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Tool

May 15, 2014 by strictlyrock Leave a Comment

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Singer Maynard James Keenan and guitarist Adam Jones met through a mutual friend in 1989, and had only been friends for a short while before Keenan showed Jones recordings from a previous band he had been in. Impressed by Keenan’s singing abilities, he suggested they form a band of their own. Drummer Danny Carey, a neighbor of Jones’, soon joined the group, and shortly after, bassist Paul D’Amour was introduced via a friend of Jones’. Naming their band “Tool,” the group only played a handful of shows before being approached by record companies. Three months after their formation, Tool was signed by Zoo Entertainment, and their first EP (entitled “Opiate”) was recorded. Appreciated for their hard heavy metal sound in addition to their first music video “Hush” which protested music censorship, the band quickly found themselves touring with bands such as Rage Against the Machine.

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Toning down their sound a bit, the band produced their first album, Undertow, in 1993. In addition to new material, Undertow also included songs that hadn’t made it onto their heavier-sounding EP. Bolstered by their tour with the Lollapalooza festival, Undertow was certified gold within five months of its release, while their hit single “Sober,” won Billboard’s award for “Best Video by a New Artist” in 1994. Ironically, considering that the band’s first music video protested music censorship, the video for their second single, “Prison Sex,” was deemed overly-obscene by MuchMusic, and was pulled by MTV after limited airings.

While working on their second album, D’Amour left the band and was replaced by Justin Chancellor. Their second album, Aenima, proved even more successful than their first attempt—since its original release in 1995, Aenima has reached triple-platinum certification. The album’s first single, “Stinkfist” was met with the same hesitant reception by television networks that “Prison Sex” faced. MTV, for example, changed the title to “Track #1” and changed some of the song lyrics. The album’s title-track fared better, earning the band a Grammy for “Best Metal Performance.” Following Aenima, the band faced several challenges, including a lawsuit with their second label, Volcano Entertainment, and Keenan’s successful side-project with A Perfect Circle. Releasing a box set entitled Salival, which included new recordings, the band indirectly confirmed that Tool was going to weather the storm. 2001 brought the release of Lateralus, which debuted at #1. While their first single, “Parabola,” caused promotional problems due to its ten minute runtime, their second single “Schism,” fared better, earning Tool their second Grammy for “Best Metal Performance.”

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With Keenan continuing to record and tour with A Perfect Circle, Tool’s fourth studio album, 10,000 Days, was not released until 2006. With the help of the album’s first single, “Vicarious,” which debuted prior to the album’s release, 10,000 Days debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. Supported with a performance at the 2006 Coachella Music and Arts Festival, in addition to tours across North America, Australia, New Zealand, 10,000 Days won a Grammy for “Best Recording Package,” while “Vicarious” earned a nomination for “Best Hard Rock Performance.”

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Following the release of and promotion for 10,000 days, Chancelor announced in an interview that Tool would “take some time off” following their tour in 2008. At that time, Chancelor encouraged fans with the mention of works already in progress, while Keenan confirmed in 2009 that the band had begun work on a new album, whose name or release date have yet to be announced. With tours as recent as spring 2010, and a track record of taking their time to release albums, Tool has by no means left the scene. With talks of a band movie, and a history of albums being as artistic as they are musically-spectacular, there are high hopes that Tool’s fifth album, once released, will prove as phenomenal as its predecessors.

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100 Greatest Rock & Roll Bands

  1. The Beatles
  2. The Rolling Stones
  3. Led Zeppelin
  4. Jimi Hendrix
  5. Elvis Presley
  6. The Who
  7. U2
  8. Pink Floyd
  9. The Doors
  10. The Police
  11. Elton John
  12. Metallica
  13. AC/DC
  14. Van Halen
  15. Nirvana
  16. Guns N' Roses
  17. Santana
  18. The Allman Brothers Band
  19. Bon Jovi
  20. David Bowie
  21. Grateful Dead
  22. Rush
  23. Yes
  24. Black Sabbath
  25. Bob Dylan
  26. James Brown
  27. The Beach Boys
  28. Eric Clapton
  29. Fleetwood Mac
  30. The Eagles
  31. Bob Marley
  32. Van Morrison
  33. Bruce Springsteen
  34. The Clash
  35. Queen
  36. Janis Joplin
  37. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
  38. R.E.M.
  39. The Kinks
  40. Steely Dan
  41. Steve Miller Band
  42. Jethro Tull
  43. Tool
  44. The Scorpions
  45. Coldplay
  46. Stone Temple Pilots
  47. Rod Stewart
  48. Marilyn Manson
  49. Creedence Clearwater Revival
  50. KISS
  51. The Pretenders
  52. Green Day
  53. Aerosmith
  54. Tina Turner
  55. Pearl Jam
  56. Ted Nugent
  57. Pantera
  58. Motörhead
  59. Judas Priest
  60. ZZ Top
  61. Megadeth
  62. Motley Crue
  63. Alice Cooper
  64. Def Leppard
  65. Iron Maiden
  66. Billy Idol
  67. Journey
  68. Anthrax
  69. Rage Against the Machine
  70. Blue Oyster Cult
  71. Alice in Chains
  72. Genesis
  73. Red Hot Chili Peppers
  74. Chuck Berry
  75. Buddy Holly
  76. Little Richard
  77. Elvis Costello
  78. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
  79. Sex Pistols
  80. Cream
  81. Frank Zappa
  82. Talking Heads
  83. Stevie Ray Vaughan
  84. Billy Joel
  85. The Band
  86. Ramones
  87. Lynyrd Skynyrd
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  89. Doobie Brothers
  90. Foo Fighters
  91. The Cure
  92. Soundgarden
  93. Iggy Pop
  94. Peter Gabriel
  95. The Byrds
  96. Traffic
  97. Deep Purple
  98. Blondie
  99. Velvet Underground
  100. Heart

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