Publication: Hypnotica
Date: August 1996
Transcribed by BobGobble@aol.com
[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?