May our 2015 be filled with Toolish delights.

Ps did any Bay Area peeps check out DC with Primus on NYE? I see they did Hot for Teacher and Moby Dick.

Oh nice. I hope a good quality video hits the tube.

I could not agree more. That Sabs show at the Bowl was mind melting and Tony was superb. Fuck Page.

Along with Sabbath I saw plenty of great shows in 2014, including APC/Puscifer and, of course, Tool. I'm really hoping 2015 is the year we get some new material from the guys. Been a long time.

Oh, and Happy New Year to all y'all!

Fuck BMB and the goddamn Baked potato. Sheesh

Attention Merseyside Tool fans.
If any of you would be so kind to pick me up a copy of the Liverpool Echo's 24 page tribute to Steven Gerrard in the Saturday Newspaper, I'll hook you up with shipping to the U.S., plus some Tool shit.
Thanks!

Message me, or just reply here and I'll get back to you.

JUNIOR, .....if you're reading,..a question for you sir. When TOOL records a new album, obviously comes touring and new songs to play live. And with new songs to play live comes new visuals. What part of the process are you handed the music to make visuals? Or do they have visuals already in mind? Can you explain that part of the game to me. PM or here sir. Thank you.

Im wondering if tbey might have had a Tool like camera policy since I havent seen one vid surface yet....

Hi Sonnyboy!!! Good to see you round these parts again. What do you think of the AC/DC rumours for coachella?

I've heard that too, but would be kind of surprised if it happened. Don't get me wrong, it would be a lot of fun to hear Dirty Deeds and Rosie on the fields. But not sure how I feel about no Malcolm. Probably my biggest Coachella hopeful (other than Tool, of course) is St Vincent. I really like her new stuff and the show I saw her do with David Byrne on their tour together still lingers in my head.

Yeah and Brian's best days are well behind him. Maybe we'll get a Bon Scot hologram! !

I don't have an easy answer for that, so I'll try to be concise. There are also parts of the process that are private, and have to stay that way.

There has been no set way that it happens. Every album has been a bit of a different process.

As far as the video clips go, most of those (recently) have been made by Chet, Meats, Breck (the tour video director), and a few other collaborators. Some of those are made out of suggestions from the band (mostly Adam), and others are made under some basic "Toolish" concepts and then presented for approval.

The over-all look of the show usually comes together when a tour is impending.
Looking back to the "Aenima" tour, which was my first with them, Adam invited me to the editing session of the "Stinkfist" video so I could see what the tone of that was. I then listened to the album to try to match up the other songs into a presentation that made sense for all of the songs to have their own space.

When "Lateralus" was being written, I was was able to hear some early rehearsal frameworks for "D/R/T' and "Lateralus", and at some point was shown the Alex Grey works for basic inspiration and I took some palette suggestions from that.

During the "10,000 Days" writing I first heard an early version of "Jambi". The band invited me to hear the final mix of the song "Wings for Marie/10,000 Days" while the album was being recorded as it seemed it could be a centerpiece of the live show and we might want to model the flow and tone of the show around it. This was thinking ahead towards the potential fall tour, not the smaller shows that were right after the album release. That theatre/festival tour got a different treatment that was less tied to the album and was also built to be able to fit the pieces into a variety of staging situations.

The look of each song tends to evolve as we go along, so nothing is set completely in stone prior to the first show of the tour.
We put together what we think will work, and then re-evaluate it on a daily basis. I don't think there has been a Tool tour where every song looked exactly the same every night. Sometimes the changes are massive, and sometimes very subtle, but it's always in flux.
I do tend to pick a set of colours for each song and stick with it. Once they are settled on, many of them stay the same, although other aspects of the cueing and structure may change.

Welp, you were right!

http://www.coachella.com/splash/

I get St Vincent too! And Ride! Overall a good line up. Nothing nard driven though. Oh well.

This wil be two years in a row that I will pass on the lineup. I hope against hope that I get Steely Dan and ACDC up here in between weeks.

Thanks Junior. ..always informative. Looking forward to tour of new album. Will definitely stop by your pit and say hi.

He'd like that a lot.

He just needs to look in the mirror.

junior,

on behalf of all of us regulars (and the many lurkers), thank you for that post and all the others you write here from time to time. it's great insight getting to see your perspective and contribution to all the shows we absolutely love.

i'm also glad our incessant setlist bitching (not to mention my drunken jabbing at your Kings every post-show) hasn't scared you away yet :)

.(lurking)

Can't wait for the new album. Once it drops, i'll try to think about a color that fits the song and see if i'm right when the tour drops.

This is the ultimate "wait for it"...

TOOL = purple

blellow

Purple Sharpies

Lmao...I dont know whats gonna come first.....me retiring at 65 (im currently 43) and collecting social security or the new TOOL album

I hope we get that latest version of Stinkfist on nexr tour. That ending is HEAVY AS FUCK! !!

I disagree. I want a setlist that is the entire new album to start with, then a couple of cover songs including the Band's "The Weight" or Bobby dylan's "Quinn The Eskimo" and then "Terrapin Station" to finish the show.

speaking of new album, i was thinking about the chances that the album release date could be after the first few shows (like Coachella situation in 2006).

I think it would be really, really, fucking cool to hear a new tool song (or a few) for the first time live.

was anyone here at Coachella in 2006? I think they played Jambi, Vicarious and The Pot. I know the album leaked before then, but for the patient folk who waited, I think that would be a great experience.

i honestly hope it gets released before they hit my town. i prefer to have the lyrics memorized for the full experience. otherwise i'd be trying to mouth arbitrary syllables, and trying to guess what Maynard was just singing, instead of simply enjoying the poetry. i dont mind - in fact, i love it - when Danny, Justin, and Adam jam new stuff on stage, but if there are lyrics involved, i'd like to read the memo lol

I saw them at Coachella 2006. I was honestly really trying hard to not download the album before Coachella but I did. I lived in Utah at the time so we listened to 10,000 Days a couple of times on the ride down. Maynard yelled at all of us that were singing the lyrics to Jambi and The Pot. Haha. He said something like our album comes out May 2 but you guys already stole it from the Internet. We only got Vicarious, Jambi and The Pot that show but it was my first Tool show and was so stoked to hear The Patient and Lateralus and 46 & 2 that I didn't really care that they only played 3 of the new songs. It was amazing to travel so far to to them in a place that I have never been to. I have since then bought 10,000 Days at least 3 times. So I don't feel to bad about downloading it before it came out. I love thier music so much it was impossible not to download. I do wonder what the people that had never heard the album thought when they heard the new songs for the first time. Because I was such a huge fan and checking this site everyday and checking toolband and distortiononline when I found out it leaked I couldn't control my curiousity.

When I first heard 10,000 Days I really only liked Jambi, Rosseta Stoned, and Right in two. The Pot was so different from older Tool that it took me a bit to like it and Wings was so different and slower then I thought a Tool song would be. At the time I really wanted 10,000 Days to be as hard as Undertow. That was my favorite album at the time so it really took me about 3 to 4 listens of the whole 10,000 Days album to truely love it.

Now in 2015 I find myself wondering why I love Tool so much still. Why do I go to this site and Fourtheye everyday to check the progress of the new album? Why do I care about a band that hasn't put out anything new for almost 9 years? I work for a delivery company so I am driving around 9 hours a day and I don't listen to music anymore. I mainly listen to podcasts but when I do listen to music, I find myself playing a lot of bootleg live tracks from Tool and of course Ænima, Lateralus and 10,000 Days. Not so much Undertow and Opiate. I like the older stuff on bootlegs though. I rarely listen to any bootlegs from 2006 to 2014 because I have seen them live from 2006 at least 12 or more times. I really wish I was into them during the Lateralus tour.

Anyways, I honestly can't explain why I still fucking care about this band and check all these websites daily. What the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I so obsessed with this new fucking album? I honestly think it's the way this band treats the fans. I hate surprises and secrets and so this band is everything I hate. Haha. Their music is what I love and I could care less about their personal lives. I want Live recorded music and new music and that is it. I enjoy every kind of music except country and I listen to mostly Soul Town on XM radio. So I enjoy other music but there is no other band out there that I want more new music then Tool. End of rant now.

TLDR: why the fuck do I care about this band still and think about their new music everyday? Should I be committed?

Great post.

In 2002, I was 18. My best friend and I had just returned home (Denver) from Hawaii. We got back on July 20th. Tool played the Pepsi Center on July 21. If you look at ToolArchive on youtube, he talks about how it's his favorite bootleg and listens to it all the time. Rub it in...

I will never forget the conversation my friend and I had when we got back. He called me right after we got back to our houses and said "Dude, Tool's playing here tomorrow." I said "I'm tired, I don't have any money and I'm not a big fan anyway. Let's skip it." Our big show that summer was the Dave Matthews Band. Whoops.

Anyway, I went to college a couple weeks later and totally lost my shit. Fast forward one year. I had lost 2 friends, 2 family members 1 dog and 1 lady...in addition to battling typical 20-year-old "who am I going to be?" bullshit. Made many poor choices to cope. I got in my car one quiet night and drove to Clinton Lake in Lawrence, KS and gave Lateralus its first real, active listen.

I have never been quite creative enough to express my own self artistically. I'm not that great with words. I remember trying to process the lyrics "Let go" and "be patient." It felt contradictory at the time. But as I continued to listen, little puzzle pieces kept falling into place. I remember it feeling like a slow reveal, like little panels were being removed from my eyes revealing an unfiltered lens through which I saw...stuff...clearly. I got it when "With my feet upon the ground..." came. Was a pretty intense "ah ha!" moment. It, itself, didn't do anything other than change my approach to life and things I can't control. I'm happy to say I've done the rest on my own.

Because of that moment, I've always regretted missing that 2002 show. Aside from the fact that there's so much said about how amazing that tour was, and that particular show, it's always felt like a missed opportunity. But, I've seen them many, many times since (and APC and Puscifer etc...). And each time has been special. (Except for Mile High Music Fest, 2009...NOT special).

But Tool became important at the right moment. And that moment visits me daily. I'll never have another moment like that with Tool. I wouldn't want one. But...that's why I still care and come around here and fourtheye and get excited for new stuff. In addition to the fact that it's just great music...it's special and significant. I feel silly at 31 thinking about 4 guys I don't know sparking a change in me that's lasted so long. Being a fanboi for so long feels...weird. But I understand why I am and why it's important to me. 31, in many ways, is a repeat of 20. I can't get it out on my own...at least I know where to go for a little reminder now and then.

Anyway...you can decommit now if you want. You'll still listen to the fucking record when it gets here. Boner time.

Good on ya for posting here. We are all in a similar boat. Why do we love a band that refuses to return that love? Its almost like abused fan syndrome. Yet here we are checking for a pulse every day, year after year.

I go a little further back and have watched this band evolve from a club act into the mega coporation that they are today. It's been a wild ride and one thing I can say is that being a devoted Tool fan is challenging for sure.

(i read the whole thing, just shortened the quote for space)
i gotta ask, do you just want Tool to be audio-hookers? or do you want some real profound art? you say you don't care for their personal lives, but still can't wait for the next album. but isn't their personal lives (at least Maynard's) a big variable in all the music?

i also don't perceive anything wrong with how they treat their fans. they're mysterious, so they have to keep an air of mystery - which some people interpret as cold and distant... if they didn't keep this air of mystery, then i personally don't think their music would be half as good...

so is yours (again, just shortened the quote to save space)
i feel the same way as you. they've helped me through some pretty rough times, while everyone else in my real life would simply say, "oh, just perk up!" - ha...

if i could stop respecting Tool so much, simply because they're taking their time on a new album, i don't think i could respect myself anymore. it's like a mentor-pupil archetype to me...

PS (off-topic) yac03. you said you lived in Lawrence, which is cool because i lived there up until 3 months ago, when i moved to KC. just thought it was neat lol.

"Why do we love a band that refuses to return that love?"
- i feel like this is a repeating question in the last few posts... but aren't their albums a physical manifestation of their love for their fans? imo, they do return the love. through emotional catharsis, "spiritual-enlightenment" (though i would prefer to call it "elucidating moral conflicts"), and the web of knowledge (the network of artists; Grey, Crowley, etc.) that they point you in the direction of... they seem to reward those who are willing to make an effort. they help those who help themselves. holy shit, they're jesus! - i kid...

but it has been a very wild ride. that is not an understatement... while i may not be OGT (i picked up Lateralus in '06, and was hooked immediately), i can still appreciate where they came from.



EDIT: PS - part of growth is dealing with abusive people. everyone here already knows about Lachrymology and Tool... so to me, the illusion of Tool hating or not caring for their fans seems just as important as their music... by doing so, they essentially hold up a mirror to the audience. those who hate Tool perceive Tool as hating them... those who love Tool perceive Tool as embracing them...

i hope i make sense.

(You know Lachrymology is ruse right? )

And I dont think that Tool hates or dislikes the fans, I believe the better term would be indifference. I don't expect them to bow down but I don't expect Chinese Democracy either and just because it takes 8-10 years to make an album does not mean it will be an incredible piece of art.

yeah i'm pretty certain the book is fake, but the idea behind it isn't such a terrible idea. - that after an emotional episode, we should feel 'cleansed' or whatever. (i'm paraphrasing terribly)

you make a good point... though i think an 8-10 year break period raises the chances for an incredible piece of art (versus rushing to finish it in a single/couple year(s)). and Tool has yet to disappoint me, so i've still got some faith left.

though, i suppose we won't be able to judge it till they finally release it, which... now we've come full circle, again... -.-

I did! I went to KU from 2002-2007. Took an extra year. From what I can remember, I had a great run in Lawrence. It's an amazing place and I miss it all the time. I also love KC (KS and MO). Wonderful city. Wish I had been around for the Royals run this fall. I'm a baseball guy...can't imagine how much fun that would've been. My first Tool show was at Memorial Hall in KCK on the 10K Days warm up run. What a trip...it's just a little basketball court! Pretty sure they were filming an episode of cops right across the street after the show...

Cool coincidence.

Any news on the TOOL v. Clarendon National Insurance Co.?
I thought that trial date was set for sometime in January.
Any updates Hellboy? Or anyone else?

I should email their lawyer and ask.

his info is somewhere in my inbox from last year :p

It has started I believe, but there's little info out there: