Tool Guitarist Reveals More Details of New Album Fear Inoculum, Significance of the Number Seven
Tool guitarist Adam Jones was recently interviewed for the October 2019 issue of Guitar World about the band’s long-awaited upcoming album, Fear Inoculum. While the issue isn’t out yet, lucky for us some copies have made their way out into the wild so we can bring you more details about the album, which we’ve all been lapping up like cats on crack milk.
The interview reveals some interesting tidbits about the album such as an 80-minute run time split across seven tracks, a song featuring a four-minute guitar solo, and the lack of any songs with a standard radio single format. After 13 years, at least we’re getting a whole lot of music and a lengthy solo to trip out on. As could be expected for a piece in Guitar World, much of the interview covers the gear used by Jones on the record, but he did offer some insight as to the role the number seven played in its creation:
Jones commented:
“I took a picture pointing to the number seven while we were recording, and a lot of the riffs Justin and I brought in were in seven. You don’t really go ‘I’m going to write a riff in seven!’
“You just write a riff and you count it out and it turns out to be in seven. Without being too descriptive about the concept, the main thing is that the seven beat just kept coming up, and riffs in seven kept coming up. It was really weird!
“When we finished recording, I went to the guys and said ‘I think we should call the record Volume 7’ because a lot of the songs are in seven and there are seven tracks on the record.
“Then Maynard told me about a whole concept he had about the number seven. We were all like, ‘Oh My God! This is too weird!’ Then Alex Grey [Tool album artist] basically said the same thing and he has a concept that will reveal itself through video.
“So there are a lot of rhythms and polyrhythms where we explore 7/4 or 7/3, and there’s a riff we count in 21 — which we count as three rounds of seven. I wrote a four-minute lead over something counted in 21, which is crazy!”
Tool’s entire catalog launched on most major streaming platforms August 2nd and if you haven’t already streamed every album at least a dozen times by now I’m assuming you’re an alien living in Area 51 with no internet access, or you just hate Tool, both of which are valid reasons. Anyways, Fear Inoculum is currently set for release on August 30th. We’ll keep our eyeballs peeled for upcoming pre-order information and all that other jazz. You’re welcome.
