page: 25
 title: Tool Time again
author: "Danny Keenan" (most likely a false name!)

It has been four long years between the release of their ground-
breaking album AENIMA and the four members of LA rock outfit Tool are 
having mixed emotions.
They are ecstatic about having finished their third full-length album 
LATERALUS and are itching for it to get into the marketplace and the 
sweaty hands of Tool fanatics world-wide. Yet that platform will only 
be reached with the realisation that some interviews and media 
commitments are to be fulfilled.
Tool hate doing interviews. Probably nearly as much as people dread 
interviewing them. It's not that they hate the media, it's just that 
Tool are a needle in a haystack. Despite being interviewed, they 
remain a predominantly closed shop. It's like pulling teeth.
They stand by the belief that it is ALL about music. They scorn 
photos, magazine covers, television appearences and all the hype 
surrounding rock stars. They profess that a little mystery can go a 
long way and with the amount of mystery that this quartet generates 
there is no end in sight.
Four years is generally a long time between drinks for any band, but 
Tool have been doing anything but resting on their laurels. Following 
the release of AENIMA in 1996, the band set off for two years of 
relentless touring that saw them vist Australia in summer 1999, 
(where they acclimatised by watching the Bombers play AFL and eating 
meat pies). With tracks like Stinkfist and 46&2, plus their 
disturbing, captivating and groundbreaking video clips, they kept on 
the road playing to a widespread legion of fans.
On return, they entered into a volatile battle with their record 
label. That took quite some time and saw the band swap major 
distributors as they started work on their next album. In the process 
they parted ways with their longtime manager, Australian Ted Gardner, 
and singer Maynard James Keenan temporarily hit the road with his 
other band A Perfect Circle.
Among all the turmoil, purging and interruption, Tool bonded together 
even tighter and concentrated on what matters-the songs. While 
working on their new album, they also issued a rarities box set 
called SALIVAL to keep the swarm of Tool fans placated while 
LATERALUS evolved.
On this scorching Los Angeles day, we are crammed in the back of a 
Tool family member's BMW at a rehearsal studio car park, listening to 
the tracks off LATERALUS. Such is the paranoia and security 
surrounding these songs and everything within the Tool camp. It's all 
more part of the mystery.
"There is just no more mystery in music anymore," says guitarist Adam 
Jones in regards to the state of music portrayed via today's media 
and the Internet.
"You want to have an impact and you want to have control," continues 
drummer Danny Carey. "These days, everybody wants to know how the 
movie ends before they see it or they want to hear the punch line 
before they hear the joke, because they don't want to be in that 
vulnerable state. But it's OK to be surprised, or to be shocked or 
whatever. Just wait, the reward is much better and you learn 
something about yourself that way."
On LATERALUS, Tool have adopted the theory that if it is'nt broken, 
don't try and fix it. They stay true to the sounds that have made 
them one of the biggest, progressive and respected rock bands on the 
planet, yet they continue to push the envelope to refrain from 
laziness and mediocrity. However, Carey explains that there are a 
couple of departures and a few risks.

(LATERALUS debuted at No.1 on the Australian charts and is released 
on Tool Dissectional/Volcano, through Zomba Records in Australia.)


Posted to t.d.n: 06/01/01 19:36:52