‘7empest’, from Tool’s long-awaited fifth album Fear Inoculum, won the Grammy award for Best Metal Performance. Drummer Danny Carey and bass player Justin Chancellor were on hand to accept the award.
Carey’s speech began with a touch of incredulity.
“It kind of renews my faith in humankind to know there’s long attention spans left out there that can listen a 12-minute song,” he said.
‘7empest’, the album’s closing track, actually runs for 15 minutes and 43 seconds. The record’s opening song, the 10-minute ‘Fear Inocolum’, was nominated for Best Rock Song but lost out to Gary Clark Jr.’s ‘This Land’.
Carey had time to pay tribute to his idols during his acceptance speech. “All the great drum gods that come before… I do my best to channel them every time I’m working,” he said. “Namely John Bonham, Tony Williams and recently my good friend Neil Peart.”
Watch: Tool Wins Best Metal Performance
Peart, the drummer for Rush, passed away earlier this year. Tool honoured the prog rock legend just days later, covering the band’s ‘Passage to Bangkok’ at their first show for 2020.
Tool’s competition in the Best Metal Performance category included Death Angel (‘Humanicide’), I Prevail (‘Bow Down’), Killswitch Engage (‘Unleashed’) and Candlemass (‘Astorolus – The Great Octopus’ feat. Tony Iommi).
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It’s the third time Tool have won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Their first win was in 1998 for the title track to their second album Ænema. They won again for ‘Schism’ in 2002.
The band’s only other Grammy win was in the Best Recording Package category for 2006’s 10,000 Days. Fear Inoculum was Tool’s first album in 13 years and it became the highest selling rock album of 2019.
