There is a reason why the Progressive genre has a small
albeit loyal fan-base. And that reason is the music composed by bands like
Opeth, Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree to name a few. I was introduced to the
name Porcupine Tree as a band which came to India to perform live at the
Mood-Indigo (undoubtedly India’s most extravagant cultural festival at IIT-B).
Little did I know that I would become such a huge fan of PT and would regret
missing their live show.
According to me, Anesthestize
is one of the best songs that PT has ever composed. It has that true progressive
flavour to it with the song catching up different moods in phases. The initial drumming
structure has Gavin Harrison’s signature all over it with a simple 4x4 beat
built into a beautiful sequence of beats over the toms. This track stands as an
epitome of his drumming prowess. Kicking those triplets & quads throughout
the song make it sync perfectly with the superb bass playing. The tempo starts
building up at 7:47 and my favourite part is the riff at 9:17 and again at 11:46.
The track again changes gears at 12:54 in such a wonderful way.
This song, to me, is a drum anthem with all parts played
with the ultimate sense and taste. People who believe Gavin Harrison to be a
boring technical drummer have probably never listened to Anesthetize. It’s a pity that PT is on a break these days. Can’t
wait for their next album to come out!
This live video of the song makes it even more difficult to
believe that creating such music is humanly possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKeTD8E8Nkg
Signing off with that for now. Keep rocking! \m/