OK, this will be a work in progress for the next coupla months, because I still have a lot of gifs and info to get straight before I pull out all the stops and make this page out. So, I'll give you basic info for now. This will be lots of words, so if you don't feel like reading a lot of good information that might actually make you think and ponder, exit now. It's called the back button. But, honestly, I wouldn't waste my time to make a page if I didn't believe it was needed.
Adam Jones--guitars (and video director)
Justin Chancellor--bass
Danny Carey--drums
Unfortunately, I cannot say that I have been a fan since then. I was first caught by their third album, AEnima, which is a 15-track long LP of experimental beauty and devastating ups and downs. When I first heard this album, I had to buy it. I had the songs stuck in my head for days, then weeks, then I just couldn't get enough. I turned into this ravenous beast for Tool. And I couldn't understand why.
Once I moved to college, I found a friend who had my same love for this group, Tom. Tom and I decided that Tool was, hands down, the greatest band to come along in a LONG time. No one could parallel to their genius of composition and what we consider "poetry in motion".
Getting to individual members now, we start with Maynard. A man in an ever-changing state, it seems as almost he is in a cocoon for years, then blossoms further to become more amazing than before. Everything he does is magic. Everything he writes is inspiring. But most of all, everything he says is intelligent. He's not your average, run-of-the-mill lyricist who writes and sings about love and hate in the simplest, pop sense that we have become droned into. No, Maynard sings about things that no one would think of: censorship, Jesus Christ, the crucifixion, the evolution of man, fake fans, telekinetic abilities and their possibilities, the Last Supper....anything with this man is up for discussion. And in his way of putting it, it IS poetry in motion. It's not just words.....it's an experience. And not only are the words miraculous, but his seering and peaceful vocals collide with his dark fierce growls, making for a pleasurable journey through the mind of a man trying to find his own mortality and meaning.
Next, we have the art grad, Adam. Adam not only creates some of the most original and unbelieveable guitar riffs ever heard, but his emotion and soul are put into every note. He also serves now as the band's video director. Holding a degree in the arts (specifically sculpting), he creates dark but vivid images of outcasts, of incomplete souls, and captures them on tape. To see a Tool video is odd at first, but to emerse yourself into the experience is exhilarating. Plus, being CLASSICALLY (I'm talking Beethoven and Mozart) trained in guitar, he adds more than his fair share to the table.
Third, Justin, the bassist. A former soccer player, and from what I understand British-born, Justin was brought in after the album Undertow. The original bassist for the group, Paul D'Amour, well, I believe he left the band. Justin was in a fellow band that Tool knew called Peach. They asked him about joining, and he gladly excepted. His bass-playing not only compliments Adam's style and Danny's grace, but pull everything together with the greatest of ease. Listening to him, you find that he presents everything on a silver platter, ready to digest, and if you don't want it, then he'll shove it down your throat.
Last, but definitely not least, the brutal but kind Danny. Danny is a character indeed. Let's see, he walked in on his father performing a Masonic ritual, and got interested in that. He took up the drums, and his set is put together in the fashion of the New Jerusalem star. This powerhouse (literally, look at him) makes the quietest of sounds seem like an infinity. His gentleness is only met by his well-thought off-timing and his later attack on his drums. Creating the endless rhythms that put the entire song together, Danny pounds out not noise, but notes from his set. Plus, look at this guy's set sometime....he has more toms and cymbals than chicken wings at a b-b-q!!!!
Well, to the albums:
Opiate(1992): The first EP, which is referred to in the songs "Hooker with a Penis" and "Ticks and Leeches", this set the ground for what would become an ever-flowing metamorphosis.
Songs include: "Sweat", "Hush", "Part of Me", "Cold & Ugly", "Jerk-Off", "Opiate", and the hidden track, "The Gasping Lotus Experience".
Undertow(1993): The first LP, this was much more of an exploration from Opiate. They went up, they went down, and they went where few bands are ever willing to try.
Songs include: "Intolerance", "Prison Sex", "Sober", "Bottom", "Crawl Away", "Swamp Song", "Undertow", "4 Degrees", "Flood", and the epic "Disgustipated".
AEnima(1996): The second LP, this album ventured outside the normal, going into the extra-perceptual. Clashing between heavy and soft, this was the land-breaking album for the group, with strong statements and unforgettable songs.
Songs include: "Stinkfist" (aka Track No. 1), "Eulogy", "H", "Useful Idiot", "Forty Six & 2", "Message to Harry Manback", "Hooker with a Penis", "Intermission", "Jimmy", "Die Eier Von Satan", "Pushit", "Cesaro Summability", "AEnema", "(-)Ions", and "Third Eye".
Salival(2000): The box set, this was an album featuring mixed live songs, remakes, and others. It also came packaged with a VHS or DVD of all the videos by Tool up until the album AEnima.
Songs include: "Third Eye (live)", "Part of Me (live)", "Pushit (live)", "Message to Harry Manback II", "You Lied (live)", "Merkaba (live)", "No Quarter", "LAMC", and the hidden track "Maynard's Dick".
VHS/DVD includes videos for: "Hush", "Sober", "Prison Sex", "Stinkfist" (aka Track No. 1), and "AEnima".
Lateralus(2001): The third LP, this was Tool's opportunity to not just push the limits, but destroy them. The incomprehensible beauty of this album is only paralleled by its conceptual artwork and poetic justice.
Songs include: "The Grudge", "Eon Blue Apocalypse", "The Patient", "Mantra", "Schism", "Parabol", "Parabola", "Ticks and Leeches", "Lateralus", "Disposition", "Reflection", "Triad", and "Faaip de Oiad".
Well, that's about all I'll give you for now. If you want more, follow these links, and you'll find out so much, you won't even believe it yourself. Take the journey.......
Dissectional.com--just go here and experience it yourself
