Formation and Early Work
Tool formed in Los Angeles in 1990, when vocalist Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Paul D'Amour, and drummer Danny Carey bonded over shared interests in art, philosophy, and the heavier edges of progressive and alternative rock. Their debut EP, Opiate (1992), and first full-length album, Undertow (1993), established the band's sonic template: complex time signatures, grinding guitar riffs, polyrhythmic drumming, and Keenan's emotionally raw vocals, alternating between whispered introspection and primal screams.
D'Amour departed after Undertow, replaced by Justin Chancellor, whose fluid, melodic bass playing transformed the band's sound. The new lineup debuted with Aenima (1996), an album named after a portmanteau of "anima" (Jung's term for the unconscious feminine) and "enema." The title track imagined Los Angeles being swallowed by the Pacific -- a vision of apocalyptic purgation that served as metaphor for ego death and psychic renewal.
