I have been posting most weekends using @detlev’s #metalweekend tag, but my main love of music is progressive and alternative music. Some of my posts have included these songs, but I feel they are not keeping with the spirit of metal.

I will continue to post article’s using #metalweekend occasionally but feel I have more to offer regarding these other genre’s that I am more familiar with.

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Introducing #alternativeweekend. Post an article that highlights THREE great songs that are either progressive or alternative and use the tag #alternativeweekend.

If you have a short story or something to offer regarding an opinion on your songs, then share it with us!

Last week I covered what I would describe as The Spacey Period of this band and this week it will be the more interesting period, in my opinion of course!

After Lighbulb Sun was released, the band dispensed with their drummer Chris Maitland. Gavin Harrison was the replacement and a new sound was about to be unleashed on to the fans.

The fact that Steven Wilson produced the excellent Blackwater Park the year before 'In Absentia' was released may have been a factor. You can’t really get much heaver music than Opeth and Steven did feature in some vocals on that album.

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We were only going to get FOUR albums before the band split in 2009, but these are just the best music they ever produced.

I will submit a song from each of the albums for this article to give you a feel of the type of music on each. There’s a lot of debate on which is the ‘best album’ of the four, most agreeing that the final one, ‘The Incident’ was the worst.

My opinion is that they are all good and I love ‘The Incident’ as much as the others.

The thing that makes this band different from other ‘metal’ bands is that they are not really metal. You can listen to a song that is quite normal and then you start hearing a typical metal riff, and then before you know it, its gone.

I found this concept very strange the first time I heard it. I have not heard it from any other band yet anywhere. It’s either that Iron Maiden type noise or early Radiohead noise. There is generally no crossover, except here.

Porcupine Tree – Trains (In Absentia - 2004)

In Absentia is regarded by many as the finest album the band ever made. Not all the songs are head banging ones, in fact very few are. This one is probably more accessible than many others. I do love that banjo that comes in halfway through the song. It may sound strange but it adds a lot to it.

Porcupine Tree – Deadwing (Deadwing - 2004)

For the Deadwing album I had to choose the title track. Mixing heavy synthesiser overlays on top of heavier music always hit my spot.

I read somewhere that the solo close the end of th song was performed by Adrian Belew of King Crimson. Steven Wilson is a competent guitarist but if he feels someone with more skill can do a better job, he gets them in to do it!

Porcupine Tree – Anesthetize (Fear of a Blank Planet - 2006)

How I wish I could witness this epic 3-in-1 song live. I say this as this 20 minute monster is really THREE songs welded together and you can clearly hear when it changes to the next stage.

There is a section in the middle part where the ‘metal’ comes in and then is gone like I previously explained. The final section is chilled and laid back. This is probably the finest song on this album.

Porcupine Tree – The Blind House (The Incident - 2009)

‘Time Flies’ is the best song on the final album, but since I covered this song in a previous article I’ll skip it this time. ‘The Incident’ is a concept album and has a recurring tune all the way through it. Once it gets into you, you will have it on repeat play.

‘The Blind House’ appears to be a heavy song, but it’s one of those heavy-in, heavy-out songs again typical of the band in their later years.

In the spirit of @detlev’s original idea, you need to remember one thing.

Pump up the volume, PLAY IT LOUD!

Guitar Image courtesy of http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/16642