Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall[DVD/CD]

I was born in 1949 so literally grew up with rock and roll. As each new wave of rock arrived, I got into it the best I could, but progressive rock (Yes, Genesis, ELP, etc) just blew me away. Still loved straight ahead Beatles, Stones, Who, etc., but prog rock just took my mind to new places. After it all died down, not much got me excited until Radiohead came along, and then those musical embers faded, too. I was later introduced to Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree, about the time he was (temporarily) ending the band and striking out on his own. After reveling in masterpieces like The Raven That Refused to Sing (etc.), Hand.Cannot.Erase and To the Bone, I heard that Steven and his new band were playing the magnificent Royal Albert Hall (which has about the same number of seats as feet in a mile, so semi-intimate) and RECORDING it. And record it he did. The sound is astounding, as would be expected from such a audio fanatic as Mr. W. And the musicianship!! "Sir" Nick Beggs on bass, the electrifying guitar of Alex Hutchings, the endlessly fascinating keyboards of Adam Holzman, Craig Blundell's super-sharp percussion, Ninet Tayeb's magical voice and Steven, himself, who provides ALL of the third critical element: the amazing, highly enjoyable and immortal songs that he somehow continues to produce from a seemingly endless muse. I've seen a lot of concert films and a lot of concerts LIVE, but I do believe this is the best. What else can I say? Do you love music? Then get this Blu-Ray. Thank you and good evening.

Saving the best of 2018 for last… Steven Wilson’s Home Invasion is a welcome invasion indeed. It may just well be the best release I’ve seen/heard/reviewed this year. Well, not maybe, it clearly is THE most encompassing and totally engrossing musical experience of 2018, hands down. In fact it’s really not even fair to compare. I love almost all genres of music, but Wilson has this gifted way of transcending all of it, and yet simultaneously embracing everything great about music that is out there to celebrate. Call it the Wilson genre – he can’t be pigeon-holed, and those who try will likely be the disappointed naysayers of this release (as were they on To The Bone). Not surprisingly, with every live release, that musical experience just keeps getting better and better. In a manner similar to how Devin Townsend keeps recreating himself within the context of metal, Wilson manages to add something new and fresh to all things rock with each release. And while the live performances on Anesthetize and The Incident (with Porcupine Tree) were incredibly enjoyable, and while Get What You Deserve eclipsed even those amazing performances with its quirky brilliance, Home Invasion somehow manages to surpass them all. So how does one even begin to describe everything going on here? The Band Wilson could have gathered a huge collection of musicians on stage, in various permutations, but instead chose to keep it simple. I love and respect that. Nick Beggs has a huge impact on these songs, his bass presence massive on these songs. Craig Blundell has been the drummer since Minnemann’s departure – his fluid, yet tight and precise style well-suited to the HCE/To The Bone material. Of course, Adam Holzman has become the keyboard player de facto for Wilson with his solo work. Alex Hutchings takes over the main guitar leads in grand fashion, his contributions not to be underrated. Wilson elected to keep the accompanying vocalists simple – Ninet Tayeb. She easily surpasses her studio performances here with here contributions on “Pariah,” “Song Of I,” “Blank Tapes,” and surprisingly on “People Who Eat Darkness” where she shares the verses with Wilson. Superb musicianship. The Set List Most bands don’t dare to play more than 5 or 6 songs from their latest release, but here we get 10 out of 11 from To The Bone (2017)! Only the title track is missing … shame. This somewhat more “commercial/pop” (those terms somewhat irrelevant today) rock material is nicely balanced with the heavier and “proggier” moments from HCE, along with some of the absolutely killer songs from FOTBP, Deadwing and In Absentia. “Even Less” from Stupid Dream would be the deep track here, and the title track from Raven the perfect closer to the encore. These are not exact duplicates of the studio versions, however. Every song here comes to life, partly due to the different musicians involved and partly due to the intense visual experience accompanying every song. “Ancestral” live is insane. To me HCE was the pinnacle of Wilson’s solo career so far because he perfectly blended prog, post-prog and pop with an amazing concept. Blundell’s drum performance on this song alone should win him some kind of award – obliterating. The BD Simply put, Home Invasion is both visually and aurally stunning. As noted above, this is the best visual presentation I’ve seen to date from Wilson with any of his incarnations. This is the first time in Wilson’s career that the quality of the filming/effects matches the quality of the musical output. Not only are there some novel ideas here (the transparent screen “in front” of the band not the least of these!), and not only are the animations accompanying each song equally insightful and entertaining, but the filming and editing is nearly perfect. There is a nice combination of straight-up camera work mixed equal parts with sections of editing/effects wizardry which really enhance the music in many areas – particularly noteworthy on songs like “Home Invasion/Regret#9” and “Vermillioncore.” The colors coming through on my LG 4K screen are vivid, and there is a wonderful contrast between the light and black. The effects and lighting are clearly designed to bring much “color” to the stage – the dancers outfits during “Permanating” really pop out of the screen. Sound check? As wonderful as the delays and swirling sounds are on the 5.1 mix with the instruments skipping all over the room, I think the volume seems a bit suppressed, especially on the bass end of things. It doesn’t make for an uncomfortable listening experience, but when you switch to the 96/24 LPCM version there is a noticeable difference. Listening to this in “all (5 channel) stereo” mode, this recording is absolutely perfect. There is this powerful output from the speakers with a perfect balance of treble/bass, highs and lows. As live performance recordings go, Home Invasion in high-def is pretty much near (if not at) the top of the tier. The BD itself is housed in a quadruple gatefold digipak. The BD menu is very clean and easy to navigate, but the bonus features here are somewhat Spartan. The highlight would have to be the “rehearsal” version of “Routine.” This song was one of the most important tracks from HCE and certainly also one of the most profoundly disturbing as well. It is a shame it missed the main set list because Ninet does an amazing job pulling this off “live.” It is worth noting that even these rehearsal tracks are beautifully filled with amazing perspectives from the farthest points around the Royal Albert. The interview with Wilson is very short and to the point. He has definitely come out of his shell a bit. It is quite evident during the live performance with all of his speaking parts, and he basically states the same during the interview. As he states, once he realized being a live performer in front of thousands of people is absurd, he was no longer apprehensive. The CDs The set is split between the 2 CDs (bonus tracks not included). Steven’s spoken word is included on the CD versions. It’s a good rendering, but you will have to crank up the volume a bit as the master volume is set quite low, compression low too. I still find that there is a lot of the sound spectrum that doesn’t translate well in some songs, but as companion CDs to a live BD/DVD go, pretty good set here. The Verdict Live performance of the year? For me, there is no question. For those still on the fence, don’t hesitate to put this on your Christmas wish list.

This one was my second purchase of his concert DVD. The first one was his Anesthetize live with his band, Porcupine Tree which I and my partner fell in love of all music, performances, lyrics, and an entire show. Normally, if you have a favorite concert of an artist, you are ready to be disappointed for the next one. I was expecting it, but wanted to see how he "grew" as an artist. Well, this one was even better. I mean, I still like Anesthetize a lot, but I could see how Steven evolved to a new path. It looks like he only goes to higher. We could not stop watching, because the concert was so good. I wish more people listen him, because his value as an artist should not be wasted. I recommend to listen his music with a good quality head set. Buy one and enjoy the world of Steven Wilson.

Absolutely incredible. I got this to test my new surround setup and it was the best thing I have ever watched. I have watched this concert before but I forgot how amazing it was. Steven Wilson is on the best musicians out there.

Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall is a moving live performance in which Steven Wilson showcases all the emotion, power, and musical precision he's known for. The audiovisual production is excellent – high-quality sound, sharp picture, and captivating performances. The packaging is tastefully designed, including a Blu-ray disc + two audio CDs, along with a beautiful booklet featuring stunning photos from the concert – a complete experience for music lovers. Highly recommended for fans of progressive rock and high-quality music.

I love it other than the packing isn't great. Just a cardboard sleeve. Would have liked something a little more protective. I thought the video looks great and the audio even thought it's not atmos, just 5.1. It sounds great. But Atmos version would have been cool. Love Steven's music. A genius of our times.

Ce concert rend hommage à la diversité de la musique de Steven Wilson en s'appuyant notamment sur les deux albums qui l'ont précédé "Hand cannot erase" et "To the bone" qui naviguent entre rock progressif et pop avec bonheur. Cette diversité peut dérouter qd on passe de "Pariah", duo solaire avec Ninet Tayieb à Home Invasion et sa furia prog metal rock mais quel bonheur. Quelques incursions également issues de Porcupine Tree. Les musiciens qui entourent Steven Wilson sont au top avec mention spéciales à Nick Beggs à la basse Adam Holzman aux claviers. Le son comme d'hab avec Steven Wilson est au top avec beaucoup de dynamique. Bref, un must have !

Una ves más Steven Wilson impresiona con un genial lanzamiento, cortesia de la siempre confiable productora Eagle Rock. El concierto esta contenido en una digipack que se expande y deja ver tres charolas transparentes que contienen el concierto en 2 cd's y un Bluray (o DVD dependiendo de la edición) así mismo el fondo deja ver dos fotografías del Royal Alberto Hall en su gloria. Del lado izquierdo una especie de protector de cartón contiene el Booklet con detalles de la producción y fotos de Wilson y su banda. La imagen es excepcional, presentada un un aspet ratio de 2.35:1, es decir algo así como el cinemascope de las películas y en un codec MPEG-4 ABC. La imagen es muy saludable en todos los aspectos, el contraste es muy bueno sin mucha evidencia de crushing, los colores presentan buena saturación y son vibrantes y de aspecto muy natural. Los artefactos digitales como el banding estan prácticamente ausentes, aunque en ciertas tomas hay una cierta cantidad de ruido, que honestamente se mantiene a raya y aun mas sorprendente en ocasiones tiene una textura muy fina que incluso recuerda un tanto al grano natural de ciertos filmes. Vale la pena también la vibrante dirección de James Russel, que es vibrante y muy dinamica. Y que hace buen uso de la composición de aspecto y que juego mucho con el cuadro, capturando en ocasiones a varios miembros de la banda al mismo tiempo, y en ocasiones usando pantalla dividida, es un aspeto algo menos preciado que cabe la pena mencionar. Si la imagen es buena el audio esta completamente a la altura, incluso me atrevo a decir que alcanza niveles de material de referencia, es dinámico con punch y presenta una imagen amplia y expansiva, la mezcla de audio es simplemente soberbia y con muy balance entre los instrumentos y las voces, el audio es limpio y completamente libre de distorsiones indeseadas aunque nunca llega a sonar clinico o sin vida, al contrario el sonido es calído (cosa que se ha vuelto en cierta forma el sonido característico de las mezclas de Wilson), el bluray presenta dos opciones de audio sin perdidas, la primero PCM en estereo y multicanal DTS HD MASTER AUDIO 5.1, a 96/24, es decir identica al master en el estudio. Honestamente me atevo a recomendar esta presentacion al cualquiera con ganas de presumir su sistema de audio o sistema de cine en casa. Los extras contiene una entrevista con Wilson, con subtítulos en ingles, francés y español. Así como una par de temas extras de los ensayos. El Bluray es compatible con las regiones A, B y C por lo que debería de poder ser reproducido en cualquier parte del mundo. Mi paquete llego a tiempo y sin ningún daño.

This is awesome. Steve Wilson is the new Prog God for me... following on from Steve Hackett. Love this concert experience. Pity I couldn’t have seen the concert here in Adelaide SA

Una obra maestra del genio de Steven Wilson. Este directo es impresionante, y el DVD ... con tres canciones extra de los ensayos es insuperable.

Semplicemente fantastico. Steven è un artista completo che non si ferma ma che va avanti col desiderio di sperimentare oltre che concretizzare i suoi valori già noti vedi i porcupine t. di cui già leader. Totalmente soddisfatto quindi di un concerto che regala forti emozioni.