Originally Posted by TheUsed2lguy

I wouldn't venture to say that tool is a 'smartperson group', as someone had mentioned. Which seems to suggest that if you listen to them, you're smart. I believe what makes them most accessible is the sheer honesty that speaks to fans. Maynard probably displays more emotions in his songs than by far most singers. From Jerk-Off, where he screams that he wants to 'shoot you in your f*cking head', far from an intellectual sentiment, but very raw emotionally, to lighter songs like Lateralus, where he sings, 'swing on the spiral of our own divinity.' What he and the band display in their music is a great deal of emotional complexity, which I believe we, as humans are very much that way. So, I think the honesty is what plays so well, from Maynard to Adam, ripping through a solo on Undertow, or much subtler work on H. Carey is an uber-aggressive drummer, but when he speaks, he is a very gentle soul. So, I think you can see that they unapologetically embody and display the range of emotions, that we, as humans feel, and I think that this is to be seen as virtuous, and something that everyone aspires to do, and is capable of doing. To attempt to make music that is reserved for a sophisticated 'elite' group of individuals with a higher I.Q. than the rest of us would be considered pretension, and honesty is not above any of us.