It happened. It really happened. After 13 years of waiting, rumor, disinformation and hype, Tool have finally unleashed full-fledged new material on the world, playing not one but two new songs during their headlining set at Jacksonville, Florida’s Welcome to Rockville festival last night (May 5th). The band teased the momentous performance earlier in the week, with guitarist Adam Jones sharing an intimate Instagram clip of him playing what appeared to a central riff from the song “Descending” — which has been kicking around Tool’s live set in a shorter, instrumental form for years — and then singer Maynard James Keenan and the group’s official Twitter account posting a very funny meme portraying the band members as they ruminated over the possibility of unveiling new material on their then-imminent tour. Tool are notorious for their pranks and contradictory statements, so it was almost more shocking that the group did, in fact, live up to its own hype, than it would have been had the band not.
The two songs played — a fleshed-out version of “Descending” complete with vocals, and a completely new 12-minute composition “Invincible” — also lived up to the hype, displaying all the complexity and immediacy of Tool’s best work. Jammy, polyrhythmic, dynamic and emotional, the cuts had concertgoers in a frenzy as they took in the truly historic moment. See fan-shot footage of both songs below, and check out the band’s full Welcome to Rockville set list. Still no word on then Tool’s new album might drop.
Tool Welcome to Rockville set list:
Ænema
The Pot
Parabola
Descending (first time with vocals)
Schism
Invincible (new song)
Jambi
Forty-Six & 2
Sweat
Ions (-)
Stinkfist
