Steven Wilson Apologizes to Wolfgang Van Halen for Comments About His Dad

A small kerfuffle erupted between Steven Wilson and Wolfgang Van Halen earlier this week when the Porcupine Tree founder was asked by an interviewer about his feelings on Eddie’s passing. Wilson stated that he wasn’t personally a fan of Eddie’s playing or the style he pioneered, which prompted Wolfgang to publicly express that Wilson’s words “bum[med] me out hard,” saying that Deadwing (2005) is “one of my favorite albums of all time.”

The two have now made nice, though, with Wilson taking to Twitter to apologize and clarify his comment, and Wolfgang responding in kind that all’s good in the hood.

Wilson’s apology reads as follows:

“Dear @WolfVanHalen, apologies, no disrespect was meant to your father, an extraordinary musician.

“I personally never owned any @VanHalen records and didn’t ever get into the style of playing, but he was clearly an incredible innovator. So when asked about his passing I couldn’t honestly say I was affected deeply by it, at least not in the way that my heroes Bowie or Prince’s passing had affected me.

“This statement was given in honest humility. Forgive me for any offence unintentionally given, and I offer my deepest condolences.”

And Wolf’s response:

“Incredibly kind of you to say, @StevenWilsonHQ. I meant no ill will in my previous tweets. As I said, the internet was exacerbating what you had said, as the internet tends to do. Still very kind of you. Be well, friend ✌️”

Wilson’s initial comment, which sparked a ton of online backlash, came in a recent chat with FaceCulture, when the guitarist and singer responded to a question about how Eddie’s death had affected him, saying:

“Honestly, it didn’t, because I was never a fan. 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.”

Wilson released a new album, The Future Bites, last week.