Artist Tool

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Tool

When Tool first broke out with 1993’s Undertow, it was seen as a lifeline for intelligent heavy metal, which had been more or less marginalized by grunge. These days, plenty of bands have picked up the slack on making dark, brainy rock that’s not afraid to drift into the outer realms of both experimentation and pretension, but few command the sort of fervent devotion granted to Tool—which is even more surprising considering the band’s tendency to go on hiatus for long stretches of time. While its ever-evasive members haven’t made any official announcements about a follow-up to 2006’s 10,000 Days yet, they did get leader Maynard James Keenan to step out of his vineyards for this brief summer tour.

Updated 07/15/2009