During Tool’s most recent tour in Australia, the band pulled out songs they haven’t played live in years. I don’t just mean like 5 years. We are talking 20 years plus. Songs that fans all over the world have been anticipating to make it in the set list for years. One of those that was played just so happened to be “Crawl Away.” “Crawl Away” is in my top 5 favorite Tool songs of all time. I absolutely love this song. And of course they bring it out and play it in Australia. Fun fact, “Crawl Away” up until this point had not been played live in 26 years. Yes that’s right TWENTYSIX YEARS! Up until November 22, 2025, the last time Tool played “Crawl Away” live was August 8, 1998. That’s just absurd and way to long to go without playing this song! So, here it is, “Crawl Away” LIVE for the first time in 26 years! Thankfully someone in the audience filmed it. Sorry Maynard but, this was a necessary filming!
Tool- Crawl Away (Live In Australia, 2025: First Time In 26 Years):
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had A Perfect Circle’s “3 Libras” stuck in my head. I’m not complaing about it, I love this song. It’s crazy too, to realize that it’s been 25 years since their debut album, Mer De Noms was released. As far as debut albums go, it’s definitely one of the best. Interestingly, though “Judith” was the first single, the band actually wanted “3 Libras” to be the first one released. I always find things like that interesting. The video for “3 Libras” is really a beautiful one. Directed by Paul Hunter, who made his name in the HipHop/R&B world with artists like Eminem (“The Way I Am, “Superman”), D’Angelo (“How Does It Feel”), also directed videos for Marilyn Manson (“The Dope Show,” “I Don’t Like The Drugs…”), Hole (“Malibu”), Lenny Kravitz (“Fly Away”). The video for “3 Libras” is dark, haunting, and such a compliment to a great song. The way the cinematography and cameras pull the viewer in at certain moments, to the choice of color used throughout, and the sensuality, all these things make for a great video. I miss when bands would make videos like this. Take a few minutes out of your day and really explore the music video for A Perfect Circle’s “3 Libras,” you’ll really enjoy it!
I have an interesting theory on title tracks. More often than not, the title track on an album is a deeper cut, towards the end of the album. My theory is that the “title track” is a bit of a summation of what the album encompasses. It could be musically, lyrically, thematic or the all around tonality of what the album is about. There are quite a few bands that do this on a consistent basis and I quite enjoy it. One of those bands is Tool. They have successfully done this three times (Undertow, Aenima and Lateralus). As much as I love “Lateralus” I really have to say “Undertow” might just be the best of the three. The song itself has a lot of different vibes to it. You have the heavy aspects, the syncopated rhythms, but the more progressive elements mixed with a bit of psychedelia puts this one over. “Undertow” is a song you can get lost in and it’s placement in the album sequence really lets the song become its own entity. I’m glad to see that “Undertow” made it back into the set list the past few years. More songs off of the album itself need to be played live. Less Fear Inoculum and more of the songs not played enough!!
It’s been quite a while since I listened to Tool but, last night I was thinking something related to them and wound up putting Lateralus on for bed. As I listened and got to track 9, I remembered why I liked this album so much. I also believe that this was the last good thing they have put out in years (but that’s for another topic and another day). “Lateralus” was actually released as a single to radio in February of 2022 with a Radio Edit version that’s about 6 minutes long (5:47 to be exact). This is also the song most well known for using the Fibonacci sequence in its creation. I’ve also heard that this song is about an acid trip. Either way this song is awesome, epic and a phenomenal title track to a great album.
I quite enjoy waking up with a song in my head. How it gets there is a story for another time. This morning I woke up with an instrumental part in my head and it didn’t take long to figure out what song it was. “The Noose” by A Perfect Circle is the song that started things off this morning and what a great track it is. It’s one of those songs that not only captivates you as your listen but, the lyrical content makes you think too. The Thirteenth Step is a concept album that pulls from the different aspects and perspectives of recovery and the 12 steps. “The Noose” definitely pulls from the step of making amends. It’s quite a song both lyrically and musically. This is one of those album/deep cuts that make an album strong and prove that a band is more than just the singles they release. One can hope that if A Perfect Circle regroups, and get back into writing/recording, that they find their way back to where they left off on The Thirteenth Step.
The other day I was having a conversation with a friend and we got to talking about how fast time has gone by. While in this discussion, it somehow evolved into how old certain albums are now. One of the ones that got brought up was A Perfect Circle’s debut album, Mer De Noms, which is now 23 years old. Crazy! I still remember the day it came out and spending hours upon hours listening to it. So much so that it became my go to album in the summer of 2000. Naturally, this made me go put the album on later and it’s still as good as it was the first listen through. One of the songs I’ve always loved on that album is the opening track, “The Hollow.” It’s a damn good song and one of my all time favorite track one’s. It’s got such a great impact to start the album off and all the little nuances about the song make it all the more intriguing each time you listen. Also something that many don’t know is that this is the only song on the album that Josh Fresse doesn’t play drums on. Instead Tim Alexander from Primus is the drummer on this song. Also, “The Hollow” was the third and final single released from their debut album.
This morning I woke up with a part of a song in my head and it took me a minute to realize what it was and then once it hit, I knew what I was going to write about today. The song I had in my head was “3 Libras” by A Perfect Circle. To this day, this song is still one of my favorites and when it gets to that part of the album it gives me chills. One of my favorite performances of “3 Libras” actually comes from their appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno (that long ago). This one is a stand out not just for how well they rocked the song but, having Paz Lenchantin play violin throughout the song and having one of my all time favorite musicians, Danny Lohner join them on bass to round it out made it that much more memorable. Revisit this gem of a performance with me!
A Perfect Circle- 3 Libras (Live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno):
Back in the year 2000 (how fitting for this since Conan used to have a segment on his show about “The Year 2000”), while A Perfect Circle was supporting the release of their amazing debut album, Mer De Noms, and while on tour with Nine Inch Nails, they made a stop to perform “Judith” on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. This performance is absolutely killer. Josh Freese is a beast behind the kit and was such an integral part of this band. It’s too bad he wasn’t involved in their recent return along with Paz Lenchantin on bass and Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar. Either way, enjoy this gem!
A Perfect Circle- Judith on Late Night with Conan O’Brien:
Tool’s new album is one of the most anticipated albums ever. The drama and hype surrounding this album have been astounding. Even the rumors about this album have given it all sorts of life before anyone even heard a single note. Finally, after 13 years of waiting, the long anticipated album has arrived. The big question though is, was it worth the wait? Well, in the next few minutes of you reading this, you will get my opinion on that.
I still remember hearing Tool for the first time and thinking this was really cool. The first song I ever heard was “Sober” and the video was pretty stimulating to watch. Undertow was obtained a few days later and after that I was hooked. When Aenima was released that changed everything. That album is a masterpiece straight up. Then 5 years after that, Lateralus was unleashed on the world and that left one hell of a lasting impression on everyone. 10,000 Days though, was a record though that took a long long long time to really get into but, one it finally clicked, it made sense. Especially the song “Right In Two.”
Now here we are, thirteen years removed from 10,000 Days and Fear Inoculum has finally arrived. The thing is though, was 13 years too long? Yes, yes it was. Allow me to further explain. When a band takes this long to release an album, one would expect the record to be truly masterful, evolved and takes things to another level. Each song on Fear Inoculum feels as though it was obsessed over, torn down and rebuilt to try and create a substantial song but, that amount of detail and agonizing over has provided a bloated sense that these songs are more than just a glorified wank fest. Instead, what was released was a self indulgent piece of art that is so wrapped up in its own ego that it’s truly hard to really get to the nitty gritty of what is there. It’s not that the album isn’t good, it is, it’s just that this album is drab and feels uninspired. I’m all for long songs. I love listening to an album that really takes you on a journey. This album however, only takes me on a journey to fall asleep.
That’s not to say there aren’t moments of brilliance on this album. The odd time signatures are aplenty and the Tool sound is ever prevalent. The song everyone seems to be so jazzed about is “7empest.” That song if you were to really cut the fat out of it has the potential to be one of the most legendary Tool songs in their catalog. That song really has some defining moments for the record. Fear Inoculum is definitely an album that, with the right amount of patience and time, one can come to really enjoy. This is not a casual listen type of album. As with every Tool album, there is a depth to it that takes time to unravel and decipher. This album not only has those elements but there also seems to be another level that they went to that isn’t quite easy to digest. Among the other gripes I have with the album is Maynard’s vocals. It’s as though his vocals were just placed in spots without the right amount of attention needed to truly highlight the singer. All the time spent working on the actual music and not having Maynard in the room really takes away from what this album could have been. Danny Carey is truly a drum champion but, even his parts on this album just like guitarist Adam Jones, tends to go on and one a bit too long and tend to drone on with no end point. That’s not to say they aren’t good at what they do, they just needed to reign it in a bit more and be more concise about the length of parts. My other issue is not having enough moments for Justin Chancellor to shine. On the previous couple albums, Justin had been at the forefront of many of the songs but, on this one he too seems to have taken a back seat and because of that, the album loses a bit of the aura it should have with Justin’s bass tone and playing. The production on the album though is stellar. Sonically it does sound good and it’s mixed very well.
As I mentioned above, it’s not that this album isn’t good, it is but, it’s just rather drab and boring. I know there are a ton of you out there that think this is the be all end all of albums in 2019 but, it’s really just hype. After 13 years, this is the best that they could do? Maynard was even quoted in a recent interview that the album could have been released 8 years ago. I will continue to go back to this album and see if my mind changes about it. I’ve listened quite a few times and even with each listen, I still find myself wanting to reach for a pillow and just drift off to sleep. One other thing, I do find it quite interesting that both the Tool and A Perfect Circle albums have been quite underwhelming. Is it possible that after all this time both bands have lost the fire that once drove them?
The first song officially released from Tool’s LONG AWAITED new album, Fear Inoculum, is finally here. The band has decided to release the title track from the album as the first offering. All I will say about this is it’s very much a Tool song.
Tool- Fear Inoculum:
AUDIOECLECTICA 