Originally Posted by zevokes (Post 1269481)

danny carey gets a ton of attention. both in the drumming world and the music world in general. and maynard actually plays a huge role in the arrangements, and also plays guitar and synths.

he says he writes his lyrics in such a way that he's not telling people how to think. he uses a vast array of archetypes and metaphors so the listener can have their own unique, personal experience that is largely the result of their own perception. it can get pretty confusing at times, and maybe a little frustrating, but tool wouldn't be tool if it were any other way.

i've had a hard time trying to find another band that can touch what these guys do for me. they reach inside you and start fistf*cking your soul. i've seen them live four times, and it's almost strange that they ceaselessly outperform their recordings. their sound-crew is clearly among the most dedicated in the world. not to mention the visuals. i highly recommend going to one on psychedelics. i did. aside from the spiritual aspect of it, i danced with my eyes closed the whole time and was somehow able to reinvent my understanding of odd time signatures and their relation to groove. my head has never been the same since.

Originally Posted by Ashir (Post 1269529)

Maynard plays the guitar? This is new!

Yeah, I agree. But as you said it's quite frustrating and bemusing at times. It's certainly not a comfort to have to dig so deep into the lyrics to decipher a meaning. But sometimes he does it well, notably in Stinkfist.

Originally Posted by Rjinn (Post 1269585)

I just read Tool are contracted for 5 studio album releases. So l'd guess the rumours are legit. Am really anticipating it.

Hoping they don't stop there but.

Originally Posted by Frownland (Post 1269589)

I'm not getting my hopes up on a new Tool record until a definite release date is announced. Even then I'll give it a couple of months leeway. Since that's their method I'm fine with it, since they seem to prefer to take their time. I'd love to see them if they do a promotional tour, but tickets sell out in .000008 seconds. I'm still gonna try my luck if they come by.

Originally Posted by zevokes (Post 1269547)

yeah. i've seen him pull it out live twice. both times it was a pretty massive hollow-body. i couldn't exactly make out what he was doing on it, but i'm guessing it was just simple rhythm stuff. same with the keys. he's no instrumental virtuoso, but he does get his hands a bit dirty.

Originally Posted by blastingas10 (Post 1269771)

Really? How long ago was this? I know people who have seen them close to ten times and I've never heard anything about him playing guitar.

Originally Posted by Frownland (Post 1269589)

I'm not getting my hopes up on a new Tool record until a definite release date is announced. Even then I'll give it a couple of months leeway. Since that's their method I'm fine with it, since they seem to prefer to take their time. I'd love to see them if they do a promotional tour, but tickets sell out in .000008 seconds. I'm still gonna try my luck if they come by.

Originally Posted by Ki (Post 1269708)

I would say with the albums they've already released, 5 albums is a lot, considering a lot of songs they've made could be cut into 5 more albums. Even then, there could be some extra stuff they've never released that could be released into more albums. And let's not forget that they could release more live albums.