The current tour seems to be somewhat of a second leg to the “Fear Inoculum” tour in support of the band’s latest album of the same name – its first full-length studio release since 2006. The band last played PPG Paints Arena not long ago – in November of 2019, just a couple of months after the long-awaited release of the “Fear Inoculum” album.

With a global pandemic sandwiched in between the two recent tour stops, die-hard fans seemed to be eager to get out and about for some more live Tool this week, and most were hopeful that the band would mix up the set list a bit to deliver a fresh show that differed from the 2019 concert.

In large part, that’s what they got – and a satisfyingly great show it was.

As expected, the bulk of the songs Tool performed came from the new album. Comparing set lists from the last two Pittsburgh shows, Tool nearly duplicated the cuts from the latest release, adding yet another one to the mix. But the rest of the set list – songs from the older Tool albums – was completely revamped, offering no repeats from the last stop, and thus, created what was basically a different show for the second leg of the tour.

Danny Carey performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Drummer extraordinaire Danny Carey kicked off the show launching into subtle percussion acrobatics on the drums to awaken the title track from “Fear Inoculum,” a marathon composition that ebbs and flows like many of the band’s tunes from the last three or so albums – with many averaging in length around the 10-minute mark.

As Tool has evolved over the years from their start in the early ’90s, their sound and writing style has changed from a modern, progressive-metal version of Rush to more of a modern, prog-metal version of Pink Floyd – adopting more of a psychedelic vibe. A trademark songwriting technique for the band has developed from weaving odd time signatures into a tapestry of overlapping sounds and rhythms that are pleasing to the ear and the psyche, earning them a reputation of delivering the calculus-level professors of math-rock compositions. Through the band’s evolution, fans of all ages and of many musical genres – from rock and metal enthusiasts to old-school hippy jam band fanatics – have been caught in Tool’s gravitational pull.

Guitarist Adam Jones’ biting guitar sound snarled and soared over the arena on straight rockers like “The Pot” and “The Grudge,” and glided rhythmically in synch with the mind-melting lights and accompanying videos during the more ethereal cuts like “Right in Two” and “Descending.” Jones has been heralded for his guitar work, which has a minimalist palette not unlike that of Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi through most of his playing. But Jones is also a visual and special effects artist with Hollywood credits ranging from “Jurassic Park” to “Ghostbusters II,” “Dances With Wolves” and “Terminator 2.” His vision and art direction – along with his playing style – have truly helped defined Tool’s overall look, sound and feel over the decades.

The visual aspect of the show was nothing short of eye candy – an optical feast of lights, dark and dystopian video images, and laser beam flurries that seemed to turn up the temperature of the arena as the show progressed. By the time the band unleashed “Pneuma” mid-set, the light show was was turned up to “broil,” and the crisp and clear sound of the churning live music in the arena felt like somebody hit the “puree” button.

Bassist Justin Chancellor – dapper once again, dressed in a vest and button-up – anchored the heavy sound of the band, and served as a focal point on stage among the other band members. Clearly the most animated of the foursome, Chancellor seemed to be set in motion by the weight of his own bludgeoning bass lines, getting rocked back and forth like a teeter-totter whenever the music started cooking.

Justin Chancellor performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Elusive singer Maynard James Keenan was in rare form. Despite lingering in the shadows on the back upper levels of the stage on either side of the drum kit (as he’s done in recent years), he’s seemed to be more and more engaged and wholeheartedly into the show. With Keenan invested heavily in his other bands A Perfect Circle and particularly Pusifer, there’s been concern among fans that he’s just not that much into Tool nowadays. Tuesday’s show was pure evidence against that theory, as Keenan lurched and air-drummed on his chest to the driving music, striking martial arts stances and boldly flaunting the attitude that his faux spiked mohawk projected.

And Keenan’s voice was right on point throughout the show – nailing it on classics like “Pushit” and a fresh take on the song “Opiate.” On the day of the show, the band actually released “Opiate2” (Opiate squared) – an extended, new version of the title song from their first full-length album of the same name, celebrating the 30th anniversary of its release. A new video package promises to follow this month – marking the band’s first video offering in 15 years.

There was a 12-minute intermission between the two sets – or the main set and the extended encore. Carey’s prowess as a drum master was showcased on either side of the break. The main set ended with “H. with a P.” (we’ll call it …) – one of Tool’s most bombastic drum numbers. The encore began with “Chocolate Chip Trip,” the drum solo from the new album.

While Keenan is arguably the biggest “rock star” of the group, Carey is arguably the most outrageously talented player. Whenever conversations erupt about the best rock drummer alive, Carey is almost always mentioned – and for good reason. With the relatively recent death of Rush’s Neil Peart, Carey’s footing as a living drum god is only more solidified.

In a significant change from the previous tour, the encore included the new song “Culling Voices,” with all four players seated at the front of the stage, including Keenan making a rare appearance up front and Carey accompanying with guitar during the first part of the song.

Adam Jones performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

As with recent Tool and A Perfect Circle shows, cell phone usage by the audience was completely forbidden during the concert. Fans who got emergency calls during the show were required to walk outside into the corridors to answer it. Otherwise, people caught with cell phones out during the performance quickly got a warning from the arena staff, and those who were seen recording video where literally escorted from the building.

This practice – while hard to police nowadays – actually helps fans break the habit of having their faces in their phones all of the time, and it helps them actually enjoy the show. Too many people worry about sharing videos of all of their cool experiences instead of actually being in the moment, it seems.

But at the end of the show, Keenan told security to “stand down” and reluctantly granted permission to fans to bust out their phones if they wanted and video the last song, a lengthy cut from the new album – “Invincible.”

Seems pretentious? Maybe. But true fans of Tool already know that their musical taste is slightly more pretentious than that of most other typical metal heads, anyway … and we wear it like a badge of honor.

Maynard James Keenan performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

SHOW NOTES

During this tour, Tool had been performing their first hit single “Sober” for the first time in many years, much to the joy of longtime fans. The band continued to include “Sober” in the set list through January before it was replaced with the new, extended version of “Opiate2” last month.

Tool has not performed a single song from their first album “Undertow” during the last two performances in Pittsburgh.

A band called The Acid Helps opened the show.

Maynard James Keenan will return to Pittsburgh this summer with a show by Pusifer on June 29 at Stage AE.

Danny Carey performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Aside from the interlude cuts on the new album, Tool performed every full-length song from “Fear Inoculum” this stop with the exception of “7empest,” a guitar-heavy gem which ironically is the song from the album that won the band its latest Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Tool is yet to perform “7empest” during a Pittsburgh show.

SET LIST

Fear Inoculum

Opiate2

The Pot

Pushit

Pneuma

The Grudge

Right in Two

Decemding

H. with a P.

(Intermission)

Chocolate Chip Trip (drum solo)

Culling Voices

Invincible

Justin Chancellor performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Adam Jones performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Maynard James Keenan performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Danny Carey performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Justin Chancellor performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Adam Jones performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)

Maynard James Keenan appears in silhouette in front of a video screen as he performs with Tool on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Eric Ayres)