page: 48
 title: TOOL: OZZfest's Men of Mystery
author: Paul Gargano

There isn't a band in metal more enigmatic than Tool, the Los Angeles 
quartet who took Lollapalozza by storm last year, and are sure to do 
the same as the second headliner at OZZfest. In October, the band's 
second full length album, �NIMA, will be two years old. A year ago, 
they won a hard-faught battle to be released from their recording 
contract, and in the year since, they've become one of the only 
guarentees in metal-guarenteed to intrigue, possess, mystify, and 
abondan. And that's only throughout the course of a single song.


"Our main goal when we're together is to write music in a fourm where 
we can involve our counscious as well as our subconscious," says 
drummer Danny Carey of Tool's songwriting. "To make that happen we use 
every tool avaliable to us, be it mind altering chemicals, tragrances, 
or whatever modern technology can supply." The results make Tool a 
heavy metal amalgamation of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, catapulting 
their vision into a brave new world of textured sounds, complex 
imagery, and intricately laid dynamics. "Music and art should raise 
the consciousness of people, that's the way they affected me. I fell a 
need to repay the debt for that inspiration," the drummer adds.

Without a label, the band has remained atop rock radio playlists, a 
testimony to the respect they've earned within the industry without 
compromising their standards. Even when they had a label, interviews 
were an uncommon exception to a tight-lipped approach to the press, so 
it should come as little suprise that they won't be unraveling the red 
carpet for media on OZZfest. So builds their mystique. 

At last years Lollapalooza, they took the stage in body paint, 
frontman Mayanrd Keenan in a full-chested body suit, flanked by 
founding guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chnacellor and Carey. 
Because Tool's performance art is targeted to a generation numbed by 
shock rock, it's debatable how much of Tool's message is falling on 
deaf ears. Espically when they appear to revel in making their 
intentions as cryptic as possible. "We just want to be a catalyst for 
a different reaction, we don't want to be the focus," says Jones. 
�NIMA stresses that, with results, according to Chancellor, "like an 
amusement park, where you can jump on any ride or alternatively you 
can swallow the whole tab and be taken
Posted to t.d.n: 07/13/98 16:40:14