The progressive metal gods have returned from the dead, Steven Wilson fresh with a couple new albums down his belt since Porcupine Tree’s last album, with a new single titled ‘Harridan’. The single is over eight minutes in length, with every second filled with bliss and talent.

The song begins right off the bat with an odd-time signature riff that serves as the foundation for the first section. The instrumentation is extremely tight without sounding constricted, and the musicality is wide enough to give space despite the complex rhythms and patterns. Steven Wilson’s voice is full of harmony and grace, as he always delivers. His voice really shines the brightest in the first part’s chorus. There’s a sense of mystery within the progression, which really adds a lot to the overall message of the song, as the structure keeps moving and changing in mysterious ways. The first break is followed by a much louder, and heavy, section that almost sounds like extreme metal. The movement passes, and the vibe of the beginning of the song is reprised to a certain extent, albeit feeling a bit more freeform. The following sections all follow the same ideas, but are completely instrumental. Just when the listener might feel pleasantly lost at this moment, the song quickly and suddenly returns to the chorus, only to go right back to an instrumental break, bridging the second and third part. The last part is led by an acoustic guitar, a shy piano, and Steven Wilson’s reverb-heavy voice. The section is the shortest, and the most harmonically complex section, never really sure of where it’s going in the most beautiful ways. It’s also quite melancholic, which serves more as an addition to the original themes and ideas musically brought forth in the tune. 

As a complete package, ‘Harridan’ feels like a three-part story, but works masterfully as the first music from the progressive metal legends in over ten years (and a breakup). The trio still maintain the quality previously performed by a bigger band, providing plenty of technical prowess and top-level musical passages. It’s too bad this single was released almost a year prior to the album’s release date, which is set for June 2023. With that being said, this single provides more than enough for fans’ and non-fans alike to chew on.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.