On the road in support of Fear Inoculum, their first album in over a decade, Tool has been weaving across the U.S. for the second leg of their tour with a stop at TaxSlayer Center in the Quad Cities on Thursday evening. Fans lined up in the cold, prior to doors, for a chance at limited-edition merchandise that would quickly sell out, but also in anticipation of a rare chance to see the alt-metal powerhouse mastering their craft.
Drummer Danny Carey, bassist Justin Chancellor and guitarist Adam Jones formed a triangle as they intricately began to construct the 10-minute tour title-track to open the show. Partially obscured by a stringed curtain, which served as a screen for psychedelic projections which provided a visual to the music, the trio built a layered texture before vocalist Maynard James Keenan finally appeared as a silhouette on a riser near the back of the stage. Keenan’s presence was as menacing as his vocals; sporting a spiked mohawk and face paint, he moved with calculated precision in the shadows during the frequent musical interludes.
While the majority of the evening was dedicated to their most recent effort, the two-hour spectacle also offered a cross-section of material from the rest of their catalog except for their 1993 debut, Undertow. Crowd-favorite “The Pot” might have been outdone by the 12-minute “Pneuma,” which also served as the grand reveal when the curtain slowly opened to a massive roar from the crowd. Enter a light and laser show that fully complemented the piece that effectively served as the mid-point and apex of the night.
