Steven Wilson v. To. The. Bone.

[King Postwhore]

Jesus, it's sounds amazing in 5.1.   

[senecadawg2]

I wish I had that setup. Hopefully some day soon.

Anyways, this album is growing on me with each additional listen.

[KevShmev]

Anybody else getting a Signify / Up the Downstair vibe from Regret #9?

Honestly, not really.

The keyboard solo is very Pink Floyd-esque more than anything, and the guitar solo is far more flashy than anything Wilson himself plays.  Regardless, that is a beast of a song.

Jesus, it's sounds amazing in 5.1.

I can imagine.  Actually, I don't have to, cause a buddy of mine who has a great surround sound set-up will be getting the 5.1, so I'll listen to it over there pretty soon.

[bout to crash]

I GOT MINE

Unfortunately I don't have enough time between work and the writing group I'm going to, so I won't be able to listen to it til about 9 tonight. I think I'm going to leave the package sealed until then, because I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself once it's open.

[KevShmev]

Just give in and do it. 

[PixelDream]

Ancestral is pretty much my favorite song ever right now. It's Steven Wilson reinventing himself for 13 minutes. It's blows my mind and my balls away with the emotion, its epic nature and raw intensity.

[Sacul]

HCE is pretty much my favorite SW album right now. It's Steven Wilson reinventing himself for 66 minutes. It's blows my mind and my balls away with the emotion, its epic nature and raw intensity.

Fixed for me.

[bout to crash]

Just give in and do it. 

I only had 45 minutes! No way.

[RandalGraves]

I went into the music store expecting to pick up just the CD and Blu-ray packages.  I told myself I didn't need the Deluxe Edition.  Then, I saw it just sitting in the store.  Beckoning me.

...suffice it to say, I have no regrets picking up that set. Following the Blu-ray along with the pages in the book was a great experience and adds a lot to the concept as a whole.

[Nick]

Every. Single. Person.

That I've seen talk about the deluxe set has been fucking drooling over it. The content for the $ was certainly not there, but the set itself is obviously fantastic, and now I'm kinda regretting not getting it.

[RandalGraves]

Every. Single. Person.

That I've seen talk about the deluxe set has been fucking drooling over it. The content for the $ was certainly not there, but the set itself is obviously fantastic, and now I'm kinda regretting not getting it.

My wallet is f*cking regretting it, I'll tell ya that much!  I'll be passing on my next few impulse buys for sure.  "No, you're not getting that Blu-ray.  You picked up the Deluxe Erase, remember?"

Still, money comes and goes.  Even if I only pull out the box a handful of times, those are experiences I wouldn't have had otherwise.

[KevShmev]

Routine is just...my...God.

[Sigz]

Routine is just...my...God.

Seriously.

Only on my first listen right now, on Home Invasion. I was kinda hesitant at the first few songs, but now I'm diggin it all sorts of hard.

[Heretic]

Yeah, this album is just really good. Continually impressed with how much good music this man can create.

[mikemangioy]

Routine is just...my...God.

When it explodes after the piano part... shivers.

Actually, on my first time I nearly shitted myself 

[bout to crash]

Small spoilers for anyone interested in living through the story the first time listening to the record




Story wise, the end. What happens there? Does she commit suicide? Or does she disappear like the old lady in the story?

The way I see it is that she stops in the middle of writing a letter because she's 'feeling drowsy', and then dies never getting to finish the letter. I haven't read the lyrics, or listened to the album more than once (except for Happy Returns), so that's just what I thought just what I've been picturing. If that's what it is, then it's really sad.

I don't even know what old lady you are referring to, so I might be way off, since the lyrics of Happy Returns are pretty much the only ones I really noticed.

Well in the deluxe edition there's a story of a young girl who disappears. Just off the radar. Yeaaaars later, when she's an old lady she reappears and dies at the same moment. The main character always felt like that was a sort of ideal life.
I believe she never finishes the letter because she can't, not after all those years. But the drowzyness is something I glossed over, that's a good point too.

Well, as for the story of the "old" lady, she's not actually old. She disappears for many many years but when she returns she's still 28, even though she was born 104 years ago. Which leads me to my next point...

Why is nobody addressing the weird, potentially paranormal shit going on in this woman's life? She is being visited by unnamed beings and is talking about going somewhere with them. I suppose these could be hallucinations that come from isolating herself, buuut a lot of the signs point to maybe not. I mean, she wrote a diary entry as a teen that mentioned some weird related shit (a mysterious girl talked to her about how she can come back if she wants to, etc., and her sister told her not to mention it to anybody), and there's a copy of the weird "Key of Skeleton" book that was supposedly given to her by "them" in the deluxe edition. Sure, things are a bit ambiguous but I don't understand how people can just be saying "she reenters society" or "she dies" with all of this other crap on the table.

Anyway, I've listened twice so far and it's gorgeous, but it's going to take some further absorption.

[ariich]

Wow, the reviews here are amazing. I really need to get this album!

[Zantera]

My only "fear" is that this will become another The Incident, great the first X amount of listens, but fades away a lot with time. I mentioned it on another forum, but my only complaint (which is fairly small) is that the album lacks any major powerhouses for me. All of the songs are great, but none of them blew me away the same way that Raven title-track did, or Deform/Raider II on Grace did. I will say that a strong album with only great songs is probably much better than a decent/good album with a few home runs and a few misses, so I just hope the life length on the album is long.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Routine is just...my...God.

When it explodes after the piano part... shivers.

Actually, on my first time I nearly shitted myself 

It's my favorite song on the album. Unbelievable.

EDIT: This album is incredible. Hard to tell if it's on my top shelf of albums yet, as it needs to stand the test of time, but I love it about as much as one can love an album after a day or two.

[Nihil-Morari]

Well, as for the story of the "old" lady, she's not actually old. She disappears for many many years but when she returns she's still 28, even though she was born 104 years ago. Which leads me to my next point...

Why is nobody addressing the weird, potentially paranormal shit going on in this woman's life? She is being visited by unnamed beings and is talking about going somewhere with them. I suppose these could be hallucinations that come from isolating herself, buuut a lot of the signs point to maybe not. I mean, she wrote a diary entry as a teen that mentioned some weird related shit (a mysterious girl talked to her about how she can come back if she wants to, etc., and her sister told her not to mention it to anybody), and there's a copy of the weird "Key of Skeleton" book that was supposedly given to her by "them" in the deluxe edition. Sure, things are a bit ambiguous but I don't understand how people can just be saying "she reenters society" or "she dies" with all of this other crap on the table.

Anyway, I've listened twice so far and it's gorgeous, but it's going to take some further absorption.

Nonono, the way I read it is she returns as a 104 year old women, but dies age 28 cause that was her age when she disappeared. She only had 28 years of life as a regular person. But I do have to say that the way I read it, the years don't add up. So there could be something to say about your view.

Well, the 'aliens' are hallucinations. I don't see SW writing about paranormal or even extra terrestrial beings. I think she saw things, and even drew things while under the influence of hallucinations. But your point remains, this wouldn't be in the deluxe edition if it had no influence on the story. So maybe it's a key to understanding her disappearance better, I just don't hope SW comes out and says: 'well my idea was that she was abducted by green marsians'

[Nick]

Another day, another RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE.

And I basically won't be able to listen tomorrow, so even if it comes I'm stuck till Friday. Great work Burning Shed. Back to Amazon it is with any future purchases.

[mikemangioy]

My copy arrived today! :DDDDDD

[Xanthul]

Another day, another RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE.

And I basically won't be able to listen tomorrow, so even if it comes I'm stuck till Friday. Great work Burning Shed. Back to Amazon it is with any future purchases.

Same here, still waiting. It's really baffling how preordering and showing support ends up being a negative. Next time I will just wait for the release date and pick it up at the local store.

[PixelDream]

Listening to Routine Ninet solo vocal version. SW made the right choices which parts to give away and which to keep for  himself.

[JayOctavarium]

I love the vocal melodies in Routine.


and I think I am in love with the female vocalist's voice. Like... her voice is fucking sexy. I'd have sweet relations with her voice.

[Mebert78]

and I think I am in love with the female vocalist's voice. Like... her voice is fucking sexy. I'd have sweet relations with her voice.

 

[KevShmev]

  It's really baffling how preordering and showing support ends up being a negative. 

Yep. It's why I never bother with pre-orders anymore, especially when I know it is a CD I can pick up at Best Buy.

[The Letter M]

As a small matter, what's everyone's preference/opinion on the varying track-listings? Is the album 8 tracks of 11?

Personally, I like the track-list with 8 tracks on it, especially since the 3 pairs of tracks that are stuck together definitely flow together and are meant to be together, so sticking them together as one track just makes sense to me. Then again, I love SFAM where each Scene is a single track, but that's just me.

-Marc.

[PixelDream]

My mp3 review copy had 8 tracks, and as far as I know every retail version has 11.. At least my special edition does.

[The Letter M]

My mp3 review copy had 8 tracks, and as far as I know every retail version has 11.. At least my special edition does.

The iTunes deluxe version has the main album as 8 tracks with 2 bonus tracks from the Alt Mix bonus disc off the Limited/Deluxe Edition.

-Marc.

[seasonsinthesky]

As a small matter, what's everyone's preference/opinion on the varying track-listings? Is the album 8 tracks of 11?

Personally, I like the track-list with 8 tracks on it, especially since the 3 pairs of tracks that are stuck together definitely flow together and are meant to be together, so sticking them together as one track just makes sense to me. Then again, I love SFAM where each Scene is a single track, but that's just me.

-Marc.

ehhh the only one that makes absolute, inarguable sense to keep together is "Home Invasion/Regret #9." while the first and last tracks obviously overlap (or use the same synth from the track before, as in "Ascendant...") and you're supposed to listen in order, they're very clearly separate entities, their own thoughts – small paragraphs of the same story. so besides the overlap (which also happens across "Regret #9" and "Transience," which i don't see anyone arguing as a required pairing for this exact reason), i don't see why "First Regret" and "Ascendant Here On..." need to be grouped in, save the shuffle playlist thing.

[XB0BX]

Still no HCE for me either. And I got mine from Amazon (Canadian, though).


Not yet shipped
Delivery estimate: Friday, March 6, 2015 - Tuesday, March 10, 2015 by 8:00pm

...why.

[PixelDream]

Still truly amazing, nothing's changed. It's a bar-raising conceptual rock album with almost a 'pop' face to it, and yet it takes way more listens than you might think in order to fully grasp what SW has accomplished here. It's almost scary. 

[KevShmev]

Still truly amazing, nothing's changed. It's a bar-raising conceptual rock album with almost a 'pop' face to it, and yet it takes way more listens than you might think in order to fully grasp what SW has accomplished here. It's almost scary.

Well said. 

Every listen is getting better than the previous one. 

[The King in Crimson]

Goddamn you people. My copy is still en route. Where is it oh ye gods of the mail system?