Info here is covered in / superseded by the FAQ, and may no longer be valid.
It is provided only for historical interest.

old news: january - march 2001 letters on a page with no meaning anymore

[03/29/01] - Today's theme in Tool news is "yes." Yes, the Official site posted the final "Lateralus" cover art, albeit embossed with some distribution paranoia. Yes, there are other similar bits of artwork floating around out there; they may be promo images, they may be images in the album's liner notes. All four are now available on the "Lateralus" info page and the Images section of this site. Yes, rumors are floating around about four shows taking place in the US soon, based on info apparently from someone at the band's management. There has as yet been no confirmation of this info. Yes, info will be posted here the second it is available. But yes, there are two new European dates in Poland now posted to the Tour section of this site. Yes, the video for "Schism" is now in production. It should be completed within a few weeks. Yes, indeed, there will be another Tool webcast! April 17th, Maynard's birthday (and the original "Lateralus" release date), expect the band to beam live into your home via the internet. Yes, the first single off "Lateralus" will be "Schism", which should hit radio awfully soon now. Yes, the lyrics posted to the "Lateralus" info page are the lyrics to "Schism." Go, start memorizing them. Sadly, yes, there are a whole lot of fake Tool songs out there on Napster now. I have no idea which they are, and keeping a list here would really take far too much time to be worth it. Use your head. Chances are, if it ain't listed here on The Tool Page somewhere, it ain't real.

[03/23/01] - A whole flood of readers wrote in to point out yesterday's article on mtv.com (also on sonicnet.com) about A Perfect Circle's position on a Napster issue. Billy Howerdel talks about how their cover of the Tapeworm song "Vacant" wound up online immediately after performing it, and his feelings on the matter. And yes they quoted me. The Articles section of this site has a bit of a new look at last. And, a whopping fifteen new articles have been posted, including yesterday's CDNow in-depth review of "Lateralus." Why they got a copy and nobody around here has is beyond me.

[03/22/01] - An anonymous source (who was the first to provide a copy of the "Salival" cover art) has apparently just received the cover art for "Lateralus" from the label; check it out in the Images wing of this site or the "Lateralus" info page listed above.

[03/21/01] - A lot of Tool fans have been puzzling over a song available on Napster called "Prove It." The track is labelled as being a Tool song, but at long last, someone has dug up the truth about this impostor: Doug Shepherd (shep5533@msn.com) reports that it is really a song called "Prove to You" by a band called Chevelle. Shoutweb is reporting that Alien Ant Farm will be opening for Tool on a few of their European shows. More specific details to follow, undoubtedly.

[03/15/01] - The Ides of March this year bring a more complete list of European tour dates, though the list that was posted here was pretty close to complete. Thanks to J.C. (thegreatone_jc@yahoo.com) for the list.

[03/04/01] - Looks like we will have to wait a little longer for "Lateralus." The release date has been pushed back a month to May 15, though apparently this is the final release date, guaranteed. The countdown continues.

[03/03/01] - Not much new in Tool world, but here are a few odds and ends which have been on the pile of things to post ... but somehow never got posted here. Orbital, a band who played Lollapalooza with Tool in 1997, has a new album out later this year, featuring a track called "Tootled." The song, which has been heard at shows, apparently features the bass line from "Sober" as its main sample. The Melvins, who have opened countless shows for Tool, are releasing a live album called "Colossus of Destiny" in April. The live set features Adam wailing away with the 'vins. More on that at melvins.com. Jim Morey (SolamnicOne@aol.com) noticed in the "Top 40" (April) issue of Spin Magazine, Maynard is named the 7th best/most important artist who will be contributing to the music world in 2001. In an interview earlier this year, Trey Gunn of King Crimson mentions that the band might "do a double bill tour of larger venues with Tool (whom he noted are big fans of KC)." This info comes from the King Crimson FAQ. More info on Tool tour dates is showing up on the Tour page, so keep checking here and there for the news.

[02/28/01] - More tour dates are showing up in the Tour section, including Tool's first show in the UK in several years. Tickets for some of those European shows are already on sale, so make sure you don't miss out.

[02/22/01] - Tour dates at last! Eric Looge (ericje@hotmail.com) was the first of many to send in information about European festivals announcing Tool as part of their lineups this summer. All available information is posted to the Tour page as it becomes available. The Official site is offering a new line of text as a daily preview of "Lateralus"; they all appear to be lyrics from the forthcoming album. So far, available bits are the lines "I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them fall away" and "mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing." Very nice.

[02/14/01] - A new, updated FAQ is finally available, collating info on "Salival" and other new info since its last update nine months ago. It also sports slight design changes, and is 12% longer than the last version. Go, read it. It will leave you enriched. The long-awaited Tapeworm album may finally come out this fall, though NIN frontman Trent Reznor isn't too happy that A Perfect Circle has been playing a Tapeworm song on their current tour. Trent recently said he found it "mildly irritating" that "Vacant" had been performed live by Maynard's other band before being "fully realized." Tapeworm includes NIN musicians Danny Lohner and Charlie Clouser, and various guest vocalists including Maynard (and, some say, Phil Anselmo of Pantera). Thanks to Joel (openmyeye@aol.com) and a bunch of others for writing in with this update.

[02/11/01] - The new song formerly known as "Resolution" is now listed as "Reflection" on the Official site. The listed titles are not expected to change much before "Lateralus" is released.

[02/03/01] - Well, the word is out today on the actual track names for the new album, which does in fact appear to be named "Lateralus." All told, there are 13 songs: "The Grudge, Eon Blue Apocalypse, The Patient, Mantra, Schism, Parabol, Parabola, Ticks & Leeches, Lateralus, Disposition, Resolution, Triad, Faaip De Oiad." At last. A review of five of the new songs appears in the current issue of Kerrang magazine, and is available in the Articles section of this site.

[01/29/01] - The Official Site has removed the ever-changing list of new song names, and replaced it with a note that the new album is called "Lateralus." Whether we should believe this info is still unclear, but it does seem a little more believable this time around. Entirely off-topic, the Challenger tragedy happened 15 years ago yesterday. Fifteen years ... makes you feel old, doesn't it?

[01/26/01] - Maynard (the real one) writes in to say that mastering for the new album is finally done. Somewhere out there, it finally exists. But not on Napster. With the posted tracklist on the Official site changing every day, you are likely to find a whole series of "Tool songs" which are nothing more than bogus audio with an "official new track name" slapped on it. Makes you wonder if that "name game puzzle" they mentioned is all designed to throw off the Napster counterfeiters. Five new articles are available in (where else?) the Articles section of this site.

[01/23/01] - Thanks to Matthew White (mnw7@cornell.edu) for the reminder that a new Tool Newsletter came out last Wednesday. It is now posted to the Community section, as well as here. Also from the Oops department, the December issue of the newsletter is finally posted as well. Enjoy the verbosity. The FAQ has not been updated yet to reflect all the burning questions regarding the "Salival" boxset. Fear not, a revised version will be available soon.

[01/19/01] - Yes, the album title and tracklist keep changing as posted on the Official site. Try not to read too much into it. And try not to email me about it; it means exactly what you think it means.

[01/17/01] - You can now post and check out tabs for new songs off "Salival" in the Tabs section. Hopefully, all old / useless tabs will be cleaned out soon; though in order to do this, somebody has to volunteer. Let me know if you want to take on part of the task.

[01/15/01] - The album tracklist posted to the Official site has changed slightly. Track names have changed once or twice since the posting. Is it indecision on the band's part? Or is there another answer? The album will be out soon enough to answer these burning questions (email to me won't yield any useful answer ... sorry).

[01/12/01] - Yesterday (my 26th birthday), the Official Site reported a title and tracklist for the new album. The album is apparently called "Systema Encéphale" and features 12 tracks: "Malfeasance, U.V.R., Numbereft, Encephatalis, Musick, Coeliacus, Pain Canal, Lactation, Smyrma, Riverchrist." Whether this is real, or another "we read the Joyful Guide to Lachrymology while recording Ænima in eight days in France", is not yet clear. "Salival" is apparently finally available in parts of Australia. I have no idea where you can get it if you can't find it yourself; you're on your own. Good luck.

[01/06/01] - The famed redesign of the site is still underway (how many months has it been?), taking the newest step with a newly overhauled menu. If you encounter any strange behavior (on the site, not on the streets), send in a bug report. And make it as detailed as possible. No, more detailed than that. Thanks. Don't forget, APC is going on tour this winter. Check their unofficial or official site for the details. This tour will not conflict with the completion of the new Tool record; the album is now in postproduction.

[01/05/01] - The Official Site reports some tidbits on the album, though nothing very different. They say that album artwork is "already in progress", pre-production for the next video has begun, and they confirm that Dissectional is not the name of the next album. Especially because this seems to be the name of their own imprint "sub-label", this makes a lot of sense. David de Sola (ddesola@emerald.tufts.edu) reports that with over 151,000 copies sold, "Salival" became the #3 top selling music video of the year, behind only NSync and Britney Spears. Wow.

[01/01/01] - Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a good night last night. Not much has happened in the last few days, except for "Salival" reaching #38 on the Billboard chart the week it came out, selling some 95,000 copies in its first week according to SoundScan. ("Limited edition" apparently has a new meaning.) Thanks to David de Sola (ddesola@emerald.tufts.edu) for the news info.

"Your pal" Kabir Akhtar | kabir@toolshed.down.net