The album was critically acclaimed, receiving an average rating of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on nine reviews.
Q magazine regarded the album as "a dramatic, wide-screen, expertly executed, even genuinely thrilling rock record worthy of an audience way beyond nu-prog's regular constituency."
AllMusic, which gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 score, assured that "While there is no "radio single" on the disc most songs transcend their complex structure and feel as provocative as any traditional rock tune".
David Fricke from Rolling Stone perceived Porcupine Tree had evolved into "an aggressively modern merger of Rush’s arena art rock, U.K. prog classicism —especially Pink Floyd’s eulogies to madness and King Crimson’s angular majesty— and the post-grunge vengeance of Tool".
Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune defined the music in the album as "stellar in its serpentine mood-shifting".
Sound and Vision praised that "Porcupine Tree is at the height of its powers" and voted it #3 CD of 2007.

Decibel lauded: "Porcupine Tree prove they can play with the best of 'em".
The Phoenix newspaper stated "Fear of a Blank Planet is not only their most vintage-sounding album, it’s also their best.",
Jim DeRogatis from the Chicago Sun-Times thinks the album is "easily as strong as any of the band's previous eight releases, and the most timely" and Revolver magazine proclaimed "England’s prog princes return at their most limber and conceptually relevant".
PopMatters placed it at #5 of "The Best Metal Albums of 2007".
Reason magazine chose it as one of the "Best Albums of 2007" though they were more severe than other critics about the lyrical content saying that "Lyrically, it's ridiculous" and "if your grandma was theming a prog rock album, it'd come out something like this".
Dan LeRoy from Alternative Press announced it "as heavy as P-Tree have ever been" but "wistfully, sprawlingly melodic as well-sometimes in the same tune" and concluded that "if Wilson's vision of today's kids as overmedicated, overstimulated robots seems like a blatant appeal to the over-30 crowd, it's still worth setting the Xbox aside to listen".

The album did well commercially as well.
With Fear of a Blank Planet, the band broke the selling mark established by Deadwing, and reached the Top 100 of the Billboard 200 for the first time, debuting at #59.
The album also entered the European Top 100 Albums at #21, and charted the Top 40 in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Poland.
The special edition limited to 10,000 copies was sold out worldwide within the same day of its release.
The album has sold 250,000 copies worldwide.
The album was critically acclaimed, receiving an average rating of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on nine reviews. Q magazine regarded the album as "a dramatic, wide-screen, expertly executed, even genuinely thrilling rock record worthy of an audience way beyond nu-prog's regular constituency." AllMusic, which gave the album a 4.5 out of 5 score, assured that "While there is no "radio single" on the disc most songs transcend their complex structure and feel as provocative as any traditional rock tune". David Fricke from Rolling Stone perceived Porcupine Tree had evolved into "an aggressively modern merger of Rush’s arena art rock, U.K. prog classicism —especially Pink Floyd’s eulogies to madness and King Crimson’s angular majesty— and the post-grunge vengeance of Tool". Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune defined the music in the album as "stellar in its serpentine mood-shifting". Sound and Vision praised that "Porcupine Tree is at the height of its powers" and voted it #3 CD of 2007.
Decibel lauded: "Porcupine Tree prove they can play with the best of 'em". The Phoenix newspaper stated "Fear of a Blank Planet is not only their most vintage-sounding album, it’s also their best.", Jim DeRogatis from the Chicago Sun-Times thinks the album is "easily as strong as any of the band's previous eight releases, and the most timely" and Revolver magazine proclaimed "England’s prog princes return at their most limber and conceptually relevant". PopMatters placed it at #5 of "The Best Metal Albums of 2007". Reason magazine chose it as one of the "Best Albums of 2007" though they were more severe than other critics about the lyrical content saying that "Lyrically, it's ridiculous" and "if your grandma was theming a prog rock album, it'd come out something like this". Dan LeRoy from Alternative Press announced it "as heavy as P-Tree have ever been" but "wistfully, sprawlingly melodic as well-sometimes in the same tune" and concluded that "if Wilson's vision of today's kids as overmedicated, overstimulated robots seems like a blatant appeal to the over-30 crowd, it's still worth setting the Xbox aside to listen".
The album did well commercially as well. With Fear of a Blank Planet, the band broke the selling mark established by Deadwing, and reached the Top 100 of the Billboard 200 for the first time, debuting at #59. The album also entered the European Top 100 Albums at #21, and charted the Top 40 in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Poland. The special edition limited to 10,000 copies was sold out worldwide within the same day of its release. The album has sold 250,000 copies worldwide.
Fear of a Blank Planet