“Insufferable”: Why Maynard James Keenan hates Tool fans
There aren’t many bands that can claim to have fans as diehard as Tool can. Ever since bursting onto the scene in the early 1990s, their artful blend of rock, metal and progressive flecks has earned them a cult-like following across the world, who obsess over every note, rhythmic choice, and the lyrical substance of frontman Maynard James Keenan.
You might question how groups manage to construct such a dedicated and intense fandom; there are many answers and reasons why they coalesce. Of course, it always starts with the music and its resonance. In Tool’s case, their attention to detail, extensive time spent working on their albums, aesthetics and immense sound have all fed into a package far beyond the confines of simply being a rock band.
When you add the sheer musical aptitude of each member and the force of their joint sound to lyrics about organised religion, transcendence, Jungian psychology and famously, the Fibonacci sequence, it becomes clear that Tool’s substance and the care taken in weaving every strand together is what underpins such a loyal following. Few groups can confidently take 13 years between albums, refusing to give in to the calls of fans, and, when they do finally release them, prove themselves right by releasing a record many deem their masterpiece.
Yet, this is Tool, and they’ve never done anything that they don’t want to. This singularity is another reason they’ve prompted much fascination and drawn in fans from all walks of life.
That’s not to say that being so resolute in their approach hasn’t led to much frustration, though. While a lot of this is naturally prompted by the meticulous perfectionism of their creative process, it can also be turned on their legions of fans, who are particularly vociferous on the internet. No matter what other projects the members might have, such as Keenan’s A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, they do not stop the calls for new Tool music, angrily typing out the demands with one hand while furiously stroking their neckbeards with the other in their dingy under-the-stairs bedrooms.
For Keenan, this was particularly annoying when Tool were in their downtime, and he was concentrating on Puscifer, a group whose approach differed from Tool’s greatly musically and in that he used black humour to analyse serious subjects. It’s clear that in the span between Tool’s 2006 effort, 10,000 Days and its 2019 follow-up, Fear Inoculum, Keenan was getting greatly frustrated with their fans dismissing his other work and wanting his much more serious outfit to return.
When speaking to the Phoenix New Times in 2015, Keenan, who had notoriously refused to answer questions about Tool since their last album, furiously slammed the band’s fans after being asked the question he’d heard thousands of times about their next album arriving.
Pointing out that fans and critics view his other projects more seriously than Puscifer, as he seems freer to express a less serious side with them, he mentioned that “it’s weird” and noted that there is humour in Tool records. “Yeah, it’s there,” he said exasperatedly. “But people miss it because they’re so focused on the other bullshit.”
He then shook his head and delivered the most brutal takedown of Tool fans probably ever levelled at them. His words are highly offensive, but speak of a man who’d hated nearly 30 years of hero worship and one who’d even received death threats about a new Tool album. “It’s lost. Insufferable people . . . It’s just ridiculous, retards. I’m sorry. Can’t help them. Way too serious. Too much. Lighten up.”
