Karpe Tool

Every Album, Every Song
1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-78952-225-9
Verlag: Sonicbond Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 144 Seiten

Reihe: On Track

Music may not have been the designated career path for the members of Tool when they each relocated to Los Angeles in the 1980s, but the quartet would soon find one another and join forces to become one of the most distinctive acts in the history of rock and metal. Tool On Track documents all of the band's studio releases, from their raw and unapologetic 1991 demo tape to their 2019 epic, Fear Inoculum, a record thirteen years in the making and an album that would solidify Tool as one of the greatest progressive rock bands of all time.
Something of an enigma but an extremely complex and intelligent band, this book goes into considerable depth as it uncovers the stories behind Tool's engrossing back catalogue. The formulations of pivotal songs such as 'Sober', 'Ænema', Schism', 'Lateralus' and 'Rosetta Stoned' have become stories of legend, and this book has been extensively researched in order to create a valuable reference book that all Tool fans can delve into at their leisure,
Also focusing on the band members' various side-projects and selected guest appearances, as well as acting as a detailed biography, this is the most comprehensive book on the band yet written.

An avid music fan, author, and journalist, Matt Karpe has written for multiple print and online magazines over the last decade, including Powerplay and the punk and hardcore publication, Down For Life. Tool On Track is Matt's sixth book overall, his previous releases being We Own the Night: The Underground of the Modern American Hard Rock Scene; two volumes of Nu Metal: Resurgence, Nu Metal: A Definitive Guide, and Korn On Track. He lives in March, Cambridgeshire, UK.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Karpe, Matt

Leseproben

Chapter 1

72826 (1991)

Personnel:

Maynard James Keenan: vocals

Adam Jones: guitar

Paul D’Amour: bass

Danny Carey: drums

Recorded at the Jellö Loft, Los Angeles, California, August-September 1991

Producer: Tool, Steve Hansgen

Label: self-released

Release date: September 1991

Chart positions: N/A

Running time: 22:49

Although not many were there to witness it, Tool’s debut live performance has become a legend. Their friends in Green Jellö had signed a record deal with Zoo Entertainment in the second half of 1991, and the ensuing celebratory party gave Tool their first stage and crowd to unleash their cerebral and visceral alternative metal on. Meticulously rehearsing five days a week since their formation had allowed Tool to hit the ground running, rising in a cascade of offbeat rhythms and fluctuating quiet minimalism. Those in attendance at the Jellö Loft that night were quickly drawn to a band led by a confident and provocative frontman – one who contorted his body and menacingly stalked the stage, all the while brandishing a controlled and hypnotic vocal tone, with agonisingly guttural screams thrown in for good measure. Keenan, Jones, D’Amour and Carey may have cut placid demeanours offstage, but onstage they were completely different monsters – releasing a wall of sound and emotion with an energy so contagious that the crowd was unable to focus on anything other than the band playing in front of their eyes. Debut shows were not supposed to go as well as this.

Word quickly spread across Los Angeles of this riveting new act, and next came shows in some of the city’s less-than-glamorous clubs – a conscious understanding that starting from the bottom of the ladder was the only way for Tool to eventually get to where they wanted to be. Taking the early and ridiculously late slots meant sparser crowds. The shows were infrequent and often unpaid, yet Tool performed as if they were on the grandest of stages in front of stadium-sized audiences. They were also still getting to know each

other, their playing styles and their onstage personalities. But from the outside, they already appeared to be a well-oiled machine.

Eager to record some of their material – some of which was less than two months old – the quartet invited Minor Threat bassist Steve Hansgen to the Jellö Loft. Having been friends with Adam Jones for some time, Hansgen brought along his Fostex 280 4-Track, and used the band’s DAT recorder to put six songs to tape. The finishing touches to Tool’s first demo were added in his North Hollywood home studio in next to no time. Known amongst fans as The Toolshed Demo and simply Tool, the tape has the more commonly referenced title of 72826, which Keenan chose when a label number was required at the tape’s pressing stage. When the set of numbers were typed into a telephone keypad, the word ‘Satan’ corresponded with the numerical sequence, and while Tool was certainly not a Satanic band, their darkened edge and humourous personalities were quick to reveal themselves.

Boasting furious aggression, cryptic lyrics, solid musicianship and unexpected tempos, Tool were so happy with the demo that they released it to fans at the end of September 1991. Charging as little as $5, and with the demo available in limited quantities, the band refused to hand out any freebies, even to those who claimed to work for record companies. For Tool, the music was far more important than obtaining a record deal, and Maynard James Keenan’s vision was finally being brought to fruition with a bunch of friends who were also dedicated in working towards a common goal. Taking an organic path where if and when the opportunity of a record deal arose, Tool would be able to reap the rewards, knowing they’d done things their own way from the very beginning.

Artist Cam de Leon sketched the tape’s simple but striking cover art of an open-end and double-box wrench, which displayed a rather obvious priapic innuendo (much like the band name), as comedy attempted to balance the intensity and authority of the six tracks on show.

72826 offered the first look into Tool’s expansive thought processes and songwriting skills, which were far more adept than a lot of bands after such a short period of existence.

‘Cold and Ugly’ (Tool)

Opening with a grating Adam Jones riff before Paul D’Amour’s bass work becomes the driving force, ‘Cold and Ugly’ finds Tool introducing themselves in the grandest of fashions – or as ostentatious as they could on a demo tape which varies in sound quality from one track to the next. Whether it was how the song was recorded, or a conscious decision to put an echo effect on Maynard Keenan’s vocal, the live feel of his vast repertoire of styles quickly puts the singer on the map – his impassioned moments of screaming all the more pronounced and confident as the demo progresses.

Danny Carey’s animated drumming unearths future star quality, and while ‘Cold and Ugly’ reeks of the early-1990s – even feeling a little grunge-orientated in places – Tool’s brand of alternative metal was already worlds away from the other heavy hitters of that time. This demo version is also the only studio recording of the song to ever be released.

‘Hush’ (Tool)

Suffering from a production flaw where Keenan’s vocal greatly overpowers the much quieter instrumentation, ‘Hush’ is a riff-heavy but simple hard rocker which makes its impact and ducks out in less than three minutes. Thankfully, a more polished re-recorded effort found its way onto Tool’s next release, so there is more on ‘Hush’ to come in a few pages’ time.

‘Part of Me’ (Tool)

‘I know you better than I know myself’ says Keenan on a song which many believe was written about the singer’s penis, and masturbation. Confirming Tool’s intention to let the listener form their own opinions on the meanings of the songs – regularly refusing to print lyrics in their album booklets and relying on the music to be the more powerful source – those willing to dig deeper have also considered false ideals and tapping into our own consciences as potential subject matter that is covered on ‘Part of Me’. A move that has often infuriated their fans, Tool followed the likes of Pink Floyd and R.E.M. in keeping their album booklets lyricless, sharing the view that people are likely to listen more intently when trying to figure out the stories to the songs, and thus ultimately leading to the listener paying as much attention to the musical side as they would to the words. Adam Jones confirmed his band’s outlook in a later interview:

We don’t print our lyrics, because we want people to really sit closer to the speaker and try and hear what Maynard’s saying versus what’s going on in the music. We treat everything with as much importance as the lyrics.

Angry and forcefully delivered while erring on the side of safety once again, Carey’s pummelling drum sections stand tallest as the listener continues to acquaint themselves with this obscure but exciting new act.

‘Crawl Away’ (Tool)

Later to be included on the band’s first full-length album, the debut of ‘Crawl Away’ cemented Tool’s early potential, with a dazzling opening riff, before quieter verses allow D’Amour to lead with a meaty bass line. Despite still finding his way as a vocalist, Keenan provides another potent performance, showing experience way beyond his years. Written about a controlling narcissist who loses someone important to him because of his own misdeeds, the fiendish line of ‘I can see your back is turning/If I could I’d stick a knife in’ are more than a tad unsettling, to say the least. However, it does highlight an intriguing mindset and how Keenan is able to translate his thoughts into words.

‘Sober’ (Tool)

Instantly a cut above the rest and adding to what appeared to be Tool’s alternative metal formula at the time, ‘Sober’ hints at the progressive route they would take in the near future. Slow and methodical verses feature a flurry of guitar styles from Jones, who has never been the kind of guy to stick to one particular playing technique. Sinister and shrouded in darkness, Keenan’s thought-provoking lyric – written about a friend of the band whose most creative moments came when he was high – leads the charge on this early Tool classic-in-the-making. Two years later, a much more advanced version of ‘Sober’ would become the quartet’s breakthrough song, and also arguably one of the best metal songs of the whole decade.

‘Jerk-Off’ (Tool)

As with ‘Cold And Ugly’, the only studio version of ‘Jerk-Off ’ ever to be released is on this demo tape. Jones and D’Amour work well together with scratch riffing and combustible bass work respectively, while Keenan’s rage spills over with scathing lyrics that again can be interpreted in various ways. Generally, there appears to be contempt towards people who avoid repercussions from their negative actions – the line ‘Doesn’t matter what’s right/It’s only wrong if you get caught’ appears to highlight the singer’s intense frustration with living in Los...