Where were you when you finally heard the first Tool album in 13 years? A horde of people at Burning Man can say they were in the middle of the desert dancing around a giant dragon as the first notes of Fear Inoculum penetrated their ears.
The August 30th release of Tool’s Fear Inoculum happened to occur in the middle of this year’s Burning Man gathering, which took place from August 25th through September 2nd at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It also happened that Alex Grey, who created the artwork for Fear Inoculum, as well as 10,000 Days and Lateralus, was on-hand at the annual festival of self-expression.
Add all of the above, and you get a surreal scene in which Grey introduces the new album to hundreds of Woodstock-meets-Mad Max characters while standing on the giant Abraxas Dragon float-like structure.
“I feel so grateful to be at freest place on Earth, to celebrate the opening of one of greatest bands bands in the world,” said Grey from the Abraxas Dragon. “This is one of my favorite Tool albums and I’ve only heard it a few times, so I hope that it will grow on you.”
He continued, “This is the perfect launching pad for a way that I can share the love that is so extraordinary between these band members. I feel so blessed and grateful. Thank you to the men of Tool and all their fans. Much love.”
From there, the music and dancing began, as captured in the YouTube clips below.
(Buy: Tickets to Tool’s Upcoming Tour Dates)
And here you thought listening to the new album in total isolation on your high-end noise-canceling headphones was the way to go. Turns out that was the second-best way to soak in the epic force that is Fear Inoculum.
Fans who missed out on the Burning Man experience can see Tool in the flesh on the band’s upcoming fall North American tour. The outing, featuring support from Killing Joke, kicks off with a headlining set October 13th at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California. Pick up tickets here.
