i got into Tool while on the road to where a lot of people got to through them. I jsut wound up relating to a lot of it very very well. Politcally, Ideologically, Spritually. It was neat because before that the only lyrics i had related to were so-sad woes me crap nu-metal bands. Now Tool is the heaviest thing i listen to, funny how they actually did a lot in getting me away from heavier music. Now i listen to folk music, ambient music, industrial music, and Tool.

Tool has its own quality heaviness. Nothing is heavy like Tool. They're heavy in their own way.

they got me here...

and therefore (indirectly) they got me into better music, and more music than I could possibly need.

There was a time when I thought I was a satanist, then I became a strong Christian and then I started to think. It's long ago, but it's lasting the longest and in this state I met Tool.

i 2nd this notion.

......when you are reading this particular thread you get only a handful of threads on one page, so you go from "page to page". I think this thread at the time I was reading it was 32 pages (screens full of threads), hence the "page 22"

Sorry if I confused folks.

Spiral Out....(to page 22) :)

Ok, got it. Thanks.

They taught me Satan. lol. and stuff about the 3rd eye. and appreciation for brilliant music

and i learned to become one

Yeah, Tool showed me a lot about Satan as well. Stuff I didn't know. How come you always swallow things that are taught to you? Shit, parenting is an important task. Goddamit. And people just go on and keep having babies like there's no tomorrow... that's were Angelina Jolie is the man (or, eh, woman). Adopt I say, adopt!

I also call him Tim-Tim.

Is that a picture of Mikael Akerfeldt with a star on his cheek?

Nice.

I agree, true Christian values, as in, what types of behaviors and views should be acted out, require nothing Christian. It's just like any other faith or religion. The ultimate message underlying almost all religions is love.

So just don't be an asshole and don't argue with people that your way of not being an asshole is right and theirs is wrong. The world would be a Utopia.

Too bad 'asshole' is a big part of human nature.

My Outlook is working the same just like always after the releasing of 10,000 Days.
I never knew it was to be affected?

Well, since your perception is just a product of your environment then I'd say anything that you're exposed to alters your perception (even if in only unnoticible and neligible ways).

And the thread wasn't about 10,000 Days in particular; it is about what listening to Tool has done for your outlook on life/the world in general. I'm sure the vast majority of people that listen to Tool casually don't get a whole lot out of it, or maybe they do. The people on this board, however, delve into the lyrics, examine the metaphors (or like to think they do) and as such get something out of it, either positive or negative. Thusfar, according to this thread, the *vast* majority of people that have posted here say it has enhanced they're lives in some way.

(This is unless, of course, you're referring to the email client...)

I got into tool back in the undertow days, when I was an angry teen. My views about god and religion and spirituality have not changed, but have been given shape by the insights that I took from the message. My views have grown and matured, much as the band has... The fundamental change was in what I considered to be art and musicianship... these guys don't bother to set the bar... they just go wherever they damn well please, and I have always been obliged to follow, with a smile on my face and a wink in my third eye.

By the way riff, nice chords... very catchy...

well put. isn't it funny how so many people on this site still think Tool is antireligious? even though they wove Christianity like crazy through 10,000 days. i especially love it when people are like "maynard would never submit to something that's brainwashing" -must've heard that one a million times.

Maynard reads the bible and believes in Christianity, oops did i say that? oh i'm sorry. didn't mean to offend anyone. the truth just kinda slipped.

Get over all your denials, Maynard is into Christianity, I'm very sorry.

^----- bait more?

Tool has broken me away from Christianity, and helped me open and expand my mind...with the use of psychedelic drugs, but I feel I am a better person for what Tool has opened me up to

So I'm wondering how many of you in this thread would suck Maynard dry, given the opportunity. It seems like about 80% of you would.

Oh, and a big WTF? to those of you who are claiming Tool has affected your outlook on religion. What a sad state of affairs we are in when 4 people that none of you have ever met and that have no interest in your life have enough influence on you as to affect your stance on such an important issue as religion (be it to make you a Christian, make you not a Christian, make you a Buddhist, whatever).

NOTE: I'm not saying people should or shouldn't be religious, should or shouldn't be Christians. I just think it's whack as hell that some of you have let a rock band influence your thoughts on such matters.

^^^ So Tool has not influenced you in any way then? If you're saying they shouldn't influence people's religion then why should they influence or enrich people's lives in any way? God forbid something as shallow and pointless as music could have an effect on your life - hell no.

Tool has opened my mind in so many ways - to new ways of thinking, new ways of seeing the world, and to new music that I never listened to before. The changes are all for the better and I thank them for that. There is so much more to this amazing band than just a few guitar chords or a pretty song about love. They can teach, inspire, incite something in people who really want to hear it. If you just want to put them on in the background that's your call, but I'm so glad I took the time really, really listen.

explain to me the difference in the perceived level of stupidity in a)being influenced by a bunch of guys in a band or b) being influenced by something I bunch of guys wrote a couple of thousand years ago.

religion an important issue? ok.

try spirituality and you might be getting somewhere...

BTW mods this thread should be moved....

almost the way i would choose to write it if i wasn't so god damn lazy at the moment

wow just reading the first couple posts of this thread some of you guys sound like complete losers. It took Tools music to help you make decisions in your life LOL. breaking the chains of christianity? LOL WTF!? its a religion like any other no one is forcing you too believe it. it would be like singers in the middle east saying Allah is a scam.
LOL think for yourself dont think youre getting enlightened because someone is playing a guitar on an effects board.

^ "...too believe it." -> that really gives credit to your post and tell us a lot about yourself...

;)

To put it in a nutshell, everything has changes since I found tool. I never seem to look at things the same way that I did before listening to them.

Sounds like you have no experience with christianity. When it's all you have ever had to work with, it creates chains, just like anything else that you are attached to for no other reason besides it's all you know.

Sorry we cant all be the free-est of thinkers since birth like you.

in short they've definately made me look into things more and get more in touch with my creative side in short since discovering opiate oh so many years ago

^^^ 'Truth is One, though the sages know it by many' - Hindu precept

So if Jesus had been a singer his teachings would have been rediculous to follow, right? Because if someone is entertaining then they certainly aren't credible to be influential. So okay, Confuscious, who should we allow to influence us?

I think all that people are saying here is that Tool triggered something in them. It could be a movie, a poem, a charismatic speaker, or a really good band with an intention and message.

Maynard has the voice and talent to sing about whatever he wants. It's not a coincidence that Tool makes the kind of music that they do. They are trying to change people's minds, or at least open them to new possibilities. All this thread is is a tribute to that concept.

Buddha, Jesus, whoever... they're all just men. The message is what is important. I don't think many fervant and devout Christians want to suck Jesus off but that doesn't mean they aren't moved by what he said. - and that's second-hand teaching.

"Mention this to me, mention anything, and watch the weather change." It means anyone can say anything to you and your entire outlook on life is susceptible to change. Tool is just the catalyst. They mention a lot of things. A lot of people's weather has changed as a result.

Maybe you'll have better luck next time. Trust me, there will be a next time. Moksha is no where close to you nor vice versa.

Uh, yeah. This thread is a necessary escape valve for some of us tool fans...

Well not only that.

I am under the impression that occasionally some of the band members browse the boards. Not often, of course, they're very busy people, but I think sometimes they look over them...

So anway, I wanted a kind of tribute to the band in this thread. Something to tangibly say 'You made this music, put a lot of effort and inspiration into it and as a result, this is how you've touched my life and made it better'

Not everyone will get this out of listening to Tool. Some people may even think the idea is rediculous (see above posts). But, in the end, the group of people that Maynard and Company have affected positively is a beautiful thing. What a wonderful way to spend your creativity on. It doesn't end with Tool. You take what you learn and you pass it on. It trickles down. Tool is just at the top because of their platform........

And if I were an artist and put a lot of work into trying to help people I'd be really happy to see a thread like this. So, in part, I was just hoping it would serve as a 'thank you' note to the band, both communal and personal.

AND look where this has led ... see what happens when you dance with a girl...

lol

pwnd. for nine months!

Wow, this is some heavy shit man, very heavy. I had no idea folks were so profoundly affected by this music. I 'm happy for those people who have been helped by Tool. Alot of people have stated Tool's music has helped them break the chains of christianity. To me that's a good thing because I beleive any organized religion is a prison for your mind. Religion is the bane of mankind.

I grew up in the 70's but don't "live in the past" musically. For me personally, Tool has opened up a new frontier in music at a time when things had started to stagnate. Tool is state of the art. They are cutting edge. Tool is in a category of their own. The closest analogy I can come up with is Tool is this generation's "Pink Floyd". I'm glad I can come along for the ride because these boys can seriously fucking rock. Amen, brother.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of one. I do really like the grunge bands of the 90's like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. What do you think of these groups?

I don't know that my "outlook" has been affected too much by Tool, but I have been able to identify with something in the music and something in the lyrics - but what I connect with changes depending on where I am at in my head when I hear it.
Example using only one cd:
Undertow was a party cd for me in the 90s - I didn't look too deep - all about fun
(years pass, I become a Tool freak...)
Last year, my job was super crappy and stressful and I needed the benefits and pay for my family but I couldn't get a inter-office transfer and I was freaking out. I started listening to Undertow again. I would drive home and picture my boss and sing swamp song at the top of my lungs and release all this anger I had before I got home. Finially I got the inter-office transfer and over time I really got to stick it to this boss like you would never believe - it was sweet revenge.
Now when I hear Undertow, it makes me happy - it reminds me of that time and that I stuck it out and I survived it.

^ Be patient. Wait it out. If there were no rewards to reap...

Numerous times in my life has this line been my mantra and fuel for my strength.


And, on the idea behind great bands... there are many amazing bands and artists, but there is a certain level that Pink Floyd, Led Zepplin, Tool, perhaps a few more, have attained. Many are amazing but are not quite on the level.

For example, I love Alice in Chains and think that they are amazing in all respects - however, there is something about it that let's me know that they are no Pink Floyd or Tool. This is true for most great bands. They are very good, but not quite on *the level*