Tool are an anomaly. Over the course of their career, the Californian quartet have consistently avoided the hard rock status quo: they’re notoriously media shy; both their music and visual aesthetic is dark, complex, and cryptic; and their output is sluggish at best (it’s been ten years since the release of their latest album, 10,000 Days). It seems paradoxical they maintain such an intensely loyal following, given many fans won’t see the LA band in the flesh anytime soon. Fortunately for fans, there are alternatives to the real deal, like Melbourne’s Third Eye, who recreate the live Tool experience with stunning attention to detail.
Commemorating 20 years to the day since its release, Third Eye performed Tool’s seminal album, Ænema, in its entirety to a sold-out crowd. The album is riddled with some of Tool’s most poignant material, which Third Eye reimagined both musically and visually. Lasers and smoke machines enveloped the crowd as opener Stinkfist emerged from a haze of distortion before settling into its swampy groove. Vocalist Phillip Barrett summoned his best Keenan croon, hitting those elusive high notes while covered head-to-toe in blue body paint. His voice is remarkably similar to Keenan’s, even when singing into a megaphone, which added to the overall illusion. Eyes closed, you’d have sworn you were in a 200-capacity room with the alt-metal pioneers. Elsewhere, Forty Six & 2’s spiralling riff and slow-building cathartic rush is as powerful now as it was 20 years ago, while the near ten-minute Pushit still sounds like it was beamed in from another dimension. Intricate, complex, brooding and beautiful, the colossal track was done justice by the impeccable musicianship of guitarist Elliot Steele, bassist Tim Rees, and drummer Matt Servelli.
Once Ænema was done, the band remerged for a second set of Tool classics, to the delight of an increasingly boozy crowd eager to sing along. Fan favourites The Grudge, Schism, Vicarious, Jambi, Rosetta Stoned, Sober and The Pot stirred up the belly of Cherry. After thanking the crowd for their support, Third Eye finished with the thunderous Lateralus, taken from the 2001 album of the same name. As the smoke cleared and lasers dimmed, the crowd dispersed with smiles smeared across their faces. They may not have seen the LA legends themselves, but they’d surely seen the next best thing.
BY JACK PILVEN
LOVED: Hearing a classic in its entirety.
HATED: Sweaty dudes pushing to the front of stage.
DRANK: Panther lager.
