Length 17:43 | Writer(s) Steven Wilson | |
Released 16 April 2007
24 April 2007
25 April 2007
1 May 2007 Recorded October - December 2006 Genre Progressive rock, progressive metal, electronic rock | ||
"Anesthetize" is a Porcupine Tree song. It is the third track on the 2007 album Fear of a Blank Planet. It is the longest song on this album, clocking in at 17:42, making Fear of a Blank Planet the studio album containing the longest composition since 1995's The Sky Moves Sideways (not counting Voyage 34 (Phase III) in Voyage 34: The Complete Trip since it is a compilation album).
Steven Wilson wrote "Anesthetize", along with the rest of the "Fear of a Blank Planet" album, during February 2006 in Tel Aviv. At the time he was working on the second Blackfield album.
The song can be split into three sections, and in the album booklet, asterisk markings separate the lyrics to each of the sections. These sections are not named in the booklet, although during their BBC Radio 1 Rock Show performance, Gavin Harrison revealed that part two is called "The Pills I'm Taking". The song "What Happens Now?" from Nil Recurring EP uses a sample of the opening riff from this second movement.
The song's first section features a guitar solo by Alex Lifeson of Rush.
The full-length live projection for this song comes on the Fear of a Blank Planet DVD-A edition as a bonus feature.
"Anesthetize" was voted "Best track of 2007" by readers of the Dutch Progressive Rock Page.
Anesthetize is also the name of the live DVD/Blu-ray from the Fear of a Blank Planet tour, released in April 2010.