Steven Wilson

Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall

Modern-day prog overlord holds court in the Albert Hall Riding on the wave that hit the shores of prog rocksville with his To The Bone album, Steven Wilson, hilariously dubbed “the most famous musician most people have never heard of”, took up residence at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2018 for three sold-out nights. The third of those nights is represented here in its entirety in various guises, including DVD or Blu-ray, plus twin CDs, five-LP vinyl (coming in March 2019) and streaming. Surrounded by a band that includes the virtuosic Alex Hutchings on guitar and bassist-to-prog-royalty Nick Beggs, as well as some astounding state-ofthe-art visual effects on the video versions, Mr Wilson strides through a set that draws from his extensive back catalogue and, naturally, To The Bone itself. The music sets off at a pace with Nowhere

Now, followed by Pariah, which sees vocalist Ninet Tayeb join Steven in a powerful duet, reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s Don’t Give Up.

Although there’s always a guitar around Steven’s neck, providing punchy rhythm and the occasional spiky lead, special mention must go to Alex Hutchings whose tasteful playing shines throughout, especially on tracks such as Home

Invasion/Regret #9 and Vermillioncore. Bonus material on the included DVD reveals some rehearsal/soundcheck footage, including the excellent (and heartbreaking) Routine played to an empty hall where Alex’s Waghorn guitar and Laney amp combination provide an emotive solo. In order to appreciate the full experience, we’d fully recommend seeing the video – it’s really nothing short of remarkable! [DM] Standout track: Routine For fans of: Porcupine Tree, Opeth