Tool is a progressive rock band formed in 1990. Band members areDanny Carey (drummer), Adam Jones (guitarist), Maynard James Keenan(vocalist) and Paul D’Amour (bassist), replaced after 1995 by Justin Chancellor. The band impresses through the dark sound and the incredibly complex lyrics which transcend into another spatio-temporal and philosophical sphere.
Discography and visual arts
The first album which appeared in 1992 it’s called “Opiate” and includes songs as “Hush” and “Opiate”.The basic theme approached in the first song, “Hush”, it’s the protest towards censorship.
The music video for the song it’s made in black and white and featured the band members naked with duct tape on their mouths in a white room.
Compared to the first album, which offered a tint of aggressiveness, the second album which appeared in 1993, called “Undertow” was distinguished through the diversity of the style approached.In 1994 the song “Sober” was more than appreciated, winning the Billboard’s “Best Video by a New Artist” award.
The third album, “Ænima”, was dedicated to Bill Hicks who had died two years before the album to be released in 1996. The purpose of the album was to raise awareness about the ideas and principles extremely similar between the band and Hicks.
In 2001, Tools enters the territory of progressive rock with the album “Lateralus”.
The album turns out to be a worldwide success, the song “Schism” receiving a Grammy Award for “Best Metal Performance”. The nine minute long song “Lateralus” it’s a masterpiece towards progressive rock and metal listeners and includes Fibonacci sequence. Tool shows this way the complexity of the lyrics, their music turning into an amazing and true art.
The album was a great trading success in the USA, reaching number one in US Billboard album charts since the debut week.
The forth album winning a Grammy is “10000 days”. The album it’s an offering to Maynard’s mother, who died in 2003 after a paralysis which lasted about 10000 days.
The ones responsible for the band’s conceptual art are Adam Jones and Alex Grey.Combining styles such as progressive rock, psychedelic rock and art rock, Tool demonstrates that there is a fine barrier between worlds, inducing a different state of mind with every listening to their songs.
