History Music / Tool

* BlatantLies: Maynard has an obvious distaste for the pretense of encore performances, where the band pretends to end the concert when everyone knows they'll come right back out to play some more. At the end of Tool concerts, he'll announce that the band won't waste everyone's time by pretending to leave and instead just go ahead and play the show closer. His does this in Music/APerfectCircle concerts as well.

Tool incorporates many different styles and influences in their music, but the one theme they keep constant is the importance of personal interpretation of their songs (to quote one of their own lyrics: "try and read between the lines"), making it possibly the only band that runs ''solely'' on TheWalrusWasPaul. To emphasize this even more, they have only released official lyrics with one of their albums, ''Fear Inoculum'', so that what the lyrics ''actually'' mean (or even ''are'') never gets in the way of what the listener ''thinks'' they mean.

* BaldOfAwesome: Maynard frequently sports a shiny head, but don't be surprised to see him with other, more unorthodox hairstyles.

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!!"Why can't we not be troper..."

* MushroomSamba: {{ZigZagg|ingTrope}}ed in "Rosetta Stoned." The subject first attributes seeing the aliens to "the [[Music/TheGratefulDead Deadhead]] chemistry," but later in the song he says "See, the Dead ain't touring / And this wasn't all in my head." (Interestingly, some critics compared the song to the Dead's works - its structure does resemble the extended jamming the Dead were famous for.)

* MushroomSamba: {{ZigZagg|ingTrope}}ed in "Rosetta Stoned." The subject first attributes seeing the aliens to "the [[Music/TheGratefulDead Deadhead]] chemistry," but later in the song he says "See, the Dead ain't touring / And this wasn't all in my head."

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Generally a 6 or 7, but they can also go as low as 4/5. Or as high as an 8, on a few occasions. Not often, though.
** "Lateralus" is all over the place with just one song. It starts calmly, as a 1. Then, once the guitar kicks in, it becomes around a 7, before tuning down to 5-6 range with the vocals. The chorus is about a 7 again, twisting down to a 2, and building up again all the way to 8. It fades out at 7 again.
** "Schism" is also a little wacky when it comes to this, bouncing between 1, 7, and every level in between; it's a high 3 or a low 4 overall.

Over the band's career, they've addressed many diverse topics such as religion, the music industry and media censorship, child abuse, drug use, transcendence, and even FanDumb ''from their own fans'' who started giving them the "ItsPopularNowItSucks" treatment. This varied subject matter has also made Tool the subject of much controversy and censorship, including one incident with their song "Stinkfist," which was renamed and edited to run on MTV, due to "Offensive connotations," as well as Walmart not selling their first LP ''Undertow'' with the original cover art. Despite (or possibly because of) that controversy, they have remained a hugely successful group and continue to actively tour both in the United States and internationally.

Over the band's career, they've addressed many diverse topics such as religion, the music industry and media censorship, child abuse, drug use, transcendence, and even FanDumb ''from their own fans'' who started complaining that ItsPopularNowItSucks. This varied subject matter has also made Tool the subject of much controversy and censorship, including one incident with their song "Stinkfist," which was renamed and edited to run on MTV, due to "Offensive connotations," as well as Walmart not selling their first LP ''Undertow'' with the original cover art. Despite (or possibly because of) that controversy, they have remained a hugely successful group and continue to actively tour both in the United States and internationally.

Their latest release -- their fifth studio album ''Fear Inoculum'' -- was released on August 30, 2019. It is the band's first album in '''''13 years''''', [[ScheduleSlip failing to meet numerous and very tumultuous release dates over the past couple years]], much to the confusion and ire of their fans. It had previously been revealed that [[DevelopmentHell familial commitments and an ongoing lawsuit had severely delayed any work they could have done, and Adam Jones stated that any new music of theirs wouldn't be released unless they were satisfied with the final product]]. A little while earlier on August 2, 2019, their back catalogue was made available to streaming services.

'''Grammy Awards'''

* 1998 Best Metal Performance ("[=Æ=]nema")
* 2002 Best Metal Performance ("Schism")
* 2007 Best Recording Package (''10,000 Days'')
* 2020 Best Metal Performance ("7empest")

Founded in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles in 1990, Tool is an enigmatic ProgressiveRock[=/=][[ProgressiveMetal Metal]] group mostly known for their use of [[UncommonTime unconventional time signatures and rhythms]], [[EpicRocking long songs]], MindScrew-tastic imagery, and emphasis on personal interpretation of their music. Like many bands in the 90s music scene, Tool started out as an underground group, and was signed by a record company after only three months of playing together. On March 1992, their first EP ''Opiate'' was released. Since then, five studio albums have been released, all of which have gone platinum and achieved widespread success worldwide.

Tool incorporates many different styles and influences in their music, but the one theme they keep constant is the importance of personal interpretation of their songs (to quote one of their own lyrics: "try and read between the lines"), making it possibly the only band that runs ''solely'' on TheWalrusWasPaul. To emphasize this even more, Tool has only released official lyrics with one of their albums, ''Fear Inoculum'', so that what the lyrics ''actually'' mean (or even ''are'') never gets in the way of what the listener ''thinks'' they mean.

A few factors remain constant throughout their work however. They love using weird time signatures that shift throughout the song, and one track ("Lateralus") even has the rhythm and syllables of the lyrics arranged in a Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13). The members of the group have unique styles, and Maynard James Keenan's vocals are instantly recognizable, not only for his voice but for his skill with the MetalScream. Danny Carey is also one of the most acclaimed contemporary drummers going, and Adam Jones's guitar tone on ''Opiate'', ''Undertow'' and ''Lateralus'' is just as iconic as Keenan's vocals. Not to mention Justin Chancellor's strong bass lines (and on ''Opiate'' and ''Undertow'', Paul D'Amour), which often make a Tool song instantly recognizable.

Another important part of the band's music is the inclusion of collaborated works of art and music videos that echo themes presented in their songs and albums. These pieces of art usually involve disturbing (if not straight-up horrifying) imagery, play with the UncannyValley, and aren't necessarily supposed to tell an actual story, but evoke certain feelings from the viewer. They [[MindScrew definitely]] [[DerangedAnimation succeed]].

Over the band's career they've addressed many diverse topics, such as religion, the music industry and media censorship, child abuse, drug use, transcendence, and even FanDumb ''from their own fans'' who started complaining that ItsPopularNowItSucks. This varied subject matter has also made Tool the subject of much controversy and censorship, including one incident with their song "Stinkfist," which was renamed and edited to run on MTV, due to "Offensive connotations," as well as Walmart not selling their first LP ''Undertow'' with the original cover art. Despite (or possibly because of) that controversy, they have remained a hugely successful group and continue to actively tour both in the United States and internationally.

The band's fifth studio album was finally released on August 30, 2019 after [[DevelopmentHell numerous and very tumultuous release dates over the past couple years]], much to the confusion and ire of their fans. It had previously been revealed that familial commitments and an ongoing lawsuit had severely delayed any work they could have done, and Adam Jones stated that any new music of theirs wouldn't be released unless they were satisfied with the final product. Additionally, on August 2, 2019, their back catalogue was made available to streaming services.

'''Discography:'''

* MadnessMantra:
** The "Don't know, won't know..." chant at the end of "Rosetta Stoned," as the narrator bemoans his inability to convey the aliens' message.
** From "[=Æ=]nema": "Learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim, learn to swim..."
** "Digustipated": "This is necessary/This is necessary/Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on..."

* MadnessMantra: The "Don't know, won't know..." chant at the end of "Rosetta Stoned," as the narrator bemoans his inability to convey the aliens' message.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: When the band officially released their music online in 2019 to accompany the release of ''Fear Inoculum'' the Website/YouTube releases of the videos had all the swearing muted out[[note]]not bleeped or replaced with lesser curses, simply replaced with silence, although the line "Shit, cum and blood on my hands" from "Prison Sex" was changed to three syllables worth of nothing then "Blood on my hands"[[/note]]. While this didn't affect most of the songs too much (some like "Sober" didn't miss a single word), "[=Æ=]nema" was really badly hit, particularly [[ClusterFBomb the entire verse that is repeated iterations of "Fuck [a thing they hate]"]].

-->''Who are you to wave your finger? You must have been out of your head.''

Founded in Los Angeles in 1990, Tool is an enigmatic ProgressiveRock[=/=][[ProgressiveMetal Metal]] group mostly known for their use of [[UncommonTime unconventional time signatures and rhythms]], [[EpicRocking long songs]], MindScrew-tastic imagery, and emphasis on personal interpretation of their music. Like many bands in the 90s music scene, Tool started out as an underground group, and was signed by a record company after only three months of playing together. On March 1992, their first EP ''Opiate'' was released. Since then, five studio albums have been released, all of which have gone platinum and achieved widespread success worldwide.

* BizarreInstrument: Pianos... being shot with shotguns and smashed with sledgehammers in "Disgustipated," a hydraulic press (or something that sounds like one) on "Die Eier von Satan," a breathing tube in "Parabol," and Maynard's cat in "Mantra," possibly among others.

* DrugsAreGood: The studio version of "Third Eye" has samples of comedian Creator/BillHicks extolling the virtues of drugs, particularly psychedelics.[[note]]The live version samples another heavy proponent of psychedelics, Timothy Leary, although he is not talking about drugs; he is encouraging listeners to think for themselves and question authority.[[/note]]

* DrugsAreGood: The studio version of "Third Eye" has samples of comedian Creator/BillHicks extolling the virtues of drugs, particularly psychedelics.

** "Litanie contra la peur" from the digital version of ''Fear Inoculum'', which is French for "Litany Against Fear."

** ''Lateralus'' is debated to be one too, with the big interpretation regarding transcendentalism or about a mathematician going mad.

* ClusterFBomb: Several songs, especially "Hush," "Hooker with a Penis" and "[=Æ=]nema." "Rosetta Stoned" alone should have earned ''10,000 Days'' a Parental Advisory label, but the heavy distortion and layering on the vocals [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar may have fooled the ratings board]].

* RockMeAsmodeus:

** "Die Eier von Satan" may also be considered an example, though it's actually a recipe for hash cookies. The title translates as "The Eggs of Satan" or "Satan's Balls."
** The title of the band's demo, ''72826'', spells out ''Satan'' on a telephone keypad.

* BlatantLies: Maynard has an obvious distaste for the pretense of encore performances, where the band pretends to end the concert when everyone knows they'll come right back out to play some more. At the end of Tool concerts, he'll announce that the band won't waste everyone's time by pretending to leave and instead just go ahead and play the show closer.

** By the end of "Schism", the phrase "I know the pieces fit" becomes this.