Scott Henderson likes listening to Tool but doesn’t find the current rock scene appealing.
In a new chat with João Vilela on the Volume 11 podcast, the guitarist said he feels modern bands lack the songwriting and guitar dynamics he appreciates in classics like Led Zeppelin. He continued:
“I’m not hearing it. It definitely isn’t U2, I can tell you that. I think they suck. I can’t even listen to that music. It doesn’t even sound like music to me. Sorry. But, you know that kind of corporate rock? When I compare that to Led Zeppelin, I just go, ‘What are people thinking? How can they like this?’ I don’t know what I’m missing.”
Why Does Scott Like Tool’s Music?
Henderson finds a lack of melodies, great songs, dynamics, and cool tones in many bands today, not just U2. He’s open to hearing suggestions of bands that do have these qualities. Still, he likes Tool and The Black Crowes among modern bands:
“I like Tool. They have a lot of really textural [things] going on. Their guitar player is really good. He has a very cool sense of sounds and textures and I like them. That’s a modern band I can listen to, I think they’re very musical.”
Tool Has Been Working On A New Record
Tool is currently in the process of a new album 2019’s ‘Fear Inoculum.’ The band’s bassist Justin Chancellor shared an update last month, saying:
“There’s absolutely tons and tons of hard drives full of stuff. Some ideas go back to before ‘Fear Inoculum’ that are just simple riffs that we never incorporated into a song. But sometimes that’s a bit like grinding the gears when you’re trying to resurrect or revisit them, so it’s really appealing to work on the newest stuff.”
He added:
“We’ve been writing for the last couple of weeks, meeting a couple of times each week – we’ve had some really good sessions, and a lot of it has been brand new. We already have a couple of solid, what I would say are, skeletons of songs waiting to be finalised.”
Drummer Danny Carey also previously revealed that the new album might feature shorter tracks, leaning towards a style similar to their earlier work like ‘Undertow.’
You can watch the rest of Henderson’s interview below.