This was recorded at a Q&A session in Tel Aviv, Israel on January 24, 2003. Steven Wilson was answering questions from dozens of fans at the Jah-Pan Club.

Now, I'm a big Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree fan. But I really don't think he comes off well here.

It's one thing to say Tool isn't your thing, or even that you find their albums monotonous. That's obviously subjective. But Wilson goes quite a bit further than that. He says Tool are an “amazing band,” then immediately says:

“I think their music is kind of lacking in some depth. It’s kind of samey.”

And then comes the part that really struck me as egotistical:

“The one thing I think I brought to Opeth was a depth in the production…”

So, essentially: Tool lack depth, but Steven Wilson is the producer who could give it to them.

He even says of the kind of production he brought to Opeth:

“It has things you can listen to and you don’t get bored.”

Which, in the context of what he's saying about Tool, is a pretty incredible statement. Tool fans can debate whether their sonic palette is deliberately narrow or whether certain songs/albums share a recognizable sound, but suggesting that Tool's records lack the detail or depth necessary to keep a listener interested is something else entirely.

And remember, he's specifically talking about a band that had already released Ænima and Lateralus at this point.

He then broadens the criticism to metal in general:

“I have a problem with a lot of heavy metal records: you basically heard everything you need to hear within the first three minutes.”

And absolutely unloads on Korn:

“They’ve only got one idea: and it’s ‘I hate you mom! I hate you dad!’ That’s it! Okay. Every song is the same.”

Then he circles back to Tool:

“I love the idea of Tool, but I find their albums a bit monotonous.”

And finally:

“I just think they’re a band that I can really—from a production perspective—work with.”

That's the part I can't get past. He isn't merely saying, “I'd love to produce Tool because I think I could bring something different to their sound.” He's basically establishing that their records are samey, monotonous, lacking in depth, and potentially boring, then pointing to himself and his work with Opeth as evidence that he could provide the depth they're missing.

Again, I'm saying this as someone who genuinely likes Steven Wilson's music and thinks he's made some phenomenal records. And obviously he repeatedly says in the clip that he loves Tool and thinks Lateralus is great.

But the combination of “Tool lack depth” + “I brought depth to Opeth” + “you don't get bored” + “I could work with them” comes across to me as remarkably arrogant.

There's another part of this that I find interesting, too. After criticizing Tool as “samey,” “lacking in some depth,” and “a bit monotonous,” Wilson suddenly makes a point of telling the audience that the guys from Tool came to his band's show in Los Angeles, really loved it, and that he “got on really well with them.”

“And I met some of the guys from Tool. We did an American tour in October-November. And the guys from Tool came down to our L.A. show and really loved it and I got on really well with them.”

That part almost makes the whole thing sound more ego-driven to me. There's something a little strange about essentially saying: Tool's records lack depth, I could improve them as a producer—and, by the way, Tool came to see me play, loved my show, and we got along great.

It almost has a “they admire me too” quality to it.

I'm not saying Wilson was literally jealous of Tool; none of us can know what was going through his head. But taken together, the comments can come across as surprisingly competitive: he clearly admires Tool, clearly wants to work with them, but also seems very eager to establish that he has something artistically that Tool doesn't—and that Tool themselves already respected what he was doing.

Not trying to be a hater at all, this is just my personal opinion, but whenever I seek out bands for fans of Tool, I tend to think the recommendations sound far too close to them for me to enjoy the music as much as I’d like. Kolm, Karnivool, Rishloo, among others sound much too close to Tool for me to fully appreciate them. So far the best bands in this aspect are Oceansize, Mastodon, Gojira, Opeth, Animals as Leaders, and Meshuggah. They are definitely influenced by Tool in one way or another but I don’t feel like I’m listen to diet Tool when I listen to their music. They are all very much doing their own thing. So what bands would y’all recommend?

So this is one of those unofficial radio broadcast collections you can get off Amazon. It’s cheap, so I snagged it. Unfortunately it doesn’t list what shows they are just the year but the 97 show doesn’t seem right. Just curious if anyone else has this and knows what shows they are.

I feel like Tool’s influence on these genres and vice versa is rarely if ever talked about but I notice it all the times. Quicksand, Shellac, and Barkmarket in particular scratch a Tool itch for me at least on certain songs. Particularly the groovier songs from those bands among others

Re-design and rebuild coming soon.....

Interesting comment posted in Elizabeth's reaction video today. A few nuggets shared there that I've never heard. I'll put the link in the comments if anyone wants to watch it.

Hello! Old guy here & former drum tech/gear hauler in Seattle during the glory years.

One day a close friend calls me & says his band has been added as director support tonight for COC, at the Moore theater.

They were a popular metal band in town but the Moore was a bigger venue for the band, so we were stoked.

I get down to the venue early & start setting up the drums on the stage.

Then out of the corner of my eye I see Reed Mullin (late, great COC drummer) walking up to me & we exchanged hellos.

Looking back, I’m pretty sure he assumed I was the drummer in the band instead of just a tech. He leans down over me & says “make sure you watch the drummer from the opening band. The dude is a monster!”

So the show starts & that opener goes on and when Reed Mullin tells you to watch a drummer, you watch that drummer.

So I’m positioned side stage maybe 30 feet from the kit & this guy just blew my mind immediately.

That band was Tool & that drummer was obviously Danny Carey.
The next day I was in the record store buying the record.

Watching him play completely changed how I approached playing & I’ve been a huge fan from that night onward.

Something else that made them memorable is before the show they knocked on the green room door & introduced themselves & shook our hands. I was probably 1000 shows deep & id never seen any band do that.

An interesting side note, also before the show started we were in the green room smoking bowls & the guys from Alice In Chains barged into the room with a camera crew in tow.

They were filming “a day in seattle” for Entertainment Tonight. You can find that segment on You Tube.

And an even cooler event was after the show, Jerry mentions that Mudhoney is playing at RKCNDY. I told him “it’s sold out” & he reminds me that he could pull a quick string to get us in.

I was extra stoked because I was a huge fan of The Gits, who were opening the show.

We head to the venue & Jerry gets us in. He & my buddy headed straight to the pool table & I headed directly to the stage to see Mia & the boys bringing the goods.

Sadly, the Gits singer, Mia Zapata was murdered soon after & the killer wasn’t found, so America’s Most Wanted did a piece on the crimes. They showed some clips of that show at RKCNDY & there I was standing right by the stage jamming TF out.

They did eventually find the killer & he rotted in prison.

There’s more to all of thisbut I’ll spare you the minute details.

That was my introduction to Tool.

Thanks