There are few bands that defy description the way Tool does.
Closing out the remaining few dates of their 2024 North American arena run, the unit of Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor and Danny Carey unloaded a locomotive like set at Crypto.com arena this week - proving definitively, Tool remains in a league all their own.
Compiling a focused setlist that roped in selections from the lauded 2019 LP Fear Inoculum like "Descending", "Pneuma" and post intermission essentials like "Chocolate Chip Trip" and "Invincible" - the band functioned like rock music shamans - leading a performative trip that transported the arena into an otherworldly place.
Pairing cuts as far back as 1992's Opiate with "Sweat" with favorites like "The Grudge" from 2001's Lateralus, the endurance and durability of the band's catalog was underscored as each song complimented the scope the comprehensive, concise set.
Among the highlights from the performance that could best be summarized as consuming, entries like "Flood" from 1993's Undertow and the set finale in "Schism" were the kind of showings that masterfully and memorably controlled an entire arena. Building to a crescendo that that pays off in a collective awe from the fans standing with jaws dropped, Tool towered in a way that everyone expected, yet still defies comprehension.
Check the collection of exclusive images from photographer Steve Rose below. See the remaining dates of Tool's North American tour below. Get tickets - HERE
TOOL
ELDER
TOOL North American Tour with Elder
February 17 Ontario, CA Toyota Arena
February 18 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena