Steven Wilson – “The Raven that Refused to Sing” (Video)

Steven Wilson remains as prolific as ever. Following in the style of the video for “Drag Ropes”, the lead track off of 2012’s much-hyped collaboration Storm Corrosion which featured Wilson working in tandem with Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt, the British prog legend has released the first video from his third solo LP, The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other stories). The album — out on February 26th in the US — is undoubtedly the most progressive thing Wilson has released in his illustrious career; while he’s never hidden the influence of King Crimson, Yes, and Pink Floyd on his music, on The Raven he lets his inner jam musician go absolutely nuts. Three out of the LP’s six tracks run over ten minutes, with enough time signature changes, mellotron, and atypical chord patterns to keep even the most demanding prog fans happy.

“The Raven that Refused to Sing”, the stately closer of the record, serves as a delicate conclusion, one that encompasses Wilson’s newfound interest in ghost stories. When asked about his interest in the supernatural, Wilson noted, “The great ghost stories [the ones influencing the songwriting of The Raven] that inspired me and this record came mainly from the early 19th century… it was a great period for classical ghost stories.” The video for the title track, with influences ranging from the obvious like Poe to the subtle like Méliès, captures the song’s delicate beauty rather nicely, and its cinematic quality carries over marvelously from LP to film.