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[Marvin the Martian]

review by Gregory Heaney

Opeth frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson bring their prog powers as a duo on the self-titled debut of their new project, Storm Corrosion. Longtime admirers and musical collaborators, with Wilson acting as producer on some of Opeth's groundbreaking albums and Åkerfeldt appearing on some Porcupine Tree tracks, it was only a matter of time before these two made the jump from guests to co-conspirators on a new musical venture.

The end product is something altogether different from what fans of either band might expect, moving away from the rock and metal of the pair's main gigs in favor of a more flowing and expansive folk-touched sound. These spacious musical boundaries give the album a beautiful, dreamlike feeling as it drifts from track to track with a measured pace that shows off the highly refined songwriting ability being put to use on the record.

Given the nature of their earlier collaborations, fans diving into Storm Corrosion expecting a sequel to Blackwater Park are going to be disappointed as they unexpectedly hit the shallow end of the pool, but even though the album doesn't sound much like the metal masterpiece, that doesn't make it unworthy of a listener's attention, and anyone open-minded enough to approach the project without any expectations will be quickly swept off into the spacious perennial twilight created by these two master craftsmen.