After 13 Years, Progressive Metal Band TOOL Drops New Album "Fear Inoculum"
TOOL, one of the bands that are a major influence on our musical tastes, has dropped a new album. Not going to lie, we didn’t think we would see another one of these in our lifetime. If you have never heard of TOOL before, you need to hurry up and catch up as you have a 20+ year career to catch up on. Initially founded back in 1990 by guitarist Adam Jones, vocalist Maynard James Keenan, and drummer Danny Carey, TOOL has been making unique progressive metal music and enthralling metalheads ever since. With massive hits such as “Forty-Six & 2”, “Schism”, “Sober”, and “The Pot”, it is almost impossible to exist in the rock/metal scene and not have TOOL show up on your radar. Fun fact, back in the day we actually wrote about TOOL’s best tracks for WatchMojo! Feel free to check out the video here.
Over on the Joe Rogan podcast when Keenan announced a few of the albums finer details, Keenan told about the band’s struggles with the album:
“Fuck, what a weight lifted off my chest. It took a lot of work. The four of us are a lot of fucking work just to get anywhere. Oh my God – everything’s a fucking committee meeting and always gets shot down. I’m just so excited we finished this record.” – Maynard James Keenan
Here comes the biggest question though…does Fear Inoculum actually sound like TOOL and will satisfy fans who have been waiting in the wings for so many years? Short answer…YES, Fear Inoculum is a pure example of TOOL finally perfecting their devastatingly beautiful style and still surprising fans after 13 years. While the album is only 10 tracks long, each one can be added onto our favorite TOOL songs playlist, even the songs we consider more like “act-breaks”. It is quite ridiculous to consider “Litanie contre la Peur”, “Legion Inoculant”, and “Chocolate Chip Trip” this way just because they are under 10 minutes long, but still we experience the TOOL feel we know and love.
While our personal favorite is Keenan’s interpretation of the Holy Spirit in “Pneuma”, “Invincible” has that signature bass riff that TOOL fans recognize. Don’t just take our word for it though, as initial reviews suggest that Fear Inoculum is receiving plenty of critical acclaim, even trending on Twitter at the time of publication. We may be electronic forward now, but TOOL made us appreciate music.
Make sure you check out Fear Inoculum FINALLY on Spotify!
Need more TOOL? Follow on socials!
If you have any suggestions for films/TV/Games/Music/Anime for me to review, drop me a comment!
Who am I? Just some guy who decided to start writing on the Internet years ago and now operates his own brand and site. Owner/Operator of Modern Neon Media, I make all kinds of niche content to suit my interests at the time. DIY Enthusiast, Brewmaster extraordinaire, and avid freak for geek culture. Follow on my socials for a more “on” version of me.
