Tool | Counting Beans

I’m a Tool fan as many of you know and I’ve yet to find another band that can move me in the way that they can. So when I stumbled on The String Quartet tribute albums to Tool a week ago I was as happy as a kid in a candy store. Using only string instruments they perform variations of popular songs by mainstream bands and the results can be interesting to hear.

As per Wikipedia:

“The Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) is a rotating collective of Los Angeles[citation needed] musicians widely known for its series of tribute albums to rock and pop acts. Their albums are released through Vitamin Records and primarily performed by a string quartet; however, a wide array of instruments have appeared throughout the series.”

They manage to replicate the rhythm and tone of most of the songs with surprisingly good results and many of their performances are right on par with the original compositions. It gives you a new found appreciation of the original songs by highlighting their sometimes intricate compositions. So far my personal favourite is their version of Tool’s Schism from the Lateralus album which I’ve linked to at the bottom of this post as a sample of their work.

They’ve also done the entire Ænima album with a great version of Stinkfist, H. and Forty Six & 2. The rest of Tool’s albums receive the String Quartet treatment on Anotomica: A String Quartet Tribute to Tool.

I’ve also had a listen to their versions of Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle and it’s just as great and after hearing good things about their Radiohead albums I’d definitely like to try to get hold of them as well. If you’re looking to hear a band you like in a whole different way then I can heartily recommend the String Quartet’s albums and it’s also the perfect music to put on in the background when you need to get some work done. It might even be a good way to get friends interested in bands such as Tool, Radiohead and A Perfect Circle who would normally not give them a second listen. For more info and a list of all their albums head on over to Vitamin Records.

Tool logo Those of you who know me will know that I’m a huge Tool fan of note. Ever since I was given my first Tool album, Lateralus, as a 21st birthday present I’ve never looked back and its been an almost constant album on my iPod, in my car and on my music centre so it was with keen interest that I read on Toolshed that Danny and Maynard have confirmed that they are in the very early stages of planning their next album:

In recent interviews, both Adam and Maynard have mentioned that the band is in the early writing phase for the next Tool album. You veterans of the waiting game know this means we still have a while to wait, especially with everyone being busy with side projects.

Tool fans will be used to the long wait between albums so this means we probably only have another 4 years or so to wait before their next album hits stores. One thing I know is that the album is definitely going to be worth the wait as I’ve yet to be disappointed by any of their albums, although admittedly I’m a huge fanboy so your results may vary.