Storm Corrosion

Storm Corrosion was a musical collaboration between Mikael Åkerfeldt of Swedish progressive metal band Opeth and Steven Wilson, an English solo artist and frontman of the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. Åkerfeldt and Wilson began a longstanding musical partnership in 2001 when Wilson produced Opeth's fifth studio album Blackwater Park. The two began writing together for a new project in 2010, releasing their self-titled first studio album on May 8, 2012 through Roadrunner Records.

Storm Corrosion
OriginInternational
Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom / Stockholm, Sweden
GenresProgressive rock, psychedelic folk, ambient
Years active2010–2012
LabelsRoadrunner
Associated actsOpeth, Porcupine Tree
WebsiteStorm Corrosion
Past membersMikael Åkerfeldt
Steven Wilson

A critical success, Storm Corrosion marks a paradigm shift for Åkerfeldt and Wilson. Not wanting the project to be a progressive metal supergroup, the two used it as an opportunity to explore their more esoteric tastes in music, including Comus and Scott Walker. No touring or live performances of the album occurred, nor were any plans for future music established, with the two instead opting to return to their respective other musical projects.

History
Mikael Åkerfeldt in 2006.

Formation

Mikael Åkerfeldt became aware of Steven Wilson in the mid-1990s after Åkerfeldt's best friend Jonas Renkse played him the Porcupine Tree album The Sky Moves Sideways.[1][2] Years later, Åkerfeldt received a surprise e-mail from Wilson who had been given a copy of the Opeth album Still Life by a French journalist.[3][4] The two ended up meeting for dinner in London where Åkerfeldt asked Wilson to produce the next Opeth album.[5] It was also during this dinner that the two first spoke of a possible collaboration.

After their meeting in London, Åkerfeldt and Wilson began a longstanding musical partnership. Wilson went on to produce three Opeth albums – Blackwater Park, Deliverance, and Damnation – and mixed three Opeth albums, Heritage, Damnation, and Pale Communion. In 2005, Åkerfeldt contributed some guitar and vocals to Deadwing, Porcupine Tree's eighth album. Porcupine Tree and Opeth also co-headlined a North American tour together in the summer of 2003.[6] Although the collaboration was announced as early as 2006,[7] it was only in March 2010 that the two began writing music together, done on an on and off basis.[8] Originally, ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy was to be involved, but was excluded because Åkerfeldt and Wilson felt the music would have little room for drums.[8] In early 2011, Storm Corrosion was announced as the project's title.[9]

Storm Corrosion (2010 – 2012)

After more than a year of writing, Storm Corrosion's first album was completed in September 2011.[10] In February 2012, it was announced that the collaboration had signed with Roadrunner Records and that their album would be self-titled and released on April 24.[11] This release date was eventually pushed back to May 8.[12] The guitar work on the album was handled by Åkerfeldt while Wilson concentrated on the keyboards and song arrangement.[13] Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree played drums, although only 15 to 20 percent of the album needed them.[14] Reflecting back on their experience working together, Åkerfeldt and Wilson were largely positive, noting that they never had any artistic struggles over creative control and that each other's contributions were "exactly 50/50".[15] Wilson has declared the album the completion of a trilogy, alongside Opeth's Heritage and Wilson's solo album Grace for Drowning, all of which were released over a year-long period from 2011 to 2012.[16]

The first song used in promotion of Storm Corrosion was "Drag Ropes", released via YouTube on April 24.[17] Upon its release, the album was critically well received,[18] and was nominated for the Album of the Year Award by Prog, presented by Classic Rock Magazine,[19] and Best Surround Sound Album at the 2012 Grammy Awards.[20] Åkerfeldt and Wilson chose not to tour or put on any live performances of the group's material,[21] although Wilson did perform their single Drag Ropes on a few solo shows, during his Hand. Cannot. Erase. tour. While the two expressed interest in working together again, they do not particularly have any plans for any new Storm Corrosion material.[22][23]

In 2019, Åkerfeldt said there were talks about a follow-up to the first one.[24]

Musical style
Steven Wilson in 2005.

Despite their reputations as frontmen in the heavy metal and progressive rock genres, Mikael Åkerfeldt and Steven Wilson did not want Storm Corrosion to be a progressive metal supergroup.[25] In an early interview regarding the project, Wilson went so far as to say that the music sounded unlike anything he or Åkerfeldt had done up until that point, including the Opeth album Damnation, which a lot of fans assumed would be the case. Instead, the two used the project as an opportunity to explore their more esoteric tastes in music, such as Comus, Popol Vuh, Univers Zero, Steve Reich, David Crosby, Talk Talk, and Scott Walker.[21][26]

Storm Corrosion's sound can best be described as ambient, epic, enchanting, and orchestral.[12] In the press release for the self-titled first album, Åkerfeldt described the music as "a bit frightening, exhausting, profound and rather intense".[11] In an interview with Face Culture, Wilson described the album as "mellow, strange, and disturbing".[13] Critics have described the album's sound as having "an eerie gloom about the music that harks back to the drug-fuelled experimental avant-gardism of the 70s",[27] "unhinged" and "experimental",[28] and with a "flowing and expansive folk-touched sound".[29]

Discography
Year Album Peak chart positions
UK,[30] US [31]
2012 Storm Corrosion
  • Release date: May 7, 2012
  • Label: Roadrunner Records
 45 47
gollark: > isn't opus designed for human voiceNope!
gollark: I personally just analyse my webserver logs. Directly.
gollark: Streamed with good quality, too - 128kbps Opus.
gollark: We have excellent and good™ musical music™ which is considered music in more than 17 countries.
gollark: No, everyone else's music tastes are wrong?

References
  1. Ouellette, Mary (2012-04-03). "Opeth and Porcupine Tree Frontmen Unite As Storm Corrosion – Exclusive Video". Loudwire. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  2. RoadrunnerRecords (2012-04-02). "Storm Corrosion - Interview Pt 4 - Hearing Each Other". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  3. Jahlmar, Joakim (2001). "Specials - Steve Wilson Interview". Dprp.net. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  4. "OPETH: MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT MASTERCLASS". Guitar Messenger. 2008-05-08. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  5. VIDEO: OPETH'S MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT INTERVIEWED BY FACECULTURE. Roadrunner Records Official Website. Retrieved 2012-01-28. Archived 2012-01-08 at the Wayback Machine
  6. IGN Music (2003-06-03). "Porcupine Tree and Opeth Tour - Music News at IGN". Music.ign.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  7. "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - OPETH Frontman Talks About Collaboration With MIKE PORTNOY, STEVEN WILSON". Legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com. 2006-03-31. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  8. "STEVEN WILSON On Project With MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT: We Didn't Wanna Do A Prog-Metal Supergroup". Blabbermouth.net. 2010-10-31. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  9. "MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT, STEVEN WILSON Complete Work On Material For 'Storm Corrosion' Project". Blabbermouth.net. 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  10. Hart, Josh (2011-09-26). "Mikael Akerfeldt, Steven Wilson Finish Work On Storm Corrosion Album". Guitar World. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  11. "Blabbermouth.net - Storm Corrosion Officially Signs With Roadrunner Records". Legacy.roadrunnerrecords.com. 2012-02-07. Archived from the original on 2013-02-02. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  12. "ÅKERFELDT/WILSON Collaboration STORM CORROSION Pushed Back To May; Complete Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  13. "Steven Wilson - 2011 - V". Faceculture.tv. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  14. Thodoris (December 2011). "Interview:Steven Wilson (solo,Porcupine Tree,Blackfield,No-Man)". Hit Channel (published April 12, 2012). Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  15. RoadRunnerUK. "Storm Corrosion - Fan Q&A: Working Together". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  16. "Biography". Storm Corrosion Official Website. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  17. RoadrunnerRecords (2012-04-24). "Storm Corrosion - Drag Ropes". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  18. "Critic Reviews for Storm Corrosion". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  19. "Album of the Year". Prog. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  20. "55th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees". The 55th Grammys. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  21. Prasad, Anil. "Steven Wilson - Art as a mirror". Innerviews. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  22. Sliwa, Philippe. "Storm Corrosion: Soul Mates". Radio Metal. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  23. "Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt Talks Pale Communion Album, Possibility of a Second Storm Corrosion Album". Blabbermouth.net. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  24. https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/opeths-mikael-akerfeldt-says-second-storm-corrosion-album-will-likely-sound-completely-different/
  25. "Steven Wilson Talks Storm Corrosion, Working With Mikael Åkerfeldt". Gun Shy Assassin. 2010-11-01. Archived from the original on 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  26. RoadrunnerRecords (2012-04-19). "Storm Corrosion - Fan Q&A - Making Something Different". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
  27. Rauf, Raziq. "BBC Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  28. Lawson, Dom (2012-05-10). "Storm Corrosion: Storm Corrosion – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  29. Heaney, Gregory. "Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion". Allmusic. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  30. "Storm Corrosion - Albums". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  31. "Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion - Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
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