Tool opina sobre el New-prog

Acabo de checar la entrevista con Tool en la edicion de Julio 2006 de “Classic Rock Magazine” (UK), donde Tool discute una serie de temas incluyendo el topico del "New-prog".

Unos parrafos de muestra:

Q:Tool, more than any other band, have been responsible for inspiring a new wave of hard rock that isn't ashamed to call itself progressive. The term "prog" still elicits sneers and lame jokes about wizards and elves. Yet the most important bands around at the moment are all, arguably, neo prog bands. The range of new prog is immense and very diverse: from the emotional Mahavishnu Orchestra-plays-bossa-nova thrills of The Mars Volta to the snarling polar intensity of Opeth, they all, to some extent, owe something to Tool. There are also hundreds of Tool impersonators, bands such as Mudvayne who seem to lurk in their wake, providing vaguely acid-tinged metal with a touch of the enigmatic and esoteric when Tool are in one of their now-frequent retreats.

A:"I don't hear that," says Justin Chancellor. "All the time I'm told that this band or that band are inspired by Tool but as one of the biggest fans of this band, I have to say that I don't get any of the emotional feel from them that I get from Tool."

Q: They all agree, however, that they are big fans of The Mars Volta. Regardless of whether or not you actually hear the direct influence of Tool in these bands, they probably wouldn't exist if Tool hadn't been there first.

A:"I disagree. I think that they would still be doing what they are doing without us," says Maynard. "You listen to At The Drive-In [the original band that featured Mars Volta members Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez] and they were setting themselves up for the next thing, that whole Santana jam thing."

Q:But you could argue that without Tool there wouldn't be a mass audience for what they do.

A:"Yeah, but I think that when Radiohead in the 90s started doing these long introspective pieces, that also set the stage for The Mars Volta and for a lot of bands like them," nods Keenan sagely.>>

Por un lado, lo que implica el entrevistador, que afirma que sin Tool, The Mars Volta no tendria el inmenso mercado que tiene ahora es muy exagerado y deshonesto. Es claro que Tool es el principal responsable reciente del revival (1# album en el Billboard) de estructuras progresivas de larga duracion en el mainstream, pero no creo 100% en eso de que el mercado de TMV no seria tan grande si no fuera por Tool. TMV ya traia una base considerable de fans desde sus epocas de At The Drive in, muchos de los cuales jamas comprarian musica de Tool. Aunque tanto Tool como The Mars Volta son bandas de rock progresivo, son muy diferentes entre si y nos costaria trabajo compararlas bajo algun marco de referencia (fuera de las obvias influencias comunes de King Crimson).

Por otro lado, si estoy de acuerdo con que Radiohead abrio un sonido “prog” mas vendible para el publico masivo (i.e. el mercado alt-pop) que por ejemplo, el del metalico operatico a la Dream Theater o el del soft prog metal a la Porcupine Tree o que el de cualquiera de los neo-progs. Y en el contexto de los mercados anglosajones, veo que mas fans de TMV e incluso de Tool han llegado por esta vertiente que por ninguna otra.

Technorati tags: The Mars Volta, Tool, Radiohead, Opeth, Mudvayne, At The Drive In, Progressive Rock, Musica, Rock Progresivo