The following is a listing of officially released works by the English band Porcupine Tree. The band has released eleven major studio albums and 7 EPs, as well as many limited editions and revamped material.
At the time Steven Wilson was going to sign to the Delerium label, he owned a lot of material recorded during the mid- and later '80s that he had recorded subsequently on three demo tapes - Tarquin's Seaweed Farm, Love, Death & Mussolini and The Nostalgia Factory. He sent copies of those tapes to people he felt would be interested in the recordings, asking them to spread the word. Delerium originally intended to release all of that material in a double debut album, but Wilson decided to just pick the songs he considered the best ones. These songs were mastered to make Porcupine Tree's first studio album, On the Sunday of Life... (1992); all of the leftover tracks would be later released on a compilation album called Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape (1994).
Richard Barbieri and Colin Edwin met Steven Wilson to play on a few songs he was working on. Again, there was a number of songs written that would perfectly fit on a double album, but one of these songs saw the light prior to the release of their second studio album on the Voyage 34 (1992) single, thereafter followed by Voyage 34: Remixes (1993), and the other material ended up on the Staircase Infinities (1994) EP. Finally, ten tracks were chosen for their next studio album, Up the Downstair (1993), which Melody Maker described as "a psychedelic masterpiece". At the end of 1993, Chris Maitland joined the band for live shows and would later record some drums and percussions for three songs of Porcupine Tree's third studio album, The Sky Moves Sideways (1995), an album that made the press refer them as the "Pink Floyd of the nineties". They did not record as a full band until Signify (1996), the first Porcupine Tree album to be performed entirely by the four members. It contained shorter compositions and less improvisation than its predecessors.
The next album was delayed for almost three years as the band was looking for a new record label after finishing their deal with Delerium. In the meantime, they launched Metanoia (1998), a compilation of improvisations recorded during the Signify sessions, some of which were later shaped into songs. Finally, they signed to Snapper/K-Scope and the album Stupid Dream (1999) was issued. The album was a departure in style from all their previous works, in favour of a more song-oriented direction, as a consequence this alienated some older fans but brought a lot of new ones. Its follow-up, Lightbulb Sun (2000), assured the fan base and solidified the ground of its predecessor. For this one, they worked with Dave Gregory of XTC, who provided string arrangements. A collection of EP tracks and out-takes from the previous two albums was launched a year after under the title of Recordings (2001).
In Absentia (2002) became one of their most successful works, remaining a favourite to many fans, charting in many European countries and selling over 100,000 copies in its first year of release.Due to steven wilsons rediscovering heavy metal, from 2002 on the band moved forward in a much heavier (and successful) direction. Innerviews-Pt The album was the first release to feature Gavin Harrison, replacing Maitland on drums. Deadwing (2005) appeared the Billboard chart at number 132 of the Billboard 200 (which was the first entry the band achieved on the Billboard chart) and was voted the second-best album of 2005 in Sound & Vision, the most widely distributed US magazine in the field of home electronics and entertainment.
Porcupine Tree's next studio album, Fear of a Blank Planet (2007), debuted at number 59 on the Billboard 200, won the Album of the Year award for the 2007 edition of the Classic Rock magazine awards, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Surround Sound Album category. The album features collaborations with Rush's guitarist Alex Lifeson and King Crimson's Robert Fripp. The title is a play on words relating to Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet album.
On 2007 they collaborated with Yoko Ono on the song "Death of Samantha", in Ono's remix album Yes, I'm a Witch.
In September 2007, they released Nil Recurring, an EP of four leftover tracks from the recording sessions for Fear of a Blank Planet. It was released on Transmission, the band's own record label as a limited edition of 5000 copies that did not take long to sell out through the band's online store, Burning Shed, forcing the band to keep printing more copies. Nevertheless, the EP was reissued on 18 February 2008 on Peaceville Records.
An in-store appearance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida from 4 October 2007, was recorded and released on CD under the name of We Lost the Skyline. The title is a reference to the lyrics on "The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One)". The album was released on vinyl on 21 March 2008 and is the first official acoustic live record to be officially released by the band.
A live album from the Fear of a Blank Planet tour, Ilosaarirock, was released in March 2009. It was recorded from their performance at the Ilosaarirock Festival on 14 July 2007. However, this album was only released to members of the Residents of a Blank Planet ticketing club.
On 15 September 2009, the band's tenth studio album was released, titled The Incident, the title track being one solid 55-minute epic. It quickly became the best selling Porcupine Tree album in the world charts to date.
Another live album from the Fear of a Blank Planet tour, Atlanta, was released in June 2010 in order to help raise funds for Mick Karn's treatment for cancer.
The band went on indefinite hiatus in 2010, after which the members focused on their solo work and other projects. In November 2021, Wilson, Barbieri and Harrison announced the reunion of the band, now as a trio with Edwin not returning as a bassist. The eleventh studio album Closure/Continuation, which is the band's first studio album in 13 years, was released on 24 June 2022.
Albums Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions SalesUKPeaks in the UK: Porcupine Tree Official Charts Company UK Charting History, Search for: "Porcupine Tree"AUSPeaks in Australia: All except noted: Fear of a Blank Planet: FINFRAGERNLDNORSWESWIUSPeaks in the US: Closure/Continuation: On the Sunday of Life... Released: 21 April 1992 Label: Delerium Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — — — — — — — — — — Up the DownstairReleased: 7 June 1993 Label: Delerium Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — — — — — — — — — — The Sky Moves Sideways Released: 30 January 1995 Label: Delerium Formats: CD, LP, CS, DL — — — — — — — — — — SignifyReleased: 30 September 1996 Label: Delerium Formats: CD, LP, DL — — — — — — — — — — Stupid DreamReleased: 22 March 1999 Label: KScope Formats: CD, CD+DVD, LP, DL — — — — — — — — — — Lightbulb Sun Released: 22 May 2000 Label: KScope Formats: CD, CD+DVD, LP 161 — — — — — — — — — In Absentia Released: 23 September 2002 Label: Lava Formats: CD, CD+DVD, LP, DL — — —14358 — — — — — DeadwingReleased: 28 March 2005 Label: Lava Formats: CD, CD+DVD, LP, DL97 —471005256 —26 —132 Fear of a Blank PlanetReleased: 16 April 2007 Label: Roadrunner Formats: CD, CD+DVD, DVD-A, LP, DL31661670201334384159 US: 53,000+ The IncidentReleased: 14 September 2009 Label: Roadrunner Formats: CD, CD+DVD, DVD-A, LP, DL2335113517519232025 US: 25,500+ Closure/ContinuationReleased: 24 June 2022 Label: Music For Nations Formats: CD, CD+BD, LP, Cassette, DL213224112513190 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Live albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Notes UK GERNLDSWISpiral Circus Released: April 1994 Label: Delerium Formats: CS, LP — — — — Recorded from the mixing desk during three shows in England in December 1993.Coma Divine Released: 20 October 1997 Label: Delerium Formats: CD, LP, DL — — — — Recorded during the second and third show at Frontera Club in Rome in March 1997.XM Released: July 2003 Label: Transmission Formats: CD, DL — — — — Radio session recorded at XM Satellite Radio in Washington D.C. in November 2002.Warszawa Released: February 2004 Label: Transmission Formats: CD, DL — — — — Live radio broadcast recorded for Polskie Radio Program III in Warsaw in April 2001.XMII Released: June 2005 Label: Transmission Formats: CD, DL — — — — Radio session recorded at XM Satellite Radio in Washington D.C. in July 2003.Rockpalast Released: July 2006 Label: Burning Shed Formats: DL — — — — Live performance recorded for a TV broadcast Rockpalast at Live Music Hall in Cologne, Germany in November 2005. Arriving Somewhere... Released: August 2006 Label: Burning Shed/Snapper/Kscope Formats: CD, DVD — — — — Recorded during two shows at Park West in Chicago in October 2005.We Lost the Skyline Released: February 2008 Label: Transmission Formats: CD, LP, DL — — — — Recorded during an in-store performance at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida in October 2007.Ilosaarirock Released: March 2009 Label: Transmission Formats: CD — — — — Complete performance recorded at Ilosaarirock festival in Finland in July 2007.Anesthetize Released: May 2010 Label: Kscope Formats: CD, BR — — — — Recorded during two concerts at 013 in Tilburg, Netherlands in October 2008.Atlanta Released: June 2010 Label: Burning Shed Formats: DL — — — — Complete show recorded at Roxy Theatre, Atlanta in October 2007. The profits of this recording funded the treatment of Mick Karn.Octane Twisted Released: November 2012 Label: Kscope Formats: CD, CD+DVD, DL 70 77 68 86 US: 3,847+ Live album recorded at Riviera Theater in Chicago in April 2010 and at Royal Albert Hall in London in October 2010.Acoustic Radio Session 2009 Released: 15 March 2020 Formats: DL — — — — Three-track acoustic session performance in December 2009 by Steven Wilson and John Wesley. Broadcast details are unknown.Köln 4th Dec 2007 Released: 16 March 2020 Formats: DL — — — — Live performance recorded for a TV broadcast at Palladium in Cologne, Germany. First Live Performance 4th Dec 1993 Released: 16 March 2020 Formats: DL — — — — First ever live performance of Porcupine Tree at The Nag's Head in High Wycombe, recorded from a mixing desk. BBC Session 13th April 2007 Released: 21 March 2020 Formats: DL — — — — Radio session recorded at Maida Vale Studios in London during promotion for Fear of a Blank Planet. Los Angeles 30th July 2003 Released: 1 May 2020 Label: Transmission Formats: LP, DL — — — — Live performance recorded at House of Blues in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The transparent blue double vinyl edition, limited to 4,000 copies, was released on 30 July 2021 under the title House of Blues – Los Angeles 2003.Coma:Coda Released: 7 May 2020 Label: Transmission Formats: LP, DL — — — — Complete second show recorded during the creation of the 1997 live album Coma Divine at Frontiera Club in Rome. The opaque red double vinyl edition, limited to 4,000 copies, was released on 19 August 2022.Salford Released: 27 June 2020 Formats: DL — — — — Recorded during the first date of the first Porcupine Tree tour of four UK shows in November 1994.IndigO2 Released: 6 October 2020 Formats: DL — — — — Complete show recorded at IndigO2 in London in October 2008 during the Fear of the Blank Planet tour.Athens Released: 2 December 2022 Formats: DL — — — — Complete live performance at Rodon in Athens in December 1995, recorded from a mixing desk. Closure/Continuation.Live Released: 8 December 2023 Label: Music for Nations, Sony Music Formats: CD+BD, LP 36 — 55 — Complete live performance at Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands in November 2022 during the Closure/Continuation tour. "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Compilation albums Title Album detailsYellow Hedgerow Dreamscape Released: 15 August 1994 Label: Magic Gnome