Progressive Metal

"A strangely chatty Maynard James Keenan broke his self-imposed exile and spoke casually to the crowd, inciting them to a cheer of "Yes!" and sometimes sharing his thoughts, most of which were unashamedly eccentric to say the least."

"Particularly impressed was I with "Lipan Conjuring," which was so thoughtful an addition to the album that I feel as if it were included just for me. You see, I went to the record store with only fifteen dollars in my pocket, and I had a devil of a time deciding between 10,000 Days and Native Moods: A Pathway to Peace. On one hand, I love rockin' out to some ten-minute chugging shuffles, but there's another part of my soul that craves the inner harmony that can only be brought on from some high-quality chanting. It was with a heavy heart that I left the store carrying only one of these two things— or so I thought! Imagine my immense pleasure when my hard rock album was interrupted— no, that's too harsh a word— when my hard rock album was magnificently bolstered by exactly the sort of stupid fucking crap I might hear on some grocery store counter impulse buy CD of New Age chanting bullshit! Bravo! I can have my cake and eat it too, and while I eat my cake I can listen to some total crap!"

"Avoiding self-glorification, the band played in near-darkness under video screens on Monday. Maynard James Keenan, Tool's lead singer, stood on a platform behind Adam Jones on guitar and Justin Chancellor on bass, with his face in shadows, while Danny Carey on drums toiled meticulously by his side."

"Wrath and pain, desire and self-loathing, ferocity and meditation all find a complicated balance in Tool."

"Keenan…wore an all-black leather outfit, had his face painted black and stood on a spinning platform some distance from the front stage; he never seemed to look at the crowd."

"Opening strong with their first hit, 1993's "Sober," the crowd - predominantly made up of younger fans, rabid with anticipation - was rushed into a hot frenzy. Lead singer Maynard James Keenan, as is customary for the enigmatic frontman, loomed in the background with his back facing the audience for most of the show. And as the first few songs let their last few notes fade away, Keenan disrobed, removing various parts of his ensemble, leaving him with nothing more then black underwear and a stripe of black paint on his face."

"Control, your delusion. Insane and striking at random. Victim of your certainty, and therefore your doubt's not an option. Blameless, The 7empest will be just that. So try as you may, feeble, your attempt to atone. Your words to erase all the damage cannot."

"[Keepin it calm. Keep calm. Keepin it calm. Keep calm. Keep calm. FUCK. Here we go again]"

"The Deceiver says, he says: "You belong to me. You don't wanna breathe the light of the others. Fear the light. Fear the breath. Fear the others for eternity." But I hear them now. Inhale the clarity. I hear the venom, the venom in what you say. Inoculated. Bless this immunity."

"Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here"

"Angels on the sideline Puzzled and amused Why did Father give these humans free will? Now they're all confused"

"It was so real Like I woke up in Wonderland All sort of terrifying"

"Eye on the t.v. 'Cause tragedy thrills me"

"It's no fun 'til someone dies"

"Blood, like rain, come down Drum on grave and ground"

"The universe is hostile So impersonal Devour to survive, so it is So it's always beenWe all feed On tragedy It's like blood to a vampireVicariously, I Live while the whole world dies Much better you than I"

"The devil and his had me down In love with the dark side I'd found"

"Prayed like a martyr dusk to dawn Begged like a hooker all night long Tempted the devil with my song And got what I wanted all along"

"Divided, I'm withering away"

"Breathe in union"

"Who could deny You were the one who illuminated your little piece of the divine?"

"Ten thousand days in the fire is long enough you're going home"

"Set as I am in my ways and my arrogance Burden of proof tossed upon the believers You were my witness, my eyes, my evidence Judith Marie, unconditional one"

"I know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them fall away"

"And if there were no rewards to reap No loving embrace to see me through This tedious path I've chosen here I certainly would've walked away by now And I still may"

"Disintegrating as it goes, testing our communication The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so We cannot seem to reach an end, crippling our communicationI know the pieces fit 'cause I watched them tumble down No fault, none to blame—it doesn't mean I don't desire To point the finger, blame the other, watch the temple topple over To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communicationThe poetry that comes from the squaring off between And the circling is worth it, finding beauty in the dissonanceThere was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away"

"Choose to let this go"

"Defining, confining, sinking deeper Controlling, defining, and we're sinking deeper"

"But I'm still right here Giving blood, keeping faith And I'm still right here"

"Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion"

"Wear the grudge like a crown of negativity Calculate what we will or will not tolerate Desperate to control all and everything Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen"

"There's a shyness found in reason Apprehensive influence swallow away"

"Clutch it like a cornerstone Otherwise it all comes down"

"Locked in a place where no one goes"

"Omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, without judgment"

"If you are calling from a secret spy phone, please press 5."

"Hang on or be humbled again"

"So familiar and overwhelmingly warm This one, this form I hold nowEmbracing you, this reality here"

"And I'm slipping back into the gap again I feel alive when you touch me I feel alive when you hold me…down Slipping back into Slipping back into you"

"But you're pushing And I'm shoving you And you're pushing me And I'm shoving you"

"Painless hours of wasted motion"

"So, we need you to find a comfortable space that's not only comfortable, but vulnerable. I want you to shut your eyes and go there, and we'll meet you on the other side."

"Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorising fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities—the political, the religious, the educational authorities—who've attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing, forming in our minds their view of reality. To think for yourself, you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable, open-mindedness; chaotic, confused, vulnerability to inform yourself."

"What are you but my reflection? Who am I to judge or strike you down?"

"It's some kind of psychedelic experience"

"But the eyes seem so familiar"

"My gods will Become me When he speaks He speaks through me He has needs Like I do We both want To rape you"

"I stick my hand into the shadow"

"Prying open my third eye"

"It's not a war on drugs, it's a war on personal freedom is what it is, okay? Keep that in mind at all times, thank you."