30. Gravity Eyelids, by Porcupine Tree
(In Absentia, 2002)
Back at the end of 2000's, we were hard pressed to choose the best individual song of that decade. Following a lengthy period of thinking and comparing, we finally decided that number one position should go to that other song. The alternative would have been Gravity Eyelids by Porcupine Tree. We won't name that other song right now as we will most likely run into it further up on the list. In fact, we can call that a certainty. Still a little unsure if we made the right choice at the time, Gravity Eyelids is nonetheless the greatest example of modern metal laced symphonic progressive rock we can think of. Please check it out below.
The greatness of Gravity Eyelids lies in endless innovation as well as the varying musical styles contained within its relatively short running time. Too many recording artists go on to create an entire album from an equivalent number of ideas; here, Porcupine Tree is content with only eight minutes and packs all those ideas into that short timeframe. In Absentia was the first PT album where the group started toying with prog metal influences. This is one of the tracks where you can hear that particularly well.
29. Dissolving With the Night, by Blackfield
(Welcome to My DNA, 2011)
Blackfield has appeared on the list several times already, but Dissolving With the Night is the first track on it that originates from their third album. In fact, all others so far have been taken from their 2004 debut. The major difference here is that those tracks were written and performed by a duo, whereas this third album is a de facto solo album by Aviv Geffen. Please check out this stunning track below.
In the previous blog entry, when discussing Pain (#34), we already concluded that it seems to be Geffen who writes their most depressing songs. Now that Steven Wilson isn't even writing the songs, here is ample proof of that. Dissolving With the Night is a beautiful but immensely sad song about longing to be gone from this particular plane of existence - without even leaving a trace, like the lyrics state. They border on ludicrous self-pity but the music is so strong that it is easy to overlook an occasional banality.
28. Octavarium, by Dream Theater
(Octavarium, 2005)
American prog metal giants Dream Theater are the surprise element this time around. Even though we have plenty of their songs in our collection, for some reason none of them have appeared on the list until now. And what a grand entrance this song is! The title track of their 2005 album Octavarium is a 24-minute masterwork whose grandiosity can only be outdone by the utmost playing skill of the musicians. This is Dream Theater in their prime, and although the rest of the album is admittedly more than only a bit uneven, its title track is pure gold. Naturally, it closes the album.
We have already written about the track in June 2012, back when we were creating our Top 20 Long Prog Masterpieces list. At the time, this track almost made it to Top 10, eventually landing on the eleventh place. What makes its achievement on this list particularly impressive is its running time: you would think that it is easy for shorter songs to be played over and over again, but that longer tracks like this would be scarce especially this near the top. Well, they are scarce but there are some truly great exceptions to that rule, and Octavarium is one of them.
27. Scars, by Blackfield
(Blackfield, 2004)
Blackfield has appeared on the list numerous times already. This time, we are once again back on their 2004 debut album after our short sidestep to the third one (#29). What more can we say? Aviv Geffen and Steven Wilson's debut album was one of the key releases of the last decade that left a huge impact on us and even though we no longer listen to it as frequently as we did back then, there is no denying its historical significance. At the time, it felt like one of the best albums ever and would have been a strong contender for the title of Album of the decade had we not already heard Porcupine Tree's peerless In Absentia prior to its release.
Scars is one of the prettiest songs on the album, as you can hear if you click Play on the video embedded above. It is actually not an original work, but an English version of a song recorded by Geffen in Hebrew already four years earlier. Wilson's contribution is limited to co-writing the English lyrics as well as singing; Geffen's old band's playing is re-used on the Blackfield album as it is. This method was also employed on the group's second album: Geffen's old songs that were originally recorded in Hebrew were re-recorded in English.
26. Over and Out, by Foo Fighters
(In Your Honor, 2005)
So far, American rock group Foo Fighters has not appeared on the list anywhere near as often as Blackfield or Porcupine Tree. To be more precise, only twice: with Learn to Fly (#175) and the title track of their 2005 double album, In Your Honor (#165). That album is also one of those that really stirred us at ProgActive. First of all, we quite enjoyed its concept: release a double album with Disc 1 containing all the straightforward rock songs and Disc 2 containing mellow, acoustic songs. While we naturally veer towards the latter, we couldn't help enjoying some of the rocking songs as well. The title track is one of those.
The absolutely beautiful ballad Over and Out is from Disc 2, as it shows on top of the link embedded above: a melancholy, memorably written song about love either about to be lost or already lost. This is the subject of many of the most striking love songs. Are you there? Do you read me? Are you there? I don't feel you any more. There is nothing exceptional about the lyrics, but combined with the powerhouse songwriting, Over and Out is a true classic of the 21st century. In our opinion, it is the second best song by Foo Fighters we have ever heard. The best one might appear further up on the list.
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