The music landscape is experiencing a shift. Bands like Polyphia and Sleep Token — once considered niche — are now commanding mainstream attention, and Justin Hawkins, frontman of The Darkness, attributes this trend to the pandemic-driven pause, which allowed aspiring musicians to focus on honing their craft. This cultural change, he suggests, has cultivated a renewed admiration for innovative and intricate guitar work — styles that, in the past, might have been dismissed as excessive or overly complex.
Known for his insightful analysis of music and, more specifically, guitar techniques, Hawkins has recently shared his thoughts on the growing prominence of technical players and experimental bands in today’s musical landscape: “It shows something interesting,” Hawkins told Guitar World. “Part of it is down to the post-Covid world. People have spent more time with a guitar in their hands, trying to figure out how to play music because of the world stopping for a few years.”
This newfound respect for the electric guitar has transformed how audiences view musicians like Tim Henson of Polyphia. Where critics once dismissed his playing as “too prog” or accused him of “showing off,” Hawkins suggests the instrument itself is now seen differently. “Now people have more respect for bands like Sleep Token, who are doing something really interesting, complex, and difficult to pull off. There’s a new appreciation for virtuosity, and I’m all for it. That’s why bands like Polyphia and Sleep Token have exploded. The way we think about the guitar and what the instrument is supposed to do has changed.”
Hawkins also touched on the broader state of rock music and its evolving identity. Despite his disdain for certain trends in modern pop and electronic music, he sees the current climate as a golden age for rock musicianship: “It’s a really exciting time for rock music,” he stated. “There’s still a lot of sewage pop being made by fucking idiots with laptops and talentless DJ cunts. That will never change, but it makes us guitar players look cooler because we’re actually doing something with our fingers.
For Hawkins, the return to valuing instrumental prowess signals a broader cultural shift. “Being a virtuoso on an instrument made out of wood and steel is cool again! And thank God for that!”
Source: metalinjection.net
