![Opiate [EP] on CD by Tool](https://d3fa68hw0m2vcc.cloudfront.net/images/autosize/25807391.jpeg?width=228&height=285&format=jpeg "Opiate [EP] on CD by Tool")
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During the 1980s, all the future members of Tool moved to Los Angeles. Both Paul D'Amour and Adam Jones wanted to enter the film industry, while Maynard James Keenan, who had studied visual arts in Michigan, worked as a pet store remodeler. Keenan and Jones started jamming together while searching for a drummer and bass player. Danny Carey happened to live above Keenan and began playing at their sessions. Tool's line-up was completed by bassist D'Amour shortly thereafter.
After almost two years of practicing and performing locally in L.A., they eventually signed a record deal with Zoo Entertainment. In March ‘92, Zoo released the band's first effort, Opiate. They then began touring with the Rollins Band, Fishbone, Rage Against the Machine, White Zombie, and Corrosion of Conformity, to positive responses. Janiss Garza of RIP Magazine summarized this period as a “buzz” and “a strong start.” Tool, of course, continue to this day – albeit with Justin Chancellor having replaced Paul D’Amour in 1996 – as one of the finest and most dynamic alternative rock bands on the US circuit. Their live performances have become legendary.
This new 3CD collection brings together a number of rare Tool recordings released here for the first time. DISC ONE contains one of Tool’s very earliest performances, their show at The Jello Loft in L.A., recorded for live FM radio broadcast on 5th September ‘91. The first disc also houses a number of wholly fascinating demos the band recorded earlier the same year. DISC TWO features two gigs from Tool’s Lollapalooza run in the summer 1993. First up is the set they played in Dallas, TX on August 1st, , following which is their appearance in Santa Fe on the same tour, six days later. Disc two concludes with a fascinating interview with Maynard, also from 1993. DISC THREE concludes this set with radio sessions recorded in London and the Netherlands in March 1994. As bonus cuts, this final CD also features a short set by Keenan’s ‘other group’, Perfect Circle, recorded in Belgium in 2000.
