Tool fans for 13 years have been waiting for this day, and judging by the reactions on social media, Fear Inoculum was more than worth the wait.
Here are some of the best fan reactions to Tool’s new album.
Declan on Twitter
You should listen to Fear Inoculum. I don't care if you're a TOOL fan or not, it's one of the most incredible works of music I've ever, ever heard. Need a lot more listens to unpack everything, but first time through is a journey, of quality & quantity. Perfect. #FearInoculum
Sten on Twitter
Hats off to every @Tool fan listening to #FearInoculum once it turns 12:01am in whatever time zone they are in.
jorge gonzalez???????????? on Twitter
Before listening to @Tool's new #FearInoculum we should look back at the memes made during the 13 years it took for this new album to come out. You will be missed ????????
James Goodall on Twitter
A lot of 30 to 40 year old men (including myself) right bout now.... here goes... #FearInoculum #tool
Joey Castillo:) on Twitter
Me trying to bang my head to the time signatures of #FearInoculum but forgetting it's @Tool so I'm always about 47 beats off... https://t.co/dbEDgf161v
Ellie????MISFITS/oakland on Twitter
Leave me alone, I'm listening to the new @Tool album #FearInoculum ???? https://t.co/v3hFC7AUQq
????weeb trash???? on Twitter
Spiral out, bitches #FearInoculum https://t.co/WyNsq11fb1
мира медведь ???? on Twitter
me fucking losing my shit when i see #FearInoculum FINALLY FUCKING DROPPED
Paolo Soto on Twitter
FearInoculum is here #Tool #Spotify https://t.co/fsFxsYplNH
Alexis Johnson on Twitter
We don't deserve this. #FearInoculum
MARTRON on Twitter
Just finished listening to all of #FearInoculum , 13 years of waiting was absolutely worth it! Congratulations on another incredible album @Tool ! https://t.co/3bCR1e9P7T
Luca± 魂 on Twitter
This is not an album. It s an opera #toolband #FearInoculum. Great.
???? Karin Louise???? on Twitter
Trying to inject #FearInoculum's "Pneuma" in my neural wiring so I can swim underwater the next 90 minutes with that soundtrack.
Christian Novales on Twitter
Sitting out here for an album release like it's 1994. @Tool #FearInoculum #SayItWithMe
Richard Jeter on Twitter
Two tracks in to #FearInoculum and my face melted but my ears are still intact so we press on.
Rock Feed on Twitter
If you do the math, it took .@Tool an average of 1.5 years to write each song on the album, so don't just give this record a quick once over. Take time to let it sink in. Give it multiple listens. They took their time with this one.
Hai :P on Twitter
All these emotions I feel listening to the new @Tool album is unreal. The long wait has finally come to an end and I couldn't be more grateful. Thank you for putting up with all the hate over the years.
Max Lovell on Twitter
Only took 13 years but there's a new @Tool album out. I'd say its well worth the wait. #FearInnoculum https://t.co/Mnd4JNJRoI
The Cole-dest One Breathing on Twitter
At this point I don't care what anyone thinks, and it'll take many listens for me to develop an opinion on it, I'm just extremely excited and elated that there's a new @Tool album in the world. It's been a long 13 years; welcome back.
Shane O'Connor on Twitter
I lived 40 years before I heard #FearInoculum I hope I live long enough to listen to it for another 40.
Tool: All Albums Ranked
5. ‘10,000 Days’ (2006)
ShareLet’s be clear here: Tool’s least-great album is still great, and much greater than most bands’ best efforts. The album’s title was allegedly inspired by the fact that Maynard James Keenan’s mother lived for approximately 10,000 days after suffering a stroke in 1976 that left her wheelchair-bound. With that context, ‘Wings For Marie (Pt 1)’ and especially ‘10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)’ are even heavier. The latter song is one of the most painful and powerful in Tool’s catalog. But the album also had some of the (relatively) straight-ahead rock jams that catapulted them onto MTV and the radio in the previous decade, including ‘Vicarious,’ ‘Jambi’ and ‘The Pot.’
4. ‘Lateralus’ (2001)
ShareFans may have wondered if the band would be affected by the radio and MTV2 play enjoyed by Maynard James Keenan’s other band, A Perfect Circle, who debuted in 2000 with ‘Mer de Noms.’ The answer was ‘no.’ Still, following up ‘Undertow’ and ‘Aenima’ was never going to be easy. ‘Lateralus’ -- like every Tool album -- has so many great moments. Some of the best are on ‘Parabola,’ ‘Ticks & Leaches,’ and the title track, all of which are over six minutes long. The highlights, though, are ‘Schism’ and album opener ‘The Grudge.’
3. ‘Opiate’ EP (1992)
ShareBy 1992, there were a lot of bands trying to get onboard the ‘alternative rock’ or ‘alternative metal’ bandwagon. But from the first moments of ‘Sweat,’ it was clear that Tool actually were an alternative. Kennan, guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey and bassist Paul D’Amour didn’t sound like anyone else: they combined the rage and fury of punk and metal with the ambition of the wildest progressive rock (namely King Crimson). Tool would go on to push the limits of song length on subsequent albums, but here they kept it tight on classics like ‘Sweat,’ “Hush’ and the title track.
2. ‘Undertow’ (1993)
ShareJane’s Addiction, Faith No More, and yes, Nirvana, led the way for lots of loud, weird, uncommercial bands to get on MTV and on the radio. Still, it was surprising to see and hear Tool everywhere in ‘93. Part of that was thanks to the aforementioned bands breaking down doors, but it also had a lot to do with instantly catchy songs like ‘Intolerance,’ ‘Prison Sex’ and especially, ‘Sober.’ Fans of aggressive music loved the mosh-friendly jams, but some fans made a deeper connection with Maynard James Keenan’s painful lyrics.
1. ‘Aenima’ (1996)
ShareWould the departure of original bassist Paul D’Amour faze Tool? A few seconds into the opening track on ‘Aenima,’ ‘Stinkfist,’ it was clear that the band would be as strong as ever with Justin Chancellor. And would the mainstream success of ‘Undertow’ impact the band? Maybe: at the very least, it gave them the currency to make one of the weirdest and most artistically ambitious albums ever to go triple platinum. ‘Forty Six & 2’ was allegedly inspired by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, The title track and ‘Third Eye,’ meanwhile, were inspired by the late comedian Bill Hicks. ‘Hooker With A Penis’ was about an argument Keenan had with a fan wearing a ‘dope Beasties T’ who accused the band of selling out. Was it based on a real or imagined encounter? We don’t know, but Maynard barks, ‘I sold out long before you ever heard my name!’ But even with songs as undeniably excellent as ‘Eulogy,’ ‘H.’ and the aforementioned ‘Stinkfist’ and ‘Forty Six & 2,’ the band clearly were following their own muse, not the pop charts. And that’s why the fans have loved and respected them for nearly three decades.