THANK YOU.Ī statement which is only true if you are a drummer. I could NEVER in "real life" find five other people that could have this kind of a conversation about Tool, or any other musical act. This is SO COOL! srkorn, danlowlite, artemis entreri, FlexAble, and nyte, you guys (or girls, or whatever) are awesome. Okay, it's five years later, and I've just looked back at this. I also suggest checking out " A Perfect Circle", the singer's ( James Maynard Keenan) side band, who is opening up for Nine Inch Nails' tour this summer. They seem to prefer the often moronic metal scene to any other, and they are all noted assholes, but excellent musicians.
So, in an attempt not to write the entire history of the band, I will say simply that Tool is a band that, if they chose to, could really bring metal to the forefront of respected music. I do know that they are one of the very few bands that Ozzy Osbourne considers his equal in writing ability. I have heard that no member of the band has an IQ less than 160, but that's unconfirmed. Every member of the band is in his own right not only a great musician, but an amazing writer, and an intellectual thinker as well. They play some really heavy music, and their lyrics tend to be scary at times (with titles such as " Prisonsex" and " Hooker with a Penis"), but the quality of the music is well worth it. Other pieces include alternating bars of 7 and 8 ( Forty-Six & 2), 6 and 5 (in a couple of random places), 5 and 3 (which is, admittedly more a feel-thing in 4/4), and a few actually split the band ( Lateralus and Third Eye), having half play in 3 and half in 4. The song starts out alternating bars of 4/4 and 13/16!!! For you musically illiterate people, just understand that this is an incredibly hard time signature to play in, let alone write in. For example, take " Intolerance", the first track on their second album, " Undertow". These guys play some riffs that no one else can touch. I love to try to analyze the guitar licks, and especially the drum fills and patterns. Tool plays the most complicated, difficult music in modern rock, without any rival other than another band called Dream Theater.Īnyway, I like music that forces me to think.
A lot of you have probably heard of them, but maybe not heard more than about one song by them. Typically, I listen to classic rock and jazz music, but a little while back I discovered a band called Tool.
Okay, I'm going to rant a little bit here, and people who don't know anything about music might not get some of this, but it's worth saying anyway.