The Incident (album)

The band started recording the album in February 2009. This was confirmed by a post on their official website: "Writing for the next PT studio record is well underway, with the band recently spending two weeks scheduled in the English countryside working on new tracks. Recording of these pieces and a new 35-minute song cycle [written by Steven Wilson] were due to start in February..." A tour was announced on the band's website and MySpace, along with dates, following release of the new album.{{cite web|url=http://www.porcupinetree.com/news.cfm#1597|title=Porcupine Tree-News|date=16 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217022147/http://porcupinetree.com/news.cfm |archive-date=17 December 2008 |url-status=dead}} Around March and April, Wilson commented that the 35-minute song kept evolving, becoming a 55-minute song occupying the entire disc.

On 12 June 2009, details of The Incident were revealed on the Porcupine Tree website: "the record is set to be released via Roadrunner Records worldwide on 22 September as a double CD: the centre-piece is the title track, which takes up the whole of the first disc. The 55-minute work is described as a slightly surreal song cycle about beginnings and endings and the sense that 'after this, things will never be the same again'; the release date was later moved to 15 September. The self-produced album is completed by four standalone compositions that developed out of band writing sessions last December - Flicker, Bonnie the Cat, Black Dahlia, and Remember Me Lover feature on a separate EP length disc to stress their independence from the song cycle."{{cite web|url=http://www.porcupinetree.com/news.cfm|title=The Incident|publisher=Porcupine Tree|date=12 June 2009}} On 13 July, the first preview of the album was posted at both Roadrunner and the band's MySpace pages. The track "Time Flies", described by Wilson as "sentimental" and the "centerpiece" of the album, became a music video directed by usual Porcupine Tree collaborator Lasse Hoile, along with an edited single.[http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/page/News?news_id=80332 Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) Talks About 'Time Flies'] roadrunnerrecords.co.uk. 20 July 2009. Retrieved on 27 July 2009

A DVD-A edition was released on the Transmission Label as Transmission 11.1 through Burning Shed. On 12 April 2010, an acoustic version of "I Drive the Hearse" was released through the Roadrunner website.{{cite web|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/page/News?news_id=92572|title=PORCUPINE TREE'S 'I DRIVE THE HEARSE' PERFORMED ACOUSTICALLY|publisher=Roadrunner Records|date=12 April 2010}} On 9 July 2010, a music video for "Bonnie the Cat" was published.[http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/porcupinetree/bonnie/ The Worldwide Video Premiere of Bonnie the Cat] roadrunnerrecords.co.uk. Retrieved on 10 July 2010.

The chord progression in several songs on the record, particularly parts of "The Blind House" and "The Séance", is reused from the No-Man song "The Break-Up For Real" (from 2003's Together We're Stranger).

The concept for The Incident emerged as Wilson was caught in a motorway traffic jam whilst driving past a road accident:

{{blockquote|text="There was a sign saying 'POLICE – INCIDENT' and everyone was slowing down to see what had happened... Afterwards, it struck me that 'incident' is a very detached word for something so destructive and traumatic for the people involved. And then I had the sensation that the spirit of someone that had died in the accident entered into my car and was sitting next to me.

The irony of such a cold expression for such seismic events appealed to me, and I began to pick out other 'incidents' reported in the media and news, I wrote about the evacuation of teenage girls from a religious cult in Texas, a family terrorizing its neighbours, a body found floating in a river by some people on a fishing trip, and more. Each song is written in the first person and tries to humanize the detached media reportage".|sign=Steven Wilson{{cite web | url = http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/news/PORCUPINE-TREE-REVEAL-DETAILS-OF-THE-INCIDENT-20315.aspx | title = Porcupine Tree Reveal Details of the Incident|access-date= 18 June 2009}}}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 72/100{{cite web|title=Critic Reviews for The Incident|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-incident/porcupine-tree|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=4 May 2015}}

| rev1 = Allmusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1634114|pure_url=yes}} The Incident review] allmusic.com. Retrieved on 19 September 2009.

| rev2 = CHARTattack

| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090928033650/http://www.chartattack.com/reviews/74850/porcupine-tree-the-incident Porcupine Tree - The Incident]}} chartattack.com. Retrieved on 23 September 2009.

| rev3 = Caller-Times

| rev3Score = {{Rating|3|5}}[http://www.caller.com/news/2009/oct/02/mustaines-metal-mayhem/ Tough as Porcupine Tree] Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved on 2 October 2009.

| rev4 = NOW

| rev4Score = {{rating|4|5}} [http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/discs.cfm?content=171400 NOW Magazine // Music // Porcupine Tree]

| rev5 = PopMatters

| rev5Score = {{rating|7|10}}

[http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/112215-porcupine-tree-the-incident/ The Incident review] popmatters.com. Retrieved on 12 October 2009.

| rev6 = Radio City

| rev6Score = {{rating|4|5}} [http://www.planetradiocity.com/musicreporter/review.php?reviewid=359 Steve Wilson Delights, Again]

| rev7 = Rocksound

| rev7Score = (9/10) [http://www.rocksound.tv/reviews/article/porcupine-tree-the-incident Porcupine Tree - `The Incident´ - Reviews - Rock Sound]. Rocksound magazine. Retrieved on 8 December 2009.

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|last=Fricke |first=David |title=Porcupine Tree: The Incident |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/30054977/review/30264351/the_incident |work=Rolling Stone |access-date=29 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312025642/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/30054977/review/30264351/the_incident |archive-date=12 March 2010 }}

| rev9 = Weekender

| rev9Score = {{rating|5|5}}[http://www.theweekender.com/music/Porcupine_Tree_outdoes_itself_09-29-2009.html Porcupine Tree outdoes itself] Weekender. Retrieved on 30 September 2009.

}}

In January 2010, Eclipsed magazine critics named The Incident their "Album of the Year" and also gave credit to the band for "Best Concert of The Year", while "Time Flies" reached No. 5 in the "Best Song of the Year" category.{{cite web|url=http://porcupinetree.com/news.cfm|title=Eclipsed again|publisher=Porcupine Tree - Official Website|date=29 March 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419042624/http://www.porcupinetree.com/news.cfm|archive-date=19 April 2010}}

Readers of the Teraz Rock Polish magazine voted Steven Wilson as the "Best Foreign Instrumentalist/Musician of 2009", surpassing other widely known artists, such as The Edge, Jerry Cantrell, Jack White, Kerry King, Kirk Hammett, Tom Morello, Mark Knopfler, and Omar Rodríguez-López.{{cite web|url=http://porcupinetree.com/news.cfm|title=Pollwinner!|publisher=Porcupine Tree - Official Website|date=5 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419042624/http://www.porcupinetree.com/news.cfm|archive-date=19 April 2010}}

Classic Rock magazine critics voted Porcupine Tree #1 "Best Band" and The Incident as #1 "Album of the Year"; The Incident tour was voted #4 and Gavin Harrison gained second place for "Best Drummer"; Steven Wilson achieved #4 as "Best Guitarist" and was chosen #1 "Prog Icon of 2009".{{cite web|url=http://porcupinetree.com/news.cfm|title=PT Tops The Polls|publisher=Porcupine Tree - Official Website|date=22 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419042624/http://www.porcupinetree.com/news.cfm|archive-date=19 April 2010}}

Once again, a Porcupine Tree song was chosen "Song of the Day" by NPR. "Drawing the Line" is the second NPR pick from the band since "Sentimental", off 2007's Fear of a Blank Planet.{{cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125344732 | title=Porcupine Tree: The Virtual and the Visceral : NPR | publisher=NPR | date=30 March 2010}}

Indian newspaper The Hindu commented on "Time Flies" by asserting, "The epic 11-minute track is simply one of Porcupine Tree's best. Embodied in melodic simplicity with a rhythmic strumming pattern, the piece undulates with cascading crescendos, a rumbling mid-section and a propulsive finish."{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/04/12/stories/2010041251320300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107181214/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/04/12/stories/2010041251320300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2012|title=Metro Plus Bangalore / Music : Beatstreet|access-date=12 April 2010|location=Chennai, India|work=The Hindu|date=12 April 2010}}

The first disc of the album was intended to be a single 55-minute song, but it is segmented into 14 sequential tracks.

All lyrics written by Steven Wilson.{{track listing

| title1 = Occam's Razor

| music1 = Steven Wilson

| length1 = 1:55

| title2 = The Blind House

| music2 = Wilson

| length2 = 5:47

| title3 = Great Expectations

| music3 = Wilson

| length3 = 1:26

| title4 = Kneel and Disconnect

| music4 = Wilson

| length4 = 2:03

| title5 = Drawing the Line

| music5 = Wilson

| length5 = 4:43

| title6 = The Incident

| music6 = Wilson

| length6 = 5:20

| title7 = Your Unpleasant Family

| music7 = Wilson

| length7 = 1:48

| title8 = The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train

| music8 = Wilson

| length8 = 2:00

| title9 = Time Flies

| music9 = Wilson

| length9 = 11:40

| title10 = Degree Zero of Liberty

| music10 = Wilson

| length10 = 1:45

| title11 = Octane Twisted

| music11 = Porcupine Tree

| length11 = 5:03

| title12 = The Séance

| music12 = Wilson

| length12 = 2:39

| title13 = Circle of Manias

| music13 = Porcupine Tree

| length13 = 2:18

| title14 = I Drive the Hearse

| music14 = Wilson

| length14 = 6:41

| total_length = 55:08

}}

Disc 2 contains tracks recorded outside the song cycle.

All lyrics written by Steven Wilson.

{{track listing

| title1 = Flicker

| music1 = Porcupine Tree

| length1 = 3:42

| title2 = Bonnie the Cat

| music2 = Porcupine Tree

| length2 = 5:45

| title3 = Black Dahlia

| music3 = Richard Barbieri

| length3 = 3:40

| title4 = Remember Me Lover

| music4 = Steven Wilson

| length4 = 7:28

| total_length = 20:35

}}

Some CD pressings and all DVD-A pressings combine both discs on one single disc.{{cite news|title=Porcupine Tree – The Incident |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/169518-Porcupine-Tree-The-Incident |website=discogs.com |access-date=15 October 2023}}

{{track listing

| headline = Japanese & iTunes bonus tracks

| title5 = Way Out of Here

| writer5 = Porcupine Tree

| length5 = 7:49

| note5 = Live

| title6 = What Happens Now?

| writer6 = Porcupine Tree

| length6 = 8:09

| note6 = Live

}}

These two bonus tracks were recorded in Tilburg, The Netherlands, in 2008 for the live DVD Anesthetize.

{{track listing

| title2 = Flicker

| music2 = Porcupine Tree

| length2 = 3:42

| title3 = Bonnie the Cat

| music3 = Porcupine Tree

| length3 = 5:45

| title4 = Black Dahlia

| music4 = Richard Barbieri

| length4 = 3:40

| title5 = Remember Me Lover

| music5 = Steven Wilson

| length5 = 7:28

| title6 = Extra Features

• Time Flies Video
• Octane Twisted Film
• TV spot
• Photo Gallery

}}

• Porcupine Tree – arrangements
• Steven Wilson – vocals, guitars, keyboards, mixing
• Colin Edwin – bass, double bass
• Richard Barbieri – synthesizers, keyboards
• Gavin Harrison – drums, percussion

• Engineers: Steve Orchard, John Wesley (engineered guitars)
• Mastering: Jon Astley (stereo), Darcy Proper (5.1)

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