01	Sweat						03:47
	02	Hush						02:53
	03	Part Of Me						03:12
	04	Cold And Ugly (live)						04:09
	05	Jerk-Off (live)						04:24
	06	Opiate						08:28
	07	Third Eye (live)						13:50
	08	You Lied (live)						09:17
	09	Merkaba (live)						09:48
	10	No Quarter						11:12
	11	Lamc						08:50

Opiate [EP]
Date of Release 1992


In retrospect, Opiate seems a little haphazard, but it's possible to hear the seeds of Tool's oppressively bleak, cerebral metal in such cuts as "Sweat" and "Opiate." The two live tracks, "Cold and Ugly" and "Jerk-Off," don't sound out of place, since they share the same churning riffs, black noise and doom that characterize Tool's sound. This is not as developed as either Undertow or Aenima, but it's possible to hear the roots of those albums all over this EP. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

1. Sweat (Tool [1]) - 3:47
2. Hush (Tool [1]) - 2:48
3. Part of Me (Tool [1]) - 3:17
4. Cold and Ugly [live] (Tool [1]) - 4:10
5. Jerk-Off [live] (Tool [1]) - 4:10
6. Opiate (Tool [1]) - 5:22

Danny Carey - Drums
Paul d'Amour - Bass
Steve Hansgen - Producer
Adam Jones - Guitar
Maynard James Keenan - Vocals
Sylvia Massy - Producer, Engineer, Mixing

1992 CD Zoo 11027
1996 12 Zoo 31027
1992 CD Volcano 31027
1992 CS Volcano 31027
EP Zoo 72445-11027-2


Tool
Formed 1990
Group Members Danny Carey Paul d'Amour Adam Jones Maynard James Keenan Justin Chancellor


Tool's greatest breakthrough was to introduce dark, vaguely underground metal to the preening pretentiousness of art rock. Or maybe it was introducing the self-absorbed pretension of art rock to the wearing grind of post-thrash metal - the order really doesn't matter. Though Metallica wrote their multi-sectioned, layered songs as if they were composers, they kept their musical attack ferociously at street level. Tool didn't - they embraced the artsy, faux-bohemian preoccupations of Jane's Addiction while they simultaneously paid musical homage to the dark, relentlessly bleak visions of grindcore, death metal, and thrash. Even with their post-punk influences, they executed their music with the ponderous, anti-song aesthetic of prog rock, alternating between long, detailed instrumental interludes and tuneless, pseudo-meaningful lyrical rants in their songs. Tool, however, had a knack for conveying the strangled, oppressive angst that the alternative nation of the early '90s claimed as their own. So, the band was able to slip into the definition of alternative rock during the post-Nirvana era, landing a slot on the third Lollapalooza tour in 1993, which helped their first full length debut album, Undertow, rocket into platinum status. By the time the band delivered their belated follow-up, Aenima, in 1996, alternative rock had lost its grip on the mainstream of America, and their audience had shaped up as essentially metal-oriented, which meant that the group and the record didn't capture as big an audience as their first album, despite debuting at number two on the charts. When their first full-length album was released in 1993 (they released an EP a year earlier), Tool won lots of fans with their grinding, post-Jane's Addiction heavy metal. With their dark, angry lyrics and numbing guitar drilling, they appealed both to metalheads and alternative rock fans. When they landed an opening spot on Lollapalooza, their audience grew by leaps and bounds; the increased exposure helped their debut album, Undertow, go gold. Its 1996 follow-up, Aenima, was also a success.
After a co-headlining slot with Korn on Lollapalooza '97 wrapped up, Tool remained on the road, supporting Aenima until well into the next year. During their usual extended hiatus between albums, Keenan decided to use his downtime productively by forming a side project, dubbed A Perfect Circle. The band's 2000 debut, Mer de Noms, was a surprise hit, while their ensuing tour was a sold-out success as well. With Tool break-up rumors swirling, the band put the speculation to rest by re-entering the recording studio and issuing the stop-gap B-sides/DVD set Salival late the same year. May 2001 finally saw the release of Tool's third full-length release, Lateralus, which debuted at the number one position on the Billboard album chart and became the band's biggest hit. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato


1993 Undertow Zoo
1993 Undertow [Clean] Volcano
1996 Aenima Volcano
2001 Lateralus [Clean] Volcano
2001 Lateralus Volcano








Tool [USA]
Updated 3/19/03
Discography
Opiate (92, EP)
Undertow (93)
Aenima (96)
Salival (00, Live, CD or DVD)
Lateralus (01)


Reviews

Tool, maybe the most mainstream of the progressive metal outfits, could also be described as the most unconventional metal band you've ever heard. Strangely enough, considering their commercial success, the four members of Tool have always done their riffs their own way, and rarely stuck to traditional limits such as verse-chorus-verse song structures and kick-hat-snare drum grooves.

First and foremost, Maynard James Keenan is the best rock and roll vocalist this side of Freddie Mercury. His range is tremendous, his power is unrelenting, and when he sings he makes you feel what he's singing. He is not a conventional three-part melody rock singer. His lyrics are dark and insightful, in a way both removed from and connected to the messages found in alt-metal such as Korn, Linkin Park, and the like. He'll sing about his childhood and his losses, but he'll make you believe and share his pain.

Danny Carey, with his double-kick, deep snare drum set, is also unconventional. Not only in his setup, which includes numerous cup chimes, electronic pads and cymbals, but also in his approach and technique. Whereas other great drummers such as Neil Peart of Rush would back up a heavy crunching riff with a fast-tempo kick-snare-kick-snare groove, Danny would play an intricate, sometimes syncopated, multi-tom/snare/kick groove utilizing all his drums and some of his electronics. And when it does come down to kick-hat-snare, Danny can play odd time signatures like no one else, save perhaps Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater.

Justin Chancellor's bass guitar is also used in a very different role. Many times it can be treated as a second lead instrument, in songs such as the hit single "Schism". Justin can go intricate and melodic, or bottomed-out and bare-boned. His versatility and style of playing set him in a class apart with bassists such as Chris Squire of Yes.

Finally, not to be missed is Adam Jones' beautifully aggressive guitar work. Unlike other metal guitarists of the day, who rely on riffs that climb all over the fret board in a haphazard manner, Adam writes music that defies the metal quota. He writes simple, beautiful riffs, usually heavily distorted, that seem to, like The Who's Pete Townshend, keep the rhythm more so than provide solos and arpeggio fun.

It can be argued that bands like Tool are the shot in the arm that mainstream heavy metal, death metal, nu-metal, and even alternative rock, need so badly. And if the point were brought up, I would agree. In a world of Korn and Limp Bizkit copycats, it's refreshing to hear that a band with this much talent and potential is getting the radio airplay they deserve. -- Bryan Andrews - Bohemian Star Gazer

In the summer of 2001, Tool toured with King Crimson. (KC was the backup band). Robert Fripp even sat in with them on one song and played guitar. Some see this as a certification of authenticity from one of the old guard prog bands that Tool is, indeed, a prog band as well. I doubt that Robert Fripp would see it that way, however. I'm sure he would simply say that Tool is a band doing music its own way, just as he has always done, and labels like "prog" are irrelevant. He's probably right.
Tool has garnered a lot of criticicm about their lyrical content and claimed associations with the occult. While this may or may not have any merit (Tool likes to just plain make up strange stuff to keep fans on their toes, and this may all be complete nonsense), there are some enjoyable rants on the subject at the www.toolband-sucks.com web site. They complain about the Thelemic content on the Tool web site and also claim they are engaging in mind control of their audience using Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Isn't it fun that any idiot can have a web site and say anything they want to? (Yes, I'm aware that you're looking at just such a site right now.)

Tool's Danny Carey is currently (3/18/03) working with Adrian Belew (King Crimson) and Les Claypool (Primus) on several songs for Belew's next CD, and are also working together on another (separate) project. -- Fred Trafton


Links
Click here for the Official Tool web site
Click here for a Tool FAQ