Tool (band)

Tool is an American rock band. Their music has been heavily influenced by King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Rush, among several others. Their overall sound has been described as "grinding, post-Jane's Addiction heavy metal" http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3r62mpb39ffo~T1 as well as "a primal sound as distinct as it is disturbing" http://www.rollingstone.com/artist/bio/_/id/213/tool?pageid=rs.Artistcage&pageregion=artistHeader ? most simplified categorizations of the band's genre are often dismissed (see: Arguments About Genre & Categorization).

Etymology

The name "Tool" was alleged by drummer Danny Carey in a 1994 interview to mean that the band served its fans as a tool through which those people would come to understand lachrymology, a pseudophilosophy that the band has alleged was founded in 1949 by Ronald P. Vincent after the death of his wife in a snow plowing accident. However, it is more likely that the band made this up in order to create a unique backdrop for their own beliefs.

Related Topics:
Danny Carey - Lachrymology - Pseudophilosophy - 1949 - Ronald P. Vincent

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Lachrymology teaches the simple belief that crying is the best emotional release and should be encouraged as therapeutic. Tool's lyrical message often reflects this in their candid expressions of anger and frustration. People who endorse lachrymology often believe that it is only through pain (both physical and emotional) and recovery that an individual can advance him or her self, adopting a slight "whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger" mentality.

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Other beliefs about the origin of Tool's name include a nickname for "brown-nosing" or potentially self-righteous army cadets. Maynard James Keenan attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, and the first song on Undertow (titled "Intolerance") refererences a military honor code that admonishes all cadets, and which the "tools" follow to the letter: "A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal, and will not tolerate those who do." In a similar vein, the band created a segue track ("Useful Idiot") for Ænima--a term used to designate internal dissidents who are seen to objectively benefit an enemy faction (illustrative but of dubious authenticity, Lenin is said to have referred to Western communist sympathizers as his useful idiots).

Related Topics:
Maynard James Keenan - United States Military Academy - West Point - Undertow - Ænima

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Based on one of the band's early logos and a humorous B-side, the name may originate in a slang term for male genitals.

Related Topics:
B-side - Slang

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