[11] However, they chose Lava because they appeared to support this philosophy, frontman Steven Wilson attributing this due to other bands, namely Tool and Radiohead, achieving success with the same mindset.

Another factor in the change of the band's sound was due to Wilson's meeting of Israeli rock singer Aviv Geffen.

The two met when Geffen, a fan of Wilson's music, invited Porcupine Tree on a tour in 2000 in support of the band's previous album, Lightbulb Sun.

Geffen, not being a fan of metal music, kept that project in more of a pop rock genre, sounding more like prior Porcupine Tree albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun.

[17][18] This gave Wilson an outlet for that side of his music, allowing him to concentrate on more metal sounds with Porcupine Tree without abandoning the prior genre altogether either.

Maitland was unable to make a larger commitment with being signed to a major record label, and the band found Harrison's style more fitting to a more metal-sounding album.

I'd written these songs and I was very much more interested at that time—having worked with Opeth—in the idea of combining a more kind of brutal or metal aspect back again into the fabric of the music.

While not a formal concept album, many of the songs still have common themes related to serial killers, youthful innocence gone wrong, and criticisms of the modern world.

The opening track, "Blackest Eyes", was picked up for airplay by major rock radio stations, and it was released in April 2003 for US,[25] although it didn't chart.

By keeping the songs at manageable lengths and avoiding the avant-garde electronica flourishes of the band's early days, Porcupine Tree has grown into a fully realized pop group without cutting any of the elements that also make them an important force in the neo-prog movement.

"[29] Billboard stated that "with In Absentia, the group delivers a jarring tour-de-force, replete with strong songs, cryptic lyrical musings, virtuoso musicianship, and lush orchestration.

"[38] PopMatters similarly praised it, calling it "...an impressive album that drips with [King] Crimson's progressive rock influence.

[41] All tracks are written by Steven Wilson, except where notedDVD-A release Released in March 2004, the album was re-released on the DVD-A format, featuring the original album, the two special edition songs recorded during the sessions, ("Drown with Me" and "Chloroform"), and an additional song ("Futile"), all remixed in 5.1 surround sound, and the music videos for "Strip the Soul", "Blackest Eyes", and "Wedding Nails".