Who is Tool’s webmaster? The guy’s been writing for the band’s official site with verbose, oddball rants for years, part Tool updates and part literary masterpieces designed to send us Toolheads down a million rabbit holes simultaneously. If I ever meet the guy I’m gonna give him a big hug for doing such great work, then I’ll slap him in the balls for being such a conniving jerk!

Speaking of which: some sites reported yesterday that Tool are working on their new record with 10,000 Days engineer/mixer Joe Barresi, citing a post on Tool’s website that referenced using a Studer A827 “Gold Edition” analog tape recorder (pictured above). Here’s the thing: I’m pretty sure said webmaster is actually talking about the Volto! recording sessions. That’s Danny Carey’s side project. D’oh!

Actual Tool information that can be gleaned from said webmaster’s cryptic ramblings: 1) writing sessions are progressing nicely and a new music video for one of the new tunes is already in the works. 2) a tour this winter/spring is a possibility, with Texas (SXSW?), Los Angeles and Australia being name-checked specifically.

So, yeah… that happened.

-VN

Regular readers of this site know full well that your editors are not fans of Isis or Neurosis. It’s not what we dislike those bands… we just don’t like ‘em. Don’t see what all the fuss is about or why people go so fucking ga-ga at their mere mention. No matter how many times people we trust say “duuuude… you gotta listen again! trust me!” every time I listen again (and there have been many), I still don’t give a fuck.

So it is with extreme surprise that I report the following: I like the new Isis song.

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File Isis under “bands I just don’t get.” I mean, I GET it… long, drony songs, heavy, fuzzed out bass, big, loopy riffs, raw production, lack of traditional song structure… but I don’t GET IT get it. As in, see what all the fuss is about. Im fully aware of the importance and influence of this band, especially to those who grew up with more of a punk background as opposed to a metal background… but man, every time I try to listen to an Isis record (a feat I’ve attempted many times) I just get bored, zone out, and forget I’m listening to it. Kinda like when you’re reading a book but your mind is elsewhere and you get to the bottom of the page only to release you can’t actually remember anything you just read… actually, listening to Isis is exactly like that for me. Consistently.

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