Grammy Award-nominated British rock band PORCUPINE TREE has shared “Rats Return”, the latest track from its new album, “Closure/Continuation”, due on June 24 via Music For Nations/Megaforce Records. An official music video directed by Ricky Allen can be seen below.
“‘Rats Return’ is about those who claim to have the interests of the people at heart, but when it comes down to it there is only ego and self-interest,” says PORCUPINE TREE founder Steven Wilson. “I find myself reflecting on what sort of person would actually be so driven as to want to rule over a whole nation, and aren’t these people by definition the very last people that should be allowed to do so? The rats will always save themselves first.”
“Closure/Continuation” will be available as a seven-track standard CD, standard black vinyl 2×12″ LP, white vinyl 2×12″ LP, transparent blue vinyl 2×12″ LP, limited edition white cassette, and digital download. A limited audiophile deluxe LP will also be available, cut at 45rpm on 3×12″ clear vinyl in 12″ slipcase box with two bonus tracks; a limited audiophile deluxe CD in 12″ slipcase box will include the standard CD, a second disc with three bonus tracks and album instrumentals, Blu-ray disc with 5.1/Dolby Atmos and HD audio versions of the album, and an exclusive album art book. Pre-orders are available now.
“Closure/Continuation” — which follows 2009’s best-selling “The Incident” — includes such recently released singles as “Herd Culling”, “Of The New Day” and the labyrinthine “Harridan”, all available now at DSPs and streaming services. An array of official lyric videos, visualizers, and exclusive “Gear Talk” conversations with Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri and Gavin Harrison are streaming now at YouTube. Highlights include a stunning session performance of “Of The New Day”, filmed and recorded earlier this year at London’s world-famous AIR Studios.
PORCUPINE TREE will celebrate its long-overdue return with a wide-ranging global tour — the legendary group’s first since October 2010. Presented by Live Nation and Paladin Artists, North and South American dates begin September 10 at Toronto, Ontario’s Meridian Hall and then continue through performances in Mexico City, Mexico (October 4) and Santiago, Chile (October 7). European dates get underway October 21 in Berlin, Germany and then culminate at London’s world famous SSE Arena, Wembley on November 11.
One of the most forward-thinking, genre-defying rock bands of any era, PORCUPINE TREE was founded in 1987 by renowned musician/producer Steven Wilson as an outlet for the experimental recordings he was making outside of his acclaimed post-rock duo NO-MAN. With the addition of keyboard player Richard Barbieri and drummer Gavin Harrison, PORCUPINE TREE soon evolved into a proper band, releasing 10 studio albums between 1992 and 2009. Each new release saw PORCUPINE TREE exploring new musical ideas, their expansive music shifting from pastoral psychedelic rock and ambient electronic soundscapes to experimental pop and propulsive metal. Later releases like 2007’s Grammy Award-nominated “Fear Of A Blank Planet” and 2009’s “The Incident” — the band’s biggest seller thus far, reaching the top 25 in both the U.S. and the U.K. — saw PORCUPINE TREE effortlessly melding distinctive genres to create a groundbreaking musical universe all their own.
As relentlessly creative on stage as they are in the studio, PORCUPINE TREE proved innovative live performers known for sonic innovation and inventive visual productions. In October 2010, the band entered a period of hiatus following a spectacular concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall — their biggest live show to date.
The most collaborative album of their highly lauded career, “Closure / Continuation” doesn’t simply pick up where PORCUPINE TREE left off back in 2010. While the familiar traits of the band’s idiosyncratic sound remain intact, the new album very much places PORCUPINE TREE in the here and now, with greater texture and color than ever before.
Photo credit: Alex Lake