Publication: Hypnotica

Date: August 1996

Transcribed by BobGobble@aol.com

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[Note: Now that Ænima is out, it is safe to say that yes, this article is just a joke.]

i got this out of a d.c. rag called Hypnotica...

With the forthcoming release by TOOL called AENIMA (Oct 1st for the cd and
Sept 17th for the vinyl), one might expect the flurry of dark rumors and
canards which bands in the alternative-fringe subworld carefully cultivate
to help maintain their lucratively-tarnished image. For me, with their
first LP, "Undertow", with its psychological edge and monsters from the
Id, there was a whiff of something unpleasant, perhaps, but it wasn't a
Satanic scent. However, after recieving a letter sent by someone once
close to the band, I wonder now if my olfactories had become desensitized,
like one who lives on a hog farm. In TOOLs case, could something loath and
horrible actually lurk beneath their profitably malefic exterior? 

   Here, I must offer this disclaimer. None of the following allegations
are verifiable at this time. We have only the words of someone who for
many years was "part of the fold." One who has now decided to speak out at
great personal risk, and who shall remain anonymous. I must also warn that
certain details contained in the letter are not for the squeamish. 

   TOOL's foray into the sphere of the occult began when certain members
started dabbling in the psycho-magical system of Austin Osman Spare. At
first, this involved a simple method of constructing sigils(arcane glyphs)
composed of letters from sentences which contained the band's dreams,
desires, beliefs, and wishes. To achieve results, sigils were to be
visualized sub-conciously. 

   When no satisfactory results were obtained, and the band went flat
creatively, instead of using ink or paint to make the sigils, they
werecomposed with the blood of small animals. This time the results were
slightly better, but still, artistically speaking, the band bore no fruit.
After two years went by, now desperate to write new songs, the band made the
decision to take extreme measures. All but one member agreed to this, which
may explain why their bassist, Paul D'Amour left to be replaced by Justin
Chancellor, a native of England, with hair featuring waxed flame red devil
horns.

   According to the writer of the letter, these extreme measures involved the
ritual sacrifice of a human being. The procedure itself was borrowed from a
Teutonic/Zionist clique who practiced this rite as it is described in Exodus,
chapter 27. The preferred victim is a young boy, a virgin, under the age of
13.  For the right, it was a young runaway, ironically a fan of theirs snared
from the streets of Hollywood.  At a crude altar, the boy, stripped nude and
facing northward, was placed on a grading above a pit.  Here, his throat was
slit to the jugular by one of the bandmembers, who was consecreated by
drinking a mouthful of the spurting blood.  He then wet his fingers with the
blood and traced the appropriate sigils on the floor.  After the members were
liberally sprayed by the blood, the boy, still alive, was butchered and his
internal organs eaten.  The remains were burned and disposed of before
sunrise. 

Dark rumors and canards?  Propoganda of Ralph Reid and the Christian
coalition, or somebody's idea of a sick joke, a lampoon of tabloid
headlines and the 11:00 news?  All I can do is watch the record sales and
the, maybe visit TOOL's label, just in case, to see if those gold and
platinum records hanging on the office walls begin to drip with the blood
of an innocent child.  A sick joke?  Yes, it has to be.  Still, there is
one thing to consider:  WHAT BETTER PLACE FOR A TRUE SATANIST TO HIDE,
THAN AMONGST HIS CHARACATURES?