page: 
 title: Metal for the Thinking Fan
author: Christine Laue

     Maynard may not sound like a "cool" name for a lead 
singer of a heavy-rock band, but Maynard James Keenan and 
his band mates aren't worried about appearances.
     Their band, Tool, actually tries to avoid the spotlight, 
making videos without ever appearing, obscuring their eyes 
in a Spin Magazine cover photo and generally keeping a low 
profile.
     Yet this Los Angeles band has legions of fans and was 
one of the most celebrated groups in 2001 with the release 
of "Lateralus," the band's third album and many critics' pick 
for one of the top albums of that year.
     Keenan likely will be donning some appearance-altering 
constumes -- he's been known to take the stage with 
everything from wigs to a wheelchair -- as Tool unleases its 
sonic assault at Omaha's Civic Auditorium Arena.
     Singer and lyricist Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, 
drummer Danny Carey and bassist Justin Chancellor are not 
your average grunt rockers.  Tool is metal for the thinking 
man.  Many call it art-metal.
     Tool members call themselves geeks.  Music critics and 
fans are more flattering, finding their layered and complex 
compositions intriguing and comparing them to Pink Floyd 
and Nine Inch Nails.
     With odd meter, smoldering tribal beats, dark lyrics and 
Keenan's eerie singing -- not thrash-metal screaming -- Tool 
distinguished itself as a credible talent in a sea of 
waning '90s alternative bands and a wave of new-millenium 
new-metal bands.
     The band broke out in 1993 after releasing "Undertow," 
its first full-length album, and touring on the popular 
Lollapalooza festival.  The band followed up with the 1996 
Grammy-winning "Aenima," which sold more than 2.4 million 
copies, and co-headlined the 1997 Lollapalooza with Korn.  
During a five-year hiatus that preceded the release 
of "Lateralus" -- a break caused mostly by the now-standard 
record-label legal fiascoes -- Ohio native Keenan formed 
another band, A Perfect Circle, which saw its debut album, 
2000's "Mer De Noms," go platinum.
     Tool's multiplatinum and critical success continued with 
the release of "Lateralus."  The album skyrocketed to the No. 
1 position on the Billboard album chart and has become the 
band's biggest hit.
Posted to t.d.n: 09/07/02 20:33:59