Gavin Harrison's Drum Setup on Porcupine Tree's The Incident (2009) | MetalForge
Gavin Harrison's kit on Porcupine Tree's double-disc concept album The Incident (2009) — Sonor SQ2 drums and Zildjian K Custom Special Dry cymbals on PT's mo...
Frequently Asked Questions
What drums and cymbals does Gavin Harrison use on The Incident?
Gavin Harrison recorded The Incident (2009) on the same rig he used for Fear of a Blank Planet: a custom Sonor SQ2 Series kit with thin maple shells (22" x 17" bass drum, 10" and 12" rack toms, 14" and 16" floor toms), Zildjian K Custom Special Dry cymbals (21" Ride, 14" Hi-Hats, 16" and 18" crashes, 18" Trash China), and a Sonor Gavin Harrison Signature 14" x 5.25" brass snare. The Sonor Perfect Balance Pedal handled bass drum dynamics. The album was recorded at Air Lyndhurst Studios in London with additional sessions at several smaller studios, and mixed by Steven Wilson.
Why is The Incident a double album?
Disc One is a single 55-minute song cycle — fourteen continuous movements performed under the umbrella title 'The Incident' — that Porcupine Tree conceived and recorded as one uninterrupted piece rather than a set of individual songs. Disc Two collects four standalone tracks ('Flicker,' 'Bonnie the Cat,' 'Black Dahlia,' and 'Remember Me Lover') written outside the suite. For Gavin Harrison, that meant performing the title suite as one continuous dramatic arc while also delivering four more conventionally structured songs on the second disc.
Did The Incident win any awards?
The Incident received a Grammy nomination for Best Surround Sound Album at the 2010 awards, recognizing the album's 5.1 surround mix. It also reached #23 on the UK Albums Chart and #25 on the US Billboard 200, both strong showings for the band at the time.
How does The Incident fit into Porcupine Tree's drumming history?
The Incident was the final Porcupine Tree studio album before the band's thirteen-year hiatus, which ended with 2022's Closure/Continuation. It closes out the run that began with In Absentia (2002) and Deadwing (2005) and peaked commercially with Fear of a Blank Planet (2007) — all recorded with the same core Sonor SQ2 and Zildjian K Custom Special Dry setup Harrison had developed across that decade.