Issue 510

Tool With twenty years under their belt, millions of fans, but only four studio albums, Tool have always been a bit of an enigma within the music industry. From the stories that circulate both in the media and online, you could be forgiven for thinking that the band had constructed the enigma around themselves intentionally, but as guitarist Adam Jones puts it, Tool are perhaps a little more off the cuff than everybody thinks. "We just kinda roll with the punches, you know?" Jones points out. "And it works." The addition of Tool to next year's Big Day Out lineup was a bit of a surprise to a lot of the band's fans, since they typically tour in the wake of an album release. "It's always that we write, we record and we put out an album, then we tour on it for two or three years, then we take some time off before someone says 'hey, do you want to go back in to the studio?' " The good news, however, is that album number five is on the way. "It's kind of a loose starting," Jones reports, "We've got a bunch of little potential songs brewing and it's good." Perhaps one of the more remarkable things about Tool, as a band, is that over the twenty years they have been producing music, their dynamic has remained relatively unchanged. However, each time they produce an album, no matter what the current state of the alternative metal scene, the album has proved a critical and commercial success. Tool has proven that context within metal the scene doesn't matter to their fan base. "We've never worried about that, it's a reflective process," Jones muses, "We go in, we make music and we all walk out of the studio when we're done going 'god damn, that's really good, I like it' and I think that's what people appreciate. If you're really in to it, if you really like it, someone out there's got to like it. That's always been the approach." That approach also applies to their live shows, "Our aim has always been that we want people who don't like our band to walk away going 'wow, that was pretty cool.' That's always been the rule in our band." It's unfortunate that the Big Day Out tour doesn't allow for the kind of on stage spectacle that Tool shows have become notorious for, with their practical restrictions on time and staging. However, Jones says that won't stop them trying a few things. "We're trying to ship over as much groovy-ness as possible," which is good news particularly for Adelaide fans, since we are one of the few cities missing out on a side show. Coming to Australia always seems to generate a certain enthusiasm from international acts and Tool are no different, "Our Australian fans are very passionate and have been since the beginning. We really appreciate that." Although Jones jokingly points out that it's not just the fans he's excited for, "How cool is it going to Australia in your summer? I like the hot weather. I'm the guy who never complains when it's hot." And if there's one thing the Big Day Out provides in spades, it's heat. Of course, with Tool actively touring again and with another album on the way, the question of a more comprehensive Australian tour is at the forefront of a lot of their fans' minds. "I would hope so," Jones laughs. "We're not the touring guys that we used to be, but I'm the guy who will tour any time. I'd be happy to come on down, so never say never." But as he points out, each member of the band has other projects and interests that always makes organizing tours a tricky prospect, "It is hard, but it's always been like that. You just work around it, what can you do about it?" Tool have never been a band to rush anything, nor plan anything out according to Jones, but the news that the new album is in the works, as well as their newest touring dates being announced means that 2011 looks to be a good year for Tool fans. Tool will headline the Big Day Out at the Royal Adelaide Showgrounds on Fri 4 Feb. By Alastair Collins