The opening track to In Absentia and also the thunderous introduction to @PorcupineTreeOfficial 's new phase with Gavin Harrison, Blackest Eyes is a masterclass in Steven Wilson's unbelievable ability to write songs that seamlessly mix skull-crushing heaviness with gentle melancholy.
I hadn't intended to cover this song initially, as I felt that the original sounded perfect and there was not much I could add to it. That changed when we signed up to perform at a local blues festival and I though this would be a great song to kick off our set, and what better way to familiarize ourselves with the song than to record it?
After listening closely to both the studio and live versions, I incorporated elements of both into this cover, such as the phased piezo sound during the verse which you can hear in PT's 2007 performance at Voodoo Music Experience and Richard Barbeiri's synth soundscapes from their most recent Closure/Continuation tour. As far as new elements of my own design, I played a slightly busier bass line with a Jaco-like tone thanks to the Zon Sonus and added a new synth part during the bridge that was inspired by how our keyboardist Joe played the part at the blues festival.
Also worth noting is how unexpectedly tricky the signature riff was to figure out. A number of tabs online were incorrect, and in the end I wound up studying a video by none other than @TheJourneymanGuitaristJohn Wesley, who was also instrumental in sculpting the original's biting guitar tones.
Check out the Gothik Serpent discography: gothikserpent.bandcamp.com
Kerwin Tsang - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Synthesizers, Mixing, Video
Tau Bowyer - Drums, Mastering
Olivia Jean Kong - Vocals
Special thanks to Joe T