Club , where they experimented with sound textures and long-form songs. Many psychedelic, folk rock and early progressive bands were aided by exposure from BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel . Jimi Hendrix , who rose to prominence in
14820-464: The same geographic areas in which British heavy metal bands experienced their greatest popularity. The overlap in audiences led to the success of arena rock bands, such as Boston , Kansas , and Styx , who combined elements of the two styles. Progressive rock achieved popularity in Continental Europe more quickly than it did in the US. Italy remained generally uninterested in rock music until
14950-408: The strings. They are responsible for converting the vibrations of the strings into analogous electrical signals, which are in turn passed as input to an instrument amplifier . Bass guitar strings are composed of a core and winding . The core is a wire which runs through the center of the string and is generally made of steel, nickel, or an alloy . The winding is an additional wire wrapped around
15080-742: The strong Italian progressive rock scene developed in the early 1970s. Progressive rock emerged in Yugoslavia in the late 1960s, dominating the Yugoslav rock scene until the late 1970s. Few of the European groups were successful outside of their own countries, with the exceptions of Dutch bands like Focus and Golden Earring who wrote English-language lyrics, and the Italians Le Orme and PFM , whose English lyrics were written by Peter Hammill and Peter Sinfield , respectively. Some European bands played in
15210-464: The track " Harridan " and "Chimera's Wreck" originated from these sessions. 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. Every aspect of the album was recorded by either Wilson, Harrison, and Barbieri; with the album featuring no guest musicians or contributions from Edwin. Upon writing and demoing
15340-570: The use of onboard electronics for pre-amplification and equalization. Active electronics increase the output of the instrument, and allow more options for controlling tonal flexibility, giving the player the ability to amplify as well as to attenuate certain frequency ranges while improving the overall frequency response (including more low-register and high-register sounds). 1976 saw the UK company Wal begin production of their own range of active basses. In 1974 Music Man Instruments, founded by Tom Walker, Forrest White and Leo Fender , introduced
15470-613: The wave of progressive rock bands in the 2000s who revived the genre. According to Entertainment Weekly ' s Evan Serpick, "success stories like System of a Down and up-and-comers like the Dillinger Escape Plan , Lightning Bolt , Coheed and Cambria , and the Mars Volta create incredibly complex and inventive music that sounds like a heavier, more aggressive version of '70s behemoths such as Led Zeppelin and King Crimson." The Progressive Music Awards were launched in 2012 by
15600-521: The years 1968–1970. Most of these were folk-rock albums that gave little indication of what the bands' mature sound would become, but King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King (1969) and Yes' self-titled debut album (1969) were early, fully formed examples of the genre. Most of the genre's major bands released their most critically acclaimed albums during the years 1971–1976. The genre experienced
15730-478: Was also a major influence. Progressive rock's impact was felt in the work of some post-punk artists, although they tended not to emulate classical rock or Canterbury groups but rather Roxy Music , King Crimson, and krautrock bands, particularly Can. Punishment of Luxury 's music borrowed from both progressive and punk rock, whilst Alternative TV , who were fronted by the founder of the influential punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue Mark Perry , toured and released
15860-446: 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. The two recorded the jam sessions, and then Wilson would review them and attempt to take segments and later work them into songs. The earliest iterations of
15990-425: Was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of " art ", and the studio, rather than the stage, became the focus of musical activity , which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing. Progressive rock is based on fusions of styles, approaches and genres, involving a continuous move between formalism and eclecticism . Due to its historical reception, the scope of progressive rock
16120-458: Was not part of the marketing strategy for these large corporations, who focused their attention on identifying and targeting profitable market niches . Four of progressive rock's most successful bands – King Crimson, Yes, ELP and Genesis – went on hiatus or experienced major personnel changes during the mid-1970s. Macan notes the September 1974 breakup of King Crimson as particularly significant, noting that Fripp (much later) referred to 1974 as
16250-407: Was not yet in existence; however, albums were released by three bands who would later come to the forefront of the music: Jethro Tull , Caravan and Soft Machine. The term "progressive rock", which appeared in the liner notes of Caravan's 1968 self-titled debut LP , came to be applied to bands that used classical music techniques to expand the styles and concepts available to rock music. The Nice,
16380-554: Was released on 24 June 2022. The Designers Republic 's Ian Anderson provided the album's artwork. The first single, "Harridan", was released on 1 November 2021. A second single, "Of the New Day", was released in March 2022. Songs "Herd Culling" and "Rats Return" were also released ahead of the album in May and June respectively. Prior to publication, Loudwire named the album one of their most anticipated rock and metal albums in 2022. Upon release,
16510-635: Was the perfect synthesis of punk urgency and attitude and progressive-rock sophistication and creativity. A good deal of the more interesting rock since that time is clearly 'post-Talking Heads' music, but this means that it is post-progressive rock as well." A second wave of progressive rock bands appeared in the early 1980s and have since been categorised as a separate " neo-prog " subgenre. These largely keyboard-based bands played extended compositions with complex musical and lyrical structures. Several of these bands were signed by major record labels, including Marillion , IQ , Pendragon and Pallas . Most of
16640-444: 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. " 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"
16770-423: Was written by all three. "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. " 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
16900-455: Was written collaboratively. 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. 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. This ended up resulting in some extended jam sessions between the two - Wilson on bass and Harrison on drums. The result
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