I love Porcupine Tree since I discovered them through a friend in 2002. The first album from them I ever bought was In Absentia. Then I picked up Stupid Dream, and was hooked through The Incident, which I felt, as has been well documented, was very subpar. Closure/Continuation was pretty good, although I have to admit, I don't go back to it much.
I say all this to say - fuck Steven Wilson. That guy thinks way too highly of himself. He has his fans, and I am one of them (to a degree), but the more and more he speaks, the more I dislike him. yes, we all fucking know that PT started as a solo thing for him, and he ended up incorporating musicians he liked. Well, guess what? It became a band, and yes, that requires some sacrifice on SW's part. So what's he do when he gets some pushback from said band? Shelves the fucking thing for a decade.
Okay, dude, whatever. But then, once you realize your last solo album was not as highly regarded as the ones before it (interest waning from folks with each release), you revive PT, cut out the bassist people love, the touring guitarist people love, and throw a bone to Gavin and Richard so they feel more involved in the process and make a bit more money. Well, I guess helping Gavin and Richard is good, but giving the middle finger to Colin and John? Really? And now, with all the talk about "well, PT may not be back" talk, SW is up to the same BS. He isn't in full "control" as much as he likes, and the band will likely go away again (until he needs more money).
SW can do whatever he wants - great songwriter, good musician, excellent engineer, mixer, and producer. But he really needs to check his fucking ego at the door. I expect a little bit out of a frontman, but it seems folks built him up so much as this "prog God," that he drank the Kool Aid and now believes his shit doesn't stink.
The music of Porcupine Tree (most of it) is timeless. And I appreciate that. But holy fuck SW needs to get his fucking ass kicked and be humbled a bit.