TOOL Fear Inoculum CD

Thirteen years. That's how long fans waited for Fear Inoculum, and when it finally arrived in 2019, Tool did not make it easy. A 10-track album where the title track alone runs 10 minutes and 23 seconds, packaged in a limited edition that came with a built-in LCD screen playing the album's visuals. The standard CD version is a collector's piece in its own right, and at this price point, that reflects reality.

Fear Inoculum is quintessential Tool, which means it rewards patience and punishes passive listening. Maynard James Keenan sits back further in the mix than ever, letting Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor and Danny Carey build these enormous, shifting architectures of progressive metal and dark psychedelia. It's not Lateralus, it's not Ænima, it's its own strange animal, and after a few dedicated listens it starts to make total sense. If you're already deep in the Tool mythology, you know this belongs in a physical collection. If you're just arriving, this is the deep end.

Standard CD edition. 10 tracks. Released August 2019 on RCA Records.

Fans of: King Crimson, Porcupine Tree, Neurosis, Meshuggah, A Perfect Circle.