#3.
Missed it yesterday, so sue me.
Tool
Formed: 1990.
Genre: Alternative Prog-Metal
Members:
Maynard James Keenan - vocals
Adam Jones - guitar
Paul D'Amour - bass (1990 - 1995)
Justin Chancellor - bass (1996 - present)
Danny Carey - drums/percussion
Studio Albums:
Opiate (1992)
Undertow (1993)
Ænima (1996)
Lateralus (2001)
10,000 Days (2006)
Band Bio
Throughout their career, this band has been one of the most influential of their generation. They tread away from the incoming grunge generation of the early 90s, and even further away from the nu-metal explosion of the early 00s. Their style was reminscent of Jane's Addiction style alt-metal. The band started out masters of the alt-metal genre before expanding far into the horizon of progressive metal. Along the way, the band has run into controversy, opened the eyes and ears of listeners with thought-provoking lyrics, and shown off their sense of humor.
The band's creation began in Los Angeles circa 1990. Danny Carey, who was Maynard's neighbor at the time, showed up at a jam session between Maynard, Adam Jones, and Paul D'Amour when no other percussionist showed up. The band quickly began writing and playing clubs. They were signed and released a quick EP as their debut, Opiate. It stirred up a lot of controversy from the getgo, starting with their obvious stance against organized religion. Also, their video for "Hush" featured the band standing naked with duct tape of their mouths as a protest against the FCC. Obviously the video wasn't shown until certain edits were made (which they were, aptly placing Parental Advisory logos over the band members' proverbial "tools"). The band took a spot on the 1993 Lollapalooza tour, but was promoted to center stage when their audiences trumped even that of the main stage performers. Undertow, the first full-length album, dropped in 1993. The band became instantly famous, thanks to the tactifully done tracks like "Prison Sex", "Intolerance", and most noteably "Sober", arguably Tool's biggest and best single. The band launched a lengthy tour before starting what would prove to be a usual tradition for the band and went into seclusion. When they reappeared, they did so without Paul D'Amour, who left under amicable circumstances, and replaced him with bassist of defunct British act Peach, Justin Chancellor.
1996 brought the release of Ænima. It once again wowed the listening audience. While it wasn't a complete obsolvation, the band evolved their alt-metal roots into a darker, more seething version of progressive metal. The album was a complete disillusioned vat of intricately etched epic after epic, making Tool even more of a catalyst toward the state of modern rock. The album's title track netted the band their first Grammy. Singles were hard to come by because the average length ranged anywhere from 5 and a half to 14 minutes, with only one song being shorter. Shortened versions of "Stinkfist" and "Ænima" reached airwaves, however, both again attracting controversy. The former had some lyrics altered due to its racy subject. After another run on the Lollapalooza tour, and a subsequent headlining tour, the band once again went into seclusion. This time, their were rampant rumors that the band was going to fold. Maynard's side project, A Perfect Circle, was starting to see mainstream success. But the band quieted the rumors by hitting the studio to record one song while putting other b-sides and a DVD into a package deal known as Salival.
After Maynard's first run with A Perfect Circle came to a pause, the band hit the studios again. By now it was 2001, and the Napster controversy was running rampant. The band, despising the illegal sharing of music (Maynard on music sharing: "I think there are a lot of other industries out there that might deserve being destroyed. The ones who get hurt by MP3s are not so much companies or the business, but the artists, people who are trying to write songs."), found a way to combat the masses who would try to download their new music. By pulling a prank, one of many, the band was able to secure their true album would remain out of the hands of Napster. The band announced that their new album was named Systema Encéphale, along with naming a bunch of bogus song titles. As expected, Napster users quickly tried to grab the fake songs, only to come up with no hits. While this joke was pulled off well, it upset the media who dedicated time and print space promoting the album under its fake name. The real album, Lateralus, dropped in May of that year. It shot straight to #1, thanks to the help of shortened versions of the title track, "Parabola", and again arguably Tool's biggest single, "Schism", playing on the radio. The album again showed a great sway in the band's general feel, if not necessarily their sound. The band had evolved again, adding more tribal rhythms to their melodies.
Yet again, after touring heavily for the album the next year and a half, the band slunk into hibernation, not to be awakened until 2006 with the release of 10,000 Days. Yet again, it debuted at #1, showing that fans had not forgotten about the industrious power metal. And yet again, it showed a level of evolution in the band's sound. They sounded even further away from their alt-metal days than ever before, settling for appropriately intricate hedging and mountain-moving melodies. The album continued to grow Tool's ability to write epic songs, featuring two 14 minute, 2-track spanning masterpieces on the same album. The band is currently winding down their global tour, but it can be expected they head back into hiding for several years after the tour is done. Who knows when/if the world will hear from the band again. If not, there will be no denying that Tool may very well be the most influential band of the 90s.
First Song I Heard: "Schism"; 2001, was a popular single on WCYY.
My Take
I loved "Schism", loved "Parabola", but what pushed me over the edge was "Lateralus". Even at the shortened 5 minute version I heard on the radio was enthralling. I ended up downloading and burning Lateralus in June of 2001. I ended up buying an official version of the album nearly exactly a year later. I became just interested enough to see what else they had done, so I ripped "Aenima" and "Stinkfist". Again, instantly loved it. Bought the album November of 2002, and still considered to be one of the best nights for me buying music ever (ended up buying that album, Audioslave's self-titled, Local H's Here Comes the Zoo, and Poweman 5000's Tonight the Stars Revolt!). Opiate was bought during the summer of 2003, and the last piece of the puzzle (at that time), Undertow was bought December of '03 at the Book Store. The afternoon after it was released, 10,000 Days was purchased and subsequently stayed in my CD player for nearly a week and a half.
Musicianship. I've never heard a band that had better musicianship than this band. The chemistry is there, but also the ability to write sucinct parts in all fields is uncanny. They bring such focus and tact with their songs, like they know exactly how much to bring it at exactly the right time. "12 measure drum-fill while Adam plays straight A-notes. That'll be good for this, the 12th minute of the song".
It's not just that they have great musicianship, but also that they are a band with meaning. They're not a Wolfmother or a Linkin Park or anything who just carries no substance to their music whatsoever. On the contrary, there's so much substance to Tool songs that there is deep discussions about their true meanings. Maynard always put deep philisophical metaphors into his music. Sometimes they might not even be lyrics. Try listening to "Viginti Tres". It sounds like just waves of echoey guitar distortion. But you have to wonder that they put it on the album for a reason. Such a reason is hotly debated on Tool message boards. It's things like that that makes me wonder if Maynard has ever made a song that was about nothing just to see how Tool fans would debate it's meaning as some deep seeded issue or some sort. I wouldn't put it past Maynard to do that. The music is stellar. Almost otherworldly. If you close your eyes and listen to it, it sounds like your taking a venture out of even your own body. It's very Pink Floydish of them, except more toward electricity and power than keyboards. The band's moniker, as interpreted by some people, is as to say their music is used as a tool to unlocking your mind.
Tool wants to reach the listener, not just on a sonic level, but visual as well. Each one of their albums is packaged very differently. The first two albums are packaged standard. Ænima came with a lenticular case that showed holograms of it's front white aura glowing when moved about. Lateralus was a multiple layered lythograph showing the inner spirituality and physicality of man. And 10,000 Days offered the best packaging I've ever seen. The liners were wrapped in a hard binding and including stereophonic glasses to view the images inside in broadening 3D. It's quite amazing.
Very few bands could ever pull off what Tool has. They are still as important to the face of music today as they were when they began, and still carry an ever growing fanbase to boot. Not one person has jumped off the Tool fanbus. Since their inception in 1992, they've released 4 albums, and 2 EPs. That's it for a decade and a half. Yet for all their half-decade hiatuses, instead of their fans getting disinterested, it just leaves them hungrier for more. Very few bands could go away for 5 years at a time and still matter when they come back to the limelight. Tool may be the only ones who could do it.
Favorite Album:
Ænima
Top Ten Tracks
10 - "No Quarter"
Dare I say that this even outdoes the Led Zeppelin version? I dare say.
9 - "Jerk-Off"
Great lyrics, and absolutely heavy musically. Maynard's shriek at the end is nightmare-inducing excellence.
8 - "Parabola"
Adam Jones is my hero.
7 - "Sober"
Natch.
6 - "Pushit"
Soothes at one point, regretful at another, and ending with a cataclism of guitars. But haunting all the way through.
5 - "Ænema"
Quintessential doomsday rocker.
4 - "Eulogy"
Masters of the growing suspense. From cricket-like percussion to an eruption of guitars, and 8 minutes of genius vocals in between.
3 - "Rosetta Stoned"
Most vicious epic in their repertoire.
2 - "Third Eye"
Godly.
1 - "Lateralus"
I can make a serious case for this being the best song of all time.
Tool
Formed: 1990.
Genre: Alternative Prog-Metal
Members:
Maynard James Keenan - vocals
Adam Jones - guitar
Paul D'Amour - bass (1990 - 1995)
Justin Chancellor - bass (1996 - present)
Danny Carey - drums/percussion
Studio Albums:
Opiate (1992)
Undertow (1993)
Ænima (1996)
Lateralus (2001)
10,000 Days (2006)
Band Bio
Throughout their career, this band has been one of the most influential of their generation. They tread away from the incoming grunge generation of the early 90s, and even further away from the nu-metal explosion of the early 00s. Their style was reminscent of Jane's Addiction style alt-metal. The band started out masters of the alt-metal genre before expanding far into the horizon of progressive metal. Along the way, the band has run into controversy, opened the eyes and ears of listeners with thought-provoking lyrics, and shown off their sense of humor.
The band's creation began in Los Angeles circa 1990. Danny Carey, who was Maynard's neighbor at the time, showed up at a jam session between Maynard, Adam Jones, and Paul D'Amour when no other percussionist showed up. The band quickly began writing and playing clubs. They were signed and released a quick EP as their debut, Opiate. It stirred up a lot of controversy from the getgo, starting with their obvious stance against organized religion. Also, their video for "Hush" featured the band standing naked with duct tape of their mouths as a protest against the FCC. Obviously the video wasn't shown until certain edits were made (which they were, aptly placing Parental Advisory logos over the band members' proverbial "tools"). The band took a spot on the 1993 Lollapalooza tour, but was promoted to center stage when their audiences trumped even that of the main stage performers. Undertow, the first full-length album, dropped in 1993. The band became instantly famous, thanks to the tactifully done tracks like "Prison Sex", "Intolerance", and most noteably "Sober", arguably Tool's biggest and best single. The band launched a lengthy tour before starting what would prove to be a usual tradition for the band and went into seclusion. When they reappeared, they did so without Paul D'Amour, who left under amicable circumstances, and replaced him with bassist of defunct British act Peach, Justin Chancellor.
1996 brought the release of Ænima. It once again wowed the listening audience. While it wasn't a complete obsolvation, the band evolved their alt-metal roots into a darker, more seething version of progressive metal. The album was a complete disillusioned vat of intricately etched epic after epic, making Tool even more of a catalyst toward the state of modern rock. The album's title track netted the band their first Grammy. Singles were hard to come by because the average length ranged anywhere from 5 and a half to 14 minutes, with only one song being shorter. Shortened versions of "Stinkfist" and "Ænima" reached airwaves, however, both again attracting controversy. The former had some lyrics altered due to its racy subject. After another run on the Lollapalooza tour, and a subsequent headlining tour, the band once again went into seclusion. This time, their were rampant rumors that the band was going to fold. Maynard's side project, A Perfect Circle, was starting to see mainstream success. But the band quieted the rumors by hitting the studio to record one song while putting other b-sides and a DVD into a package deal known as Salival.
After Maynard's first run with A Perfect Circle came to a pause, the band hit the studios again. By now it was 2001, and the Napster controversy was running rampant. The band, despising the illegal sharing of music (Maynard on music sharing: "I think there are a lot of other industries out there that might deserve being destroyed. The ones who get hurt by MP3s are not so much companies or the business, but the artists, people who are trying to write songs."), found a way to combat the masses who would try to download their new music. By pulling a prank, one of many, the band was able to secure their true album would remain out of the hands of Napster. The band announced that their new album was named Systema Encéphale, along with naming a bunch of bogus song titles. As expected, Napster users quickly tried to grab the fake songs, only to come up with no hits. While this joke was pulled off well, it upset the media who dedicated time and print space promoting the album under its fake name. The real album, Lateralus, dropped in May of that year. It shot straight to #1, thanks to the help of shortened versions of the title track, "Parabola", and again arguably Tool's biggest single, "Schism", playing on the radio. The album again showed a great sway in the band's general feel, if not necessarily their sound. The band had evolved again, adding more tribal rhythms to their melodies.
Yet again, after touring heavily for the album the next year and a half, the band slunk into hibernation, not to be awakened until 2006 with the release of 10,000 Days. Yet again, it debuted at #1, showing that fans had not forgotten about the industrious power metal. And yet again, it showed a level of evolution in the band's sound. They sounded even further away from their alt-metal days than ever before, settling for appropriately intricate hedging and mountain-moving melodies. The album continued to grow Tool's ability to write epic songs, featuring two 14 minute, 2-track spanning masterpieces on the same album. The band is currently winding down their global tour, but it can be expected they head back into hiding for several years after the tour is done. Who knows when/if the world will hear from the band again. If not, there will be no denying that Tool may very well be the most influential band of the 90s.
First Song I Heard: "Schism"; 2001, was a popular single on WCYY.
My Take
I loved "Schism", loved "Parabola", but what pushed me over the edge was "Lateralus". Even at the shortened 5 minute version I heard on the radio was enthralling. I ended up downloading and burning Lateralus in June of 2001. I ended up buying an official version of the album nearly exactly a year later. I became just interested enough to see what else they had done, so I ripped "Aenima" and "Stinkfist". Again, instantly loved it. Bought the album November of 2002, and still considered to be one of the best nights for me buying music ever (ended up buying that album, Audioslave's self-titled, Local H's Here Comes the Zoo, and Poweman 5000's Tonight the Stars Revolt!). Opiate was bought during the summer of 2003, and the last piece of the puzzle (at that time), Undertow was bought December of '03 at the Book Store. The afternoon after it was released, 10,000 Days was purchased and subsequently stayed in my CD player for nearly a week and a half.
Musicianship. I've never heard a band that had better musicianship than this band. The chemistry is there, but also the ability to write sucinct parts in all fields is uncanny. They bring such focus and tact with their songs, like they know exactly how much to bring it at exactly the right time. "12 measure drum-fill while Adam plays straight A-notes. That'll be good for this, the 12th minute of the song".
It's not just that they have great musicianship, but also that they are a band with meaning. They're not a Wolfmother or a Linkin Park or anything who just carries no substance to their music whatsoever. On the contrary, there's so much substance to Tool songs that there is deep discussions about their true meanings. Maynard always put deep philisophical metaphors into his music. Sometimes they might not even be lyrics. Try listening to "Viginti Tres". It sounds like just waves of echoey guitar distortion. But you have to wonder that they put it on the album for a reason. Such a reason is hotly debated on Tool message boards. It's things like that that makes me wonder if Maynard has ever made a song that was about nothing just to see how Tool fans would debate it's meaning as some deep seeded issue or some sort. I wouldn't put it past Maynard to do that. The music is stellar. Almost otherworldly. If you close your eyes and listen to it, it sounds like your taking a venture out of even your own body. It's very Pink Floydish of them, except more toward electricity and power than keyboards. The band's moniker, as interpreted by some people, is as to say their music is used as a tool to unlocking your mind.
Tool wants to reach the listener, not just on a sonic level, but visual as well. Each one of their albums is packaged very differently. The first two albums are packaged standard. Ænima came with a lenticular case that showed holograms of it's front white aura glowing when moved about. Lateralus was a multiple layered lythograph showing the inner spirituality and physicality of man. And 10,000 Days offered the best packaging I've ever seen. The liners were wrapped in a hard binding and including stereophonic glasses to view the images inside in broadening 3D. It's quite amazing.
Very few bands could ever pull off what Tool has. They are still as important to the face of music today as they were when they began, and still carry an ever growing fanbase to boot. Not one person has jumped off the Tool fanbus. Since their inception in 1992, they've released 4 albums, and 2 EPs. That's it for a decade and a half. Yet for all their half-decade hiatuses, instead of their fans getting disinterested, it just leaves them hungrier for more. Very few bands could go away for 5 years at a time and still matter when they come back to the limelight. Tool may be the only ones who could do it.
Favorite Album:
Ænima
Top Ten Tracks
10 - "No Quarter"
Dare I say that this even outdoes the Led Zeppelin version? I dare say.
9 - "Jerk-Off"
Great lyrics, and absolutely heavy musically. Maynard's shriek at the end is nightmare-inducing excellence.
8 - "Parabola"
Adam Jones is my hero.
7 - "Sober"
Natch.
6 - "Pushit"
Soothes at one point, regretful at another, and ending with a cataclism of guitars. But haunting all the way through.
5 - "Ænema"
Quintessential doomsday rocker.
4 - "Eulogy"
Masters of the growing suspense. From cricket-like percussion to an eruption of guitars, and 8 minutes of genius vocals in between.
3 - "Rosetta Stoned"
Most vicious epic in their repertoire.
2 - "Third Eye"
Godly.
1 - "Lateralus"
I can make a serious case for this being the best song of all time.