Tool are back in Europe for the second leg of their Fear Inoculum tour and, considering the decade-plus gap between previous European trips when the band came back to headline Download Festival in 2019, we couldn't be more excited.
Kicking off in Denmark on April 23, Tool have brought their characteristic sense of majesty and mystery, not hurt by the fact the band have limited photography and recording for the shows. Even so, some intrepid souls have snuck some illicit footage out into the world and now we really can't wait for the band's UK tour to start next week when they touch down at Manchester's AO Arena.
Brass Against are exactly as weird and wonderful as you'd hope they'd be
A support slot with Tool is pretty much every leftfield band's dream and for some recent shows the band even pulled in fellow brain-busting acts like Primus or Melvins. The European support Brass Against might have raised some eyebrows (a covers band with brass - get it?) but there's plenty of delight to be found online following their set. Considering they cover everything from Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave to the headliners themselves, they seem a perfect fit for the strange dimensional disconnect that is a Tool show.
First show in the books with @Tool This is all so surreal! pic.twitter.com/YG4yhitylMApril 23, 2022
. @BrassAgainst your show in Oslo was incredible. The tuba guy solo was truly epic.@tool was also greatApril 25, 2022
Tool are still the prankster kings
Whether it's the Church Of Scientology or grunge godfathers Melvins, Tool have a long history of pranks and trolling of the highest order. Tour supports Brass Against weren't immune from this tradition when they kicked off the tour in Copenhagen - coming on-stage to find "no pee" signs had been placed there by the headliners.
This was of course in reference to the story last year that Brass Against singer Sophia Urista urinated on the face of a willing fan while playing US festival Welcome To Rockville. Urista was later investigated by police, but ultimately no charges were filed.
#tool #copenhagen pic.twitter.com/MW1hlwxh8CApril 24, 2022
Tool are enforcing the photography bans...
Much as we love being able to ogle the absolute bounty of visuals on display from... well, any show, there's little more frustrating than being stuck behind some asshole who decides to film the whole damn thing. Tool aren't just about to let that slide however, and have put in photography and filming bans for their entire European tour - and some fans were totally fine with that.
I didn't take any pictures of the performance as I'm a law-abiding concert goer, but I feel this picture of Sean Bean adequately reflects how happy I was seeing Tool in Copenhagen last night pic.twitter.com/V0ogIRFF1xApril 24, 2022
But not everyone got the memo
The world being what it is, of course some pics and videos have emerged. And we know we shouldn't look but... goddamn, we're looking forward to seeing Tool.
Went to see TOOL in Copenhagen and all I got was this profound sense of joy, liberation and adoration. Music is the essence of life. #TOOL #livemusic pic.twitter.com/UoxYd2QqWqApril 23, 2022
TOOL finishing up their concert in Oslo,Norway tonight...25 April 2022 pic.twitter.com/EALnSeVusMApril 25, 2022
#RT @jboogie: Tool from last night’s show in Copenhagen. 30 years in and still just brilliant. pic.twitter.com/R6B35sWjXaApril 24, 2022
The visuals are out of this world
Tool's light-show and visuals are right up there with the masters of prog themselves, be it Pink Floyd, Genesis or any other mind-altering visual masters you'd care to name. We got a good taste of that in Donington back in 2019, but now the band are playing more enclosed spaces (in so much as any arena can be called 'enclosed'), the sheer intensity of the visual stimuli is enough to turn any other band into a kaleidoscope of envy.
The setlist is basically the same as the US tour
Tool aren't exactly an improv band, so with a little over a month between their last US show (in Cleveland on March 20) and first European show (Denmark on April 23), we weren't expecting major surprises from the setlist. It doesn't matter much besides; Tool playing anything is a cause worth celebrating.
Some songs do switch places, though
While some songs are a given in the Tool setlist (we can't see them dropping The Pot any time soon), others have been chopped and changed between different dates. The band employed a similar trick on their US tour, switching between Opiate and Sober, as well as Right In Two or Eon Blue Apocalypse and The Patient.
That does beg the question though - can we truly be at peace knowing there was a choice between songs?
Fear Inoculum dominates
They haven't called it the Fear Inoculum tour for nothing; of the 12 (or 13, depending on show) songs Tool are playing on this current run, six come from the band's latest album. Considering just how much work they put into it (13 years!) we don't blame them for wanting to put it front and centre for all to enjoy.
Tool's European tour comes to The UK from May 2 - May 10. For the full list of dates, visit the Tool website
Tool's European Setlist
Fear Inoculum
Opiate (Copenhagen) / Sober (Oslo)
The Pot
Pushit
Pneuma
The Grudge
Right In Two (Copenhagen) / Eon Blue Apocalypse (Oslo)
The Patient (Oslo)
Descending
Hooker With A Penis
Chocolate Chip Trip
Culling Voices
Invincible
