Open Up That Old Tool Box

NOT ROCK
Two years have gone by without the pretty pain and masochistic outgivings of Tool. No perfectly starched performances backdropped by bizarre animations of human activity and, worst of all, no new albums. Since the 10,000 Days tour, I have checked in every two months with fingers crossed that Tool’s status quo would change.  Finally, it has.

Tool is headlining Lollapalooza (I can’t believe they are listed second to Depeche Mode).  Though excited to learn they aren’t dead in the water – I was a little worried – there was a bit of shock factor upon learning that their two-year hiatus will come to an end at a frat-boy festival. I never really thought of Tool as the festival-type band, but hey, if Nine Inch Nails can do it – three Grammys or not, their progressive and churning approach to metal, dark and desolate, has always been underappreciated and severely misunderstood – then so too can Tool. It’ll be interesting to see how Snoop Dogg fans receive them.

10,000 Days was a strong and logical continuation of their series of albums: Opiate, Undertow, Ænima, Lateralus. Tool always manages to outdo themselves, staying true to their enchanting darkness and, lyrically, digging from and at their insides. It would be a shame if this is where their discography ends. Maynard James Keenan, Danny Carey, Adam Jones, and Justin Chancellor, have all been participating in various side projects and at times playing with each other. Keenan has been making some wine, Caduceus. But there is no tour on the visible horizon, just one show – at Lollapalooza. One has to wonder if this is just a tease, a taste. All of their fans want more from the underappreciated geniuses. Thankfully, rumor has it that Jones and the crew are currently writing new music. Does this mean some mystery album is in the making? New animations of the body in its rawest form – eyeballs and fetuses – being created in hypnotizing patterns? I hope so.

Lollapalooza’s line up is looking pretty decent – The Killers, Ben Harper, The Beastie Boys, and Jane’s Addiction (remember when they played 1991 at the first annual?). But for you Tool fans, hold your breath. There is some wind on the web that this won’t be it for the summer – possibility of a show in Boston or maybe Minnesota? I say what about New York!

by Genette Nowak