Porcupine Tree's "Fear Of A Blank Planet" is Coming - Again, Deluxe Box Set w Blu Ray

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Unlike the other sets, the 5.1 mix has been remastered this time around.

Oh well... now I might start considering buying the boxset. As @JediJoker said, this album wasn't so much into the loudness war as the previous two (DR9), but it could have been better indeed.

I always wondered why they didn't remaster the 5.1 mixes in the In Absentia and Deadwing reissues. Those are a bit loud. The stereo mixes went from DR7 and DR6 to DR11 after the remastering!

When you get used to the highly dynamic mixes Steven Wilson and Bruce Soord are releasing in the last few years (stereo included), it's hard to go back to the overcompressed stuff. Interestingly, both had their "dark years" (admittedly, I also had them as a listener).
 
Last edited:
I always wondered why they didn't remaster the 5.1 mixes in the In Absentia and Deadwing reissues. Those are a bit loud.
I suspect it's because they didn't have the original sessions or pre-mastered files. Those 5.1's were mixed at Elliot Scheiner's studio in Connecticut, whereas everything from FOABP on was done by Steven.
 
Wild to me that he spends so much time doing re-remixes of his own mixes of other artists' work, but won't remix his own older work (when he himself often didn't do the original mix!). Enough of these overstuffed deluxe boxsets with nothing new. We need SW Atmos mixes of everything PT from Stupid Dream onward. Not to mention music that has not even seen a 5.1 mix - Blackfield I + II stand out especially.
 
I have In Absentia and Deadwing. Both are well worth the price of admission.
Agree, they are really good reissues. The stereo remasters are a noticeable improvement, as mentioned above (I still play CD's a lot in several situations, so I appreciate that), there are many pages of interesting liner notes and photos (quality paper in the artwork-style package), and I love the abundant bonus tracks, which are often as good as the album tracks themselves. As a plus for me, I had Deadwing only in CD before, I had never heard the surround mix until I bought the reissue.

Still, I'm not sure about the value of the FOABP boxset as an owner of the DVD-A edition, which includes the Nil Recurring EP. I'll wait for the reviews. The previous deluxe reissues didn't seem to be very limited - they're still easily available as of today.
 

Product Notes​

Transmission are proud to present the definitive edition of Porcupine Tree's Grammy-nominated 2007 album Fear Of A Blank Planet. With a 108-page hardback book, five CDs including remasters of the album and Nil Recurring mini album, approximately 55 minutes of previously unreleased demos, an early live performance of a still work-in-progress version of the album, as well as BBC and instore session recordings, this is the most complete collection of the album and related material to date. 112-Page Hardback Book: The centrepiece of this collection is a 112-page book, with an in-depth examination of the process of creating the album by Stephen Humphries with interviews, alongside rare photographs from photographers Lasse Hoile & Carl Glover and the band's personal archives. Disc 1 (CD): 2024 remaster of Fear Of A Blank Planet. Disc 2 (CD): 2024 remaster of Nil Recurring EP. Disc 3 (CD): Approx 55 minutes of previously unreleased demos by both band and Steven Wilson, offering a rare insight into the creative process for the album, including 2 tracks not recorded for the final album. Disc 4 (CD): A live recording of a work-in-progress version of the album made at The Garage, Saarbrucken on 23rd September 2006, while the band were still refining and developing the material. This has been mixed from the multitrack tapes for the first time for this edition. Disc 5 (CD): A 5 track BBC radio session (Maida Vale Studios, 13th April 2007) plus an 8 song acoustic / unplugged in-store performance from Park Avenue, Orlando (4th October 2007). Disc 6 (Blu-ray): Includes remastered stereo and 5. 1 surround sound mixes of Fear Of A Blank Planet and Nil Recurring, as well as a new 2024 documentary - 'The Making of Fear Of A Blank Planet'. Also features 3 music videos, 3 songs performed live on film at The Palladium, Koln (4th December 2007) and 2 live visual films ('Sleep Together' and 'Anesthetize'). Originally released in 2007, Fear Of A Blank Planet was Porcupine Tree's ninth studio album and both band and fans a-like consider it to be a high point in their catalogue. Their biggest selling album at the time, it was the band's first album to break into the Billboard Top 100 in the USA as well as charting significantly across Europe, earning them a Grammy nomination in the process. The album includes guest appearances from Robert Fripp (King Crimson) & Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and featured in Rolling Stone Magazine's Greatest Prog Albums Of All Time as well as being named Classic Rock's Album of the Year in 2007. A concept album inspired by the Bret Easton Ellis novel Lunar Park, Fear Of A Blank Planet's lyrics address how the adolescent protagonist battles his terminal boredom and attention-deficit disorders with a regimen of prescription drugs, TV, computer gaming, mindless violence, empty ***, and self-harm. Following the release of Fear Of A Blank Planet in 2007, Porcupine Tree solidified their reputation as one of the rock's most celebrated bands with their 2009 release The Incident garnering critical acclaim and earning the band another Grammy nomination. After a significant hiatus while members moved on to other projects, 2022's highly anticipated return with Closure/Continuation demonstrated the band's unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of their sound. This Fear Of A Blank Planet Transmission box set offers fans an unparalleled experience, revisiting the album with new, previously unreleased content and 2024 remastered audio.
 
The latest justforkicks.de mailorder catalogue announced this box or I call it better book too. 99.99€. Release date: 2024-10-18.
Same content as HenkG mentioned.

When you try to find it in their online shop: nothing.
Similar to burningshed. It's strange. Very strange indeed.
 
One thing I see that’s new here (not very relevant to most of us, but worth pointing out) is the addition of a remastered stereo mix of the Nil Recurring EP on the blu ray, which previously was only available in 5.1 on the DVD-A.
 
Back
Top