It’s official, TOOL have finally released their catalog on I- tunes. And the band have dominated the I-tunes charts since the release. All charting in top five spots, plus their EP. It’s a wild testament to a band that has defied all odds since their inception. The fact that they’ve remained as popular as they are, even after 13 years of no new material, throws the logic book out the door. Through all the trends, all the fads, TOOL have remained a major A-list hard rock band. Still selling out giant stadiums all around the world.
The release of their material is obviously perfect timing. As their sixth LP album, ‘Fear Inoculum,’ is set to be released on the 30th of this month. So what better way to set up the success of the release than to make the precious albums available for download? What’s perplexing is that TOOL have not announced a tour for the album. The only concert date set on their official website is the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, CA. But TOOL are known to make announcements during the eleventh hour. So, fingers crossed.
What’s really amazing though is how TOOL have managed to stay as popular as they have though out the years. Through all the trends, odds and unconventional process’, TOOL have always been A-listers. Even drummer Danny Carey is perplexed by the band’s success. Which makes sense honestly, because their music flies a huge middle finger into everything that popular culture has stood for in the past three decades or so. They are truly an anomaly. Not that they don’t have moments that aren’t accessible. There’s plenty of catchy groove and melody in songs like ‘The Pot,’ ‘Prison Sex’ and ‘Stinkfist.’ But TOOL are also known to create long, amniotic tracks that don’t fair as well with a typical audience. Usually, their amniotic moments only take up 90 seconds to three minutes. Such as ‘Parabol.’ And they’re usually a part of a greater song masterpiece. But with their long moments, it makes the band even that much more of an anomaly.
And they’re now, finally, continuing their legacy. After 13 years, TOOL have released their first single. The title track to their new album ‘Fear Inoculum.’ Unfortunately the response have been pretty mixed. Which is understandable. Because the song falls along the lines of their amniotic trends. And it’s a long track, clocking in at a full ten minutes and twenty-two seconds. It’s certainly realistic that the prog fans would love the song. And they seem to. But it’s a fairly paralyzing track to lead off with. Many fans feel indifferent. Personally, I think they lead of with this track as a joke. It would be classic TOOL to lead off with ‘Fear Inoculum’ and then drop a phat song right before the albums release. Just to be clear, the lead single and title track isn’t a bad song. It’s just not the punch that most fans wanted. Again it’s only one track. And based off of it, there’s probably going to be some tasty, classic metal tracks from this band. Looking forward to the release of the new album.
