Steven Wilson takes aim at prog metal

Steven Wilson has taken aim at the state of progressive metal, saying some bands lack originality.

And he insists there are currently too may groups representing a genre he refers to as limited.

Wilson tells Metal Wani: “I feel that progressive metal is, right now, one of the most overused musical vocabularies there is. There are too many progressive metal bands. There doesn’t seem to be a week that goes by without another 10 groups coming along.”

He states he’s a fan of the genre and namechecks Meshuggah and Opeth as two of his favourites, but adds: “Those bands have been around for a long time now and I think the problem is that there comes a point where it’s difficult to make a sound using such a limited musical vocabulary which has any degree of freshness or originality to it.

“The sound of metal music now is so familiar to everyone that I think it’s lost a lot of its power and I think that’s a reason to sometimes try other things.”

Wilson will release his “interim” album 4½ on January 22 and says he’s started to give some thought to his next full-length record.

He continues: “I’ve got vague ideas that I want to do something perhaps even more contemporary – bring in some more electronic sounds, maybe some heavy guitars – and maybe focus a lot more on melody. But those are very vague and abstract ideas right now.”

As for future material under the Porcupine Tree banner, Wilson reports: “There may come a day when we get back together and make at least one more record. I’ve never ruled that out completely.”

He’ll head out on a North American tour in March.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.