Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion Review

Storm Corrosion is the long-awaited collaborative project from Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson and Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt—but you might not guess it from listening to this debut album. Rather than playing the progressive metal associated with those bands, the duo crafts dark, cinematic orchestral music closer to the experimentation of Univers Zero or Scott Walker. Perhaps the strongest track is “Lock Howl,” an odd folk song that sounds dreamy and dreary. Many Opeth and Porcupine Trees may be disappointed with the lack of heavy riffage, but those with open minds will find much to enjoy in this dense, atmospheric album. ...full text Some of their most diehard followers will approach this debut expecting a prog-metal monster. Those folks will be disappointed. Conversely, had they created just that, other devotees would have rightly criticised them for being too predictable. About the most “obvious” element is the King Crimson-esque artwork. Otherwise, the finale in a loose trilogy begun by Opeth’s polarising Heritage and Wilson’s excellent Grace For Drowning solo effort looks beyond what Wilson dubs the “conventional rock music vocabulary”, uncovering new methods of being heavy – sonically and emotionally – and progressive. It’s rarely conventional, although there are elements of past works. Drums and guitars regularly submit to woodwinds, electric pianos, orchestral flourishes, Mellotrons and keyboards within cinematic, deeply textured arrangements whose contrasting of nihilism and beauty often surprises. From opener, Drag Ropes, their vocal chemistry is apparent. Åkerfeldt’s falsetto extends himself in this respect on LjudetInnan, while Wilson sublimely lullabies over a folk-like acoustic foundation in the title track....full text While many of the musical devices employed are nothing new for either party, Storm Corrosion takes on an atmosphere completely removed from its sibling endeavors. The album plays out like a fantastical dream, sometimes foreboding and sinister but always beautiful and mystifying. “Ljudet Innan” closes things out with some soulful crooning from Akerfeldt before droning on in a tranquil sea of synth and eventually returning to a bit of light percussion, bluesy guitar licks, and some similarly soulful pining from Wilson.
The album will likely birth opinions spread across the board from Opeth and Porcupine Tree fans alike, the spacious nature undoubtedly boring some while bewitching others, ultimately boiling down to one’s own musical exposure and palate. Really, a fifty-fifty mixture of the two bands’ sounds would have just been a complacent copout, regardless of quality. While it’s unclear whether or not the twosome will follow up this effort, their eponymous debut stands as an impressive offering that may take repeated listens and an open mind....full text Widely lauded prog prime movers Steven Wilson and Mikael Åkerfeldt have produced remarkable bodies of work with their respective bands, Porcupine Tree and Opeth, but Storm Corrosion marks their first true musical collaboration. Far from conforming to what fans might expect, it's an unhinged, experimental affair: six sprawling pieces that draw from all manner of strange sources. The grinning spectres of acid folk and macabre psychedelia loom large on opener Drag Ropes, as the pair's voices entwine over a sinister miasma of strings, acoustic guitars and analogue keys. On the title track, an orchestra jabs at synapses with a grotesque dissonance worthy of Ligeti or Scelsi, while a rush of disintegrating noise threatens to derail a delicate vocal refrain. ...full text