Back in December, we picked the art-metal band Tool as One To Watch for 2001. We've been watching them ever since, and now you will be as well, because they are on the verge of cracking the Lycos 50. This week they finish at #56, which makes them more popular than either Limp Bizkit or Metallica.
Tool had established itself as one of the most popular bands in America with its albums Undertow in 1993 and Aenima in 1996. Since then they've gone five years without making new music thanks to legal problems with their label Volcano Records.
In the meantime, singer Maynard James Keenan moonlighted in the band A Perfect Circle with guitarist Billy Howerdel, a former Tool roadie. The strong following of Tool was apparent when A Perfect Circle also became popular online. We highlighted them as One to Watch a year ago.
Tool is coming out with their first album in five years, Lateralus, on May 15. Expectations of the album have been high for many months. Tool searches have gradually doubled from what they were a year ago. Last week, with the new single "Schism" premiering on the radio, searches jumped another 45 percent. That puts Tool within reach of the Lycos 50 and makes them the #10 music group online (behind the eight artists currently in the Lycos 50 as well as The Beatles).
Tool is rare among popular rock bands because of their complicated, melodic song structures. The guitars are heavy, but no rapping is allowed. Their extended tunes (usually over five minutes each, sometimes longer than ten) alternate between long, detailed instrumental interludes and angst-ridden rants that explore Jungian psychology and exhort listeners to think for themselves. Check out this article that describes some of their philosophy.
Tool is in a unique situation. They sound like nothing else on the radio; other bands with similar art-rock sounds exist only in the underground. They have a rabidly loyal fan base that has spent five years waiting for this album.
At the same time, their music appeals to a wide breadth of rock fans. Back in 1997, when I was in the rock radio business, we used to do tests in order to determine what bands had the most positive response from the average rock radio listener. Tool came in second, higher than Pearl Jam or U2 and below only Metallica.
In remains to be seen whether that type of support continues to exist in this day of hard-drinking, hard-rapping brainless mook bands. So far, Lycos users seem to be showing with their queries that Tool still has a special place atop the rock and roll landscape.
If you want to place an advance order for Lateralus, or purchase either of Tool's other albums, you can do so through our friends at CDNOW.
