In a new interview with FaceCulture, former PORCUPINE TREE frontman Steven Wilson was asked if death of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen affected him at all.
“Honestly, it didn’t, because I was never a fan,” Wilson responded. “I know he’s an extraordinary musician, and it’s always sad when an extraordinary artist dies, [but] I was never a fan of the so-called shredder mentality. And I think in many ways, he was the father of that whole kind of movement.
“I never understood that ‘playing as fast as you can’ thing. And I know that wasn’t all he did — I know he was a more flexible musician than that — but I think that the legacy that he has, Eddie Van Halen, is in creating the shredder phenomenon, which is something so vile to me. That kind of idea that you play music almost like you’re playing an Olympic sport is kind of anathema to my kind of ideas on creativity and music.”
In response to Steven‘s comments, Eddie‘s son Wolfgang tweeted: “Damn this bums me out hard. Been a huge fan of his for years. [PORCUPINE TREE‘s 2005 LP] Deadwing is one of my favorite albums of all time.”
Eddie died on October 6, 2020, at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, after a long battle with cancer.
