It’s only been a couple of years since Tool last released new material, but already the group are back with a new single, sharing a re-recording of the title track of their debut EP for its 30th anniversary.
Next week – March 10th, to be precise – Tool will celebrate 30 years since the release of their debut EP, Opiate. A six-track release, the EP contained early classics such as ‘Sweat’, ‘Hush’, and Part Of Me’, in addition to live recordings of ‘Cold And Ugly’ and ‘Jerk-Off’.
A powerful record, it set the stage for the group’s Undertow album in 1993, and would eventually reach #43 on the Aussie charts when Tool made their way onto streaming services back in 2019.
However, as the band gear up to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album, they’ve now shared a re-recording of the eight-and-a-half-minute title track.
Check out ‘Opiate²’ by Tool:
Dubbed ‘Opiate²’, the new single is a faithful recreation of the original, albeit filtered through the lens of Tool in 2022. What does that mean? Well, it no longer sounds quite like the ‘alternative metal’ version of Tool that early adopters were used to, but rather underlines the progressive metal side of things.
This results in some percussive experimentation from drummer Danny Carey, and some extra guitarwork from Adam Jones. Meanwhile, it’s the first recorded version with Justin Chancellor, who joined the band as bassist in 1995, while vocalist Maynard James Keenan shows that he’s still as powerful as ever, especially when it comes to that final scream.
Notably though, the new version doesn’t see the group adding in ‘The Gaping Lotus Experience’, which appeared at the end of the original as something of a tongue-in-cheek hidden track.
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The re-recording will also accompanied by a physical release, which arrives later this month. Issued on Blu-Ray, ‘Opiate²’ soundtracks a 10-minute short film created visual artist Dominic Hailstone and Jones, along with “interviews and insights from special guests”, and comes packaged in a 46-page art book.
The new track arrives just two-and-a-half years after the band’s latest studio release, Fear Inoculum, which itself took 13 years to arrive. Meanwhile, the group also announced a long-awaited vinyl edition of their newest studio album, days after copies were being sold for close to $1,000 at the band’s concerts.
Check out Tool’s original version of ‘Opiate’:
