A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity

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A component of Tool's song repertoire relies on the use of unusual time signatures. For instance, bassist Justin Chancellor describes the time signature employed on Lateralus's first single, "Schism", as 6.5/8, and that it later "goes into all kinds of other times".[80] "Lateralus", the album's title track, also displays shifting rhythms, as does 10,000 Days' "Wings for Marie (Pt 1)" and "10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)".
Drums, bass and guitars move in jarring cycles of hyperhowl and near-silent death march... The prolonged running times of most of Lateralus' thirteen tracks are misleading; the entire album rolls and stomps with suitelike purpose.
Live shows on Tool's headline tour incorporate an unorthodox stage setting and video display. Singer Maynard James Keenan lines up in the back with he and drummer Danny Carey on elevated platforms, while guitarist Adam Jones and bassist Justin Chancellor stand in the front toward the side edges of the stage. Keenan, despite being the vocalist, is known to face the backdrop rather than the audience. No followspots or live cameras are used; instead, the band employs extensive backlighting to direct the focus away from the band members and toward large screens in the back and the crowd
Tool was scheduled to play the Garden Pavilion in Hollywood but learned at the last minute that the Garden Pavilion belonged to L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology, which the band felt clashed with "the band's ethics about how a person should not follow a belief system that constricts their development as a human being". Keenan "spent most of the show baa-ing like a sheep at the audience".
At the last concert of Lollapalooza in Tool's hometown Los Angeles, comedian Bill Hicks introduced the band. Hicks had become a friend of the band members and an influence on them after being mentioned in Undertow's liner notes.
With the release of Tool's single "Prison Sex", the band became the target of censorship. The respective music video was deemed too graphic and obscene, and MTV stopped airing it after a few viewings.
Tool received their second Grammy Award for the best metal performance of 2001 for the song "Schism". During the band's acceptance speech, drummer Carey stated that he would like to thank his parents (for putting up with him) and Satan, and bassist Chancellor concluded: "I want to thank my dad for doing my mom."
Extensive touring throughout 2001 and 2002 supported Lateralus and included a personal highlight for the band: a 10-show joint mini-tour with King Crimson in August 2001. Comparisons between the two were made, MTV describing the bands as "the once and future kings of progressive rock".
The band has released eight music videos but made personal appearances in only the first two, which the band states is to prevent people from "latching onto the personalities involved rather than listening to the music." With the exception of "Hush" and Vicarious, all of Tool's music videos feature stop motion animation to some extent. The videos are created primarily by Adam Jones, often in collaboration with artists such as Chet Zar, Alex Grey, and Osseus Labyrint.