Tool - gods of progressive rock

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

California band Tool became known for their crazy experimentation with various instruments and artistic influences in music. According to critics, the team is the clearest proof that everything is possible in progressive art rock. The main thing is to have a fantasy and skillfully implement your own ideas. Breakthrough to the pinnacle of fame was the album of Tool group called Ænima.

Composition

• Maynard James Keenan - vocals;
• Adam Jones - guitar;
• Justin Chancellor - bass;
• Danny Carrey - drum set.

Career start

All members of the future team in the distant 80s moved to Los Angeles to find their niche in society. Maynard James Keenan got a job as a pet store designer, as he was an artist by training. Adam Jones and Paul D'Amour dreamed of Hollywood as they tried to adapt to acting. But Danny Carrey at that time was already a fully established musician, working with the teams Pigmy Love Circus, Wild Blue Yonder, KarolKing and Green Jellÿ.

A year later, fate brought Adam and Maynard together. During the conversation, the future vocalist showed a recording on which he performed his own song. Jones was delighted with his vocal abilities, so the guys agreed to create a new group. Soon they were joined by Carrie, who initially just took pity on the guys, since no one wanted to join their young team. Then one of Adam's comrades introduced the guys to Paul.

Promotion

It was two years filled with performances on the outskirts of Los Angeles before the boys landed a record deal with their first label, which was Zoo Entertainment. In 1992, a mini-album by the rock band Tool called Opiate was released, which included six heavy songs. According to the guys themselves, the sound turned out to be very "explosive and percussive".

Soon, Tool's first video for the song Hush appeared, which reflected the negative attitude of the musicians to the propaganda of censorship by the Parents Music Resource Center. Participants provocatively stripped naked, sealed their mouths with electrical tape, and in the area of \u200b\u200bthe “causal place” there were stickers with the inscription Parental Advisory.

Then Tool started touring again, honing their skills on the same stage with Rage Against the Machine and Fishbone. This helped garner positive feedback from Janiss Jarza (RIP Magazine), who described Tool as "the big start to something global."

Popularity

Released in 1993a full-fledged studio vinyl of Undertow, which came just at the dawn of grunge and alternative. Its sound was lighter and more varied than Opiate, which attracted new listeners. Soon, concerts took place at the Lollapalooza festival, during which the manager moved the group closer to the headliners.

When the festival reached Los Angeles, the appearance of the group was announced by the famous comedian Bill Hicks, who became close friends with the musicians from Tool. For fun, he turned to the audience with a request not to disperse and find his lost lenses.

These performances were of great importance for the guys, as Undertow was noticed and received first gold and then platinum status. The song Sober in March 94 became the group's first hit, and brought the guys an award from Billboard for the "Best Video Clip of a New Artist".

Departure of D'Amour and Ænima

While working on the '95 album, the bassist left the band to go free-floating. Instead, the ex-guitarist of the band Peach, who was chosen by Keenan during the casting, came.

The album Ænima was presented on September 17, 1996, which by March 2003 became three times platinum. It became a dedication to Bill Hicks, who had passed away two years earlier. The views of the musicians and the comedian were in many ways similar, which became the foundation of their friendship. However, the first song, called Stinkfist, was cut by radio DJs for its obscene content. The tour in support of Ænima began immediately, the band finally left their native America, visitingEurope, Australia and New Zealand.

Despite the fact that alternative rock went out of fashion by the mid-90s, this did not affect the quality of the Ænima album in any way. The title track brought the musicians a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

Combination with work in other projects

In the 2000s, Keenan joined the A Perfect Circle team, which was founded by their technician Billy Hurdel. In the meantime, Jones began to perform frequently with the Melvins, and Carrey immersed himself in a variety of side projects. Rumors spread about the imminent disintegration of the Tool group, and in the meantime the guys worked hard on the next album. The Salival box set was soon released, signaling that all was not lost.

It was 2001 and Tool released a new album, Lateralus, which attracted progressive rock fans. He unexpectedly appeared on the first line of the Billboard 200, and the song Schism brought the musicians a new Grammy award.

The one-year tour marked a milestone in the band's career, granting them the title of "Kings of Progressive Rock of All Time". Then followed a pause, during which the musicians did not sit idly by. Despite Keenan working on the side, the other members recorded new material and did a couple of interviews.

10,000 Days

For 15 years of existence, the Tul group has created a kind of cult around itself and has achieved great success. A 2006 album called 10,000 Days was leaked online a few days before its official release, which pissed the musicians off. The very first composition Vicarious took off ontops of the world charts, and sales of the disc itself amounted to more than 564 thousand copies during the first week. The new album again brought the musicians a Grammy for "Best Cover Design", the title single was nominated in the category "Best Hard Rock Performance". However, critics liked the album less than Lateralus, but no one paid attention to it.

A major tour soon followed with Mastodon and Isis. But after a few gigs, the rest of the tour was put on hold as Danny Carrey had an accident when his girlfriend's dog hurt his bicep.

Tool's new album

After several tours and participation in significant festivals, the team set to work on new material, which stretched over several years. Probably the reason for this was the active work of musicians in other projects. The album was scheduled for release in 2014 but is still in progress.