Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson Says Shredding Is Sport, Not Music

Steven Wilson, the lead vocalist and guitarist behind reunited prog-rockers Porcupine Tree, recently explained that he's "not a fan of the whole guitar shredder phenomenon."

That's what the musician told Hack Music Theory in one among a series of videos over the last two weeks covering Wilson's thoughts on musicianship, songwriting and theory.

Watch the clips toward the bottom of this post.

"I love that people can play like that," Wilson remarks of lightning-quick guitar players, "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." (via Guitar World)

The Porcupine Tree bandleader continues, "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."

He adds, "I feel the same with these kinds of guitar shredders. It's very impressive but it doesn't communicate anything to me."

Porcupine Tree, who went on hiatus in 2010, announced their return last year and released Closure/Continuation in June. See the band's upcoming dates under the videos.

Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson on Shred Guitar

Steven Wilson on Music Theory

Steven Wilson on Song Structure

Steven Wilson on Songwriting Inspiration

Porcupine Tree 2022 World Tour Dates

Sept. 10 – Toronto, Ontario @ Meridian Hall
Sept. 12 – Laval, Quebec @ Place Bell
Sept. 14 – Boston, Mass. @ MGM Music Hall
Sept. 16 – New York, N.Y. @ Radio City
Sept. 17 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Met
Sept. 18 – Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
Sept. 20 – Chicago, Ill. @ Auditorium Theatre
Sept. 23 – Irving, Texas @ The Pavilion
Sept. 25 – Denver, Colo. @ Bellco Theatre
Sept. 28 – San Francisco, Calif. @ The Masonic
Sept. 30 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Greek Theatre
Oct. 4 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Pepsi Center
Oct. 7 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
Oct. 21 – Berlin, Germany @ Max Schmelinghalle
Oct. 23 – Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
Oct. 24 – Milan, Italy @ Forum
Oct. 27 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Globe
Oct. 28 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Falkoner Theatre
Oct. 30 – Katowice, Poland @ Spodek Hall
Nov. 2 – Paris, France @ Le Zenith
Nov. 4 – Stuttgart, Germany Porsche Arena
Nov. 6 – Oberhausen, Germany @ KP Arena
Nov. 7 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggodome
Nov. 9 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Halle 622
Nov. 11 – London, United Kingdom @ SSE Arena