The Long Shadow Of Lateralus

William Knox, Lizzard

“It’s hard to say what the music scene would be like today if

Tool had never existed. In the mid-90s they found themselves at a crossroads between grunge, prog rock and metal. From there they managed to drag in fans from right across those genres, and that created a massive level-up for the scene as a whole. In that sense they were pioneers simply by being at that crossroads, and then they pushed some boundaries creatively, which helped rock music to keep on evolving and stay relevant. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Tool created a genre, but for all those bands who get labelled ‘for fans of Tool’, such as Soen, Karnivool, Mastodon and ourselves, Tool helped pave the way. Maybe they gave some people an excuse to take off their blinkers!”