Call me smug, but I think we can safely file this under "nothing shocking." Steven Wilson of the newly-reunited British prog-metal outfit Porcupine Tree sat down for an interview with Hack Music Theory recently and shared some of his thoughts on guitar playing, in specific, the fast shredding style synonymous with metal and hard rock. You can check out the video below.
"I love that people can play like that," said Wilson. "But the fact is they feel the need to remind everyone they can play like that constantly — to me, that's not music, that's sport. That's like an Olympic sport. The best analogy I can give is if we're talking — if we're trying to communicate through language — I would say everything to you at 100 miles an hour. I would just gabble the words out without putting any emphasis on emotion or feeling or enunciation, as I'm doing now. That's not communication. I feel the same with these kinds of guitar shredders. It's very impressive but it doesn't communicate anything to me."
Porcupine Tree announced last year they were reuniting for the first time since 2010, and their latest LP, Closure/Continuation, was released last month. The band have also released a complete in-studio session they recorded at AIR Studios in London, England. You can watch that performance below.
Porcupine Tree will hit the road this September and you can check out all dates confirmed so far below.
9/10 – Toronto, ON @ Meridian Hall
9/12 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell
9/14 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
9/16 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
9/17 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
9/18 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
9/20 – Chicago, IL @ Auditorium Theatre
9/23 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
9/25 – Denver, CO @ Bellco Theatre
9/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic
9/30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/4 – Mexico City, MX @ Pepsi Center
10/7 – Santiago, CL @ Movistar Arena
10/21 – Berlin, DE @ Max Schmelinghalle
10/23 – Vienna, AT @ Gasometer
10/24 – Milan, IT @ Forum
10/27 – Stockholm, SE @ Globe
10/28 – Copenhagen, DK @ Falkoner Theatre
10/30 – Katowice, PL @ Spodek Hall
11/2 – Paris, FR @ Le Zenith
11/4 – Stuttgart, DE @ Porsche Arena
11/6 – Oberhausen, DE @ KP Arena
11/7 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggodome
11/9 – Zurich, CH @ Halle 662
11/11 – London, UK @ SSE Arena
