Tool (band)

Tool is an American rock band. It was formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band has won Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance in 1997 for the song "Ænema" and in 2001 for the song "Schism". Tool has four members: singer Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey, and bassist Justin Chancellor.

Tool has put out five studio albums. Their first release was Opiate, an extended play. It had only seven songs on it. Tool's first album, Undertow, was heavy metal. In 1996, they made Ænima. Rolling Stone said it was one of the 100 best metal albums of all time. The band took a break before and after releasing their third album, Lateralus. This was because singer Maynard James Keenan was working with his other band, A Perfect Circle. The band released their fourth album, 10,000 Days, on May 2, 2006, and their fifth album (Fear Inoculum) on August 30, 2019.

History

Band starts 
In 1989, James Maynard Keenan and guitarist Adam Jones met each other in Los Angeles. Keenan let Jones listen to music he had made with another band. Jones thought the music was good, and told Keenan they should make their own band. They started playing music together, while looking for other people to play the bass guitar and drums. Tom Morello introduced them to drummer Danny Carey, who lived in the building where they practiced. Carey joined the band because other drummers the band wanted to play with did not show up. Bassist Paul D'Amour was the last to join the band. After D'Amour and Carey joined, they named the band Tool.

Opiate
Tool made its first extended play in 1992. It was called Opiate. To help sell copies of the EP, they went on tour. They went around the U.S. playing in concerts with two other bands named Fishbone and Rage Against the Machine. They also played in concerts with White Zombie and Corrosion of Conformity. In 1993, the band was playing at the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles. Keenan (who would later write the lyrics "Fuck L. Ron Hubbard and fuck all his clones"), baa-ed like a sheep for most of the show.

The EP did not sell many copies at first. After Tool got more popular, more people bought Opiate. It took 13 years for the album to be certified platinum by the RIAA (an award for selling one million copies).

Undertow
Tool's first studio album came out in 1993. It was called Undertow. In 1994, the band released a single from the album named "Prison Sex". With it was a music video that was created and directed by Jones. The video was deemed "too graphic and offensive", and was only played on MTV a few times because the video dealt with child abuse.

The album reached #50 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top Heatseekers. It was certified gold by the RIAA after only eight months, and platinum less than a year later.

Ænima
In October 1996, the band released their second studio album, called Ænima. Tool began a long legal fight with their label Volcano Records (formerly Zoo Records) over problems with their contract. They ended up with a new contract that said they would make three more albums. The members of Tool decided to take some time away after that.

The album was certified gold in 10 weeks and achieved double platinum, which means it sold two million copies, in 10 months. In 1998, "Ænema" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Fear Inoculum

On January 26, 2020, Tool won Best Metal Performance at the 62nd Grammy Awards for "7empest". Band members Justin Chancellor and Danny Carey went to the awards show to accept the award.

Style
Singer Maynard James Keenan has a unique, melodic style of singing. This style is thought to have influenced many other bands. While guitarist Adam Jones's style of playing is very simple, he is known for his use of different techniques of playing together, and trying new things with his instrument. Danny Carey has a very technical, advanced style of drumming. He is known for using odd time signatures, among other things. Justin Chancellor has an aggressive style of picking and fingering, using many guitar techniques which include using a pick, chords, harmonics, effects, and hammer ons and pull offs.

Discography
Studio albums
 Undertow (1993)
 Ænima (1996)
 Lateralus (2001)
 10,000 Days (2006)
 Fear Inoculum (2019)

Other releases
 Opiate (1992, EP)
 Salival (2000, live, also includes a VHS/DVD)
 Schism/Parabola(2006, music videos on DVDs)

References

Other websites

 Toolband.com - official website
 ToolArmy.com: The Collective Unconscious  - official fanclub
 The Tool Page (t.d.n) - "semi-official" website

1990 establishments in the United States
1990s American music groups
2000s American music groups
2010s American music groups
American heavy metal bands
Progressive rock bands
Grammy Award winners
Musical groups established in 1990
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Progressive metal bands