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The Tool Page: An Article

Publication: The Kerrang! 2001 Yearbook

Date: November, 2001

Transcribed by
Dominic Martin (sdrawkcab8@hotmail.com)


  page: 84
 title: Live Events of the Year 2001 No. 2 (of 10)
author: ???

2. TOOL
Event: UK Tour.
Dates: Dublin SFX June 7, Glasgow Barrowlands 8, Manchester 
Appolo 9, London Brixton Academy 11 and 12.

Few bands have the audacity to make fans wait five years 
between albums and fewer still can genuinely make that wait 
worthwhile, but then if ever a band were to thwart convention 
then it was Tool.For an outfit so personally guarded, their 
record are amongst the most powerful, all-reaching visions of 
rock music of the past decade, and their live shows are 
renowned for their incredible grasp of dynamics (be they mid-
afternoom infront of an Ozzfest crowd or in a dimly lit 
theatre).Naturally expectations were high for this set of live 
dates as fans - having had barely a month to absorb the 
new 'Lateralus' album - wanted a little context for the heady 
prog sound-scapes.If there was a moment to be grateful for 
predictability it was here - 'Lateralus' segued perfectly into a 
live setting, with radio hit 'Schism' accompanied by visuals of 
eyeballs on metronomes and onimous mutations.Tool's live 
triumph has always been in crafting the complete gig 
experience, and these shows saw Maynard James Keenan, 
Danny Carey, Adam Jones and Justin Chancellor transcending 
the confines of the stage to produce a different kind of live 
encounter.Mesmeric, graceful and genuinely moving, it was 
one of the great rock experiences of this or any other year.

Best bit: Cataclysmic finale of 'Aenima'[sic] at the Brixton gig.


Posted to t.d.n: 09/06/02 15:26:13 The Tool Page: An Article

Publication: The Kerrang! Yearbook 2001

Date: November, 2001

Transcribed by
Dominic Martin (sdrawkcab8@hotmail.com)


  page: 95
 title: The Soundtrack To Your Year No. 2 (of 10)
author: ???

2.TOOL - LATERALUS
Post-hardcore legends Fugazi, electronic maverick Aphex 
Twin, precision metallers Mesuggah - all three were singled 
out as kindred spirits by Tool earlier this year.More than 
anything, however, the LA based four-piece have felt the 
need to acknowledge their debt to prog-rock behemoths King 
Crimson, Pink Floyd and, er, Monty Python.
"Prog-rock could also be compared to a Monty Python film in 
that you have to watch the movie 16 times before you get 
most of the inferences," offers frontman Maynard James 
Keenan.
In this context it's perhaps easier to establish the link to 
chuckle-free Tool-sters and John Cleese and co.After all, one 
listen to 'Lateralus' is likely to leave you rather 
bamboozled.Unlike most other albums released this year, 
this 13-track effort isn't the kind of record you can digest in a 
week, let alone in a single simple sitting.
Complex, bold and enthralling, it's also a collection that 
refuses to simply rake over old ground.Hence, while it nods 
towards 'Aenima' - it's epochal predecessor of five years ago -
 'Lateralus' is almost a fresh start from a band who are 
clearly not afraid to take chances.
Highlights are almost impossible to isolate, 
although 'Parabola', 'Reflection' and 'Schism' are as good a 
set of examples of Tool's expansive musical view as you're 
likely to get.
Released back in May and followed by an appearance at 
Ozzfest as well as a sold-out UK tour, 'Lateralus' managed to 
garner favour among fans and critics alike.In the US it sold in 
excess of 550,000 copies in it's first week of release, while 
Kerrang! stated "Lateralus" isn't just one of the greatest 
albums you'll hear this year, it's one of the greatest albums 
you'll hear this lifetime."
For all of this praise and profile, however, Tool remain a band 
capable of walking past a majority of their fans unbothered 
and unrecognised.Enigmatic, indeed.

Posted to t.d.n: 09/06/02 15:51:23 The Tool Page: An Article

Publication: The Kerrang! Yearbook 2001

Date: November, 2001

Transcribed by
Dominic Martin (sdrawkcab8@hotmail.com)


  page: 95
 title: The Soundtrack To Your Year No. 2 (of 10)
author: ???

2.TOOL - LATERALUS
Post-hardcore legends Fugazi, electronic maverick Aphex 
Twin, precision metallers Mesuggah - all three were singled 
out as kindred spirits by Tool earlier this year.More than 
anything, however, the LA based four-piece have felt the 
need to acknowledge their debt to prog-rock behemoths King 
Crimson, Pink Floyd and, er, Monty Python.
"Prog-rock could also be compared to a Monty Python film in 
that you have to watch the movie 16 times before you get 
most of the inferences," offers frontman Maynard James 
Keenan.
In this context it's perhaps easier to establish the link to 
chuckle-free Tool-sters and John Cleese and co.After all, one 
listen to 'Lateralus' is likely to leave you rather 
bamboozled.Unlike most other albums released this year, 
this 13-track effort isn't the kind of record you can digest in a 
week, let alone in a single simple sitting.
Complex, bold and enthralling, it's also a collection that 
refuses to simply rake over old ground.Hence, while it nods 
towards 'Aenima' - it's epochal predecessor of five years ago -
 'Lateralus' is almost a fresh start from a band who are 
clearly not afraid to take chances.
Highlights are almost impossible to isolate, 
although 'Parabola', 'Reflection' and 'Schism' are as good a 
set of examples of Tool's expansive musical view as you're 
likely to get.
Released back in May and followed by an appearance at 
Ozzfest as well as a sold-out UK tour, 'Lateralus' managed to 
garner favour among fans and critics alike.In the US it sold in 
excess of 550,000 copies in it's first week of release, while 
Kerrang! stated "Lateralus" isn't just one of the greatest 
albums you'll hear this year, it's one of the greatest albums 
you'll hear this lifetime."
For all of this praise and profile, however, Tool remain a band 
capable of walking past a majority of their fans unbothered 
and unrecognised.Enigmatic, indeed.

Posted to t.d.n: 09/06/02 15:56:07