“If you’re making music for all of the right reasons, people are going to be receptive to that and appreciate it the same way you did when you were writing it.”

– Adam Jones

Let’s start with the original FAQ creator’s words, slightly edited for the purpose of this introduction, “In 1994, the [original] TOOL FAQ was born, written and compiled by Kabir Ahktar, and was designed to keep people from having to ask the same questions over and over.

Over the years, the [original] FAQ became less about giving answers to people who weren’t willing to do a little work on their own, and more about being a starting point for people on their quests for personal enlightenment (vis a vis TOOL, that is; let’s not lose sight of ourselves here).”

That, I feel, is the mission of this [new] TOOL FAQ.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: that there already is a FAQ dedicated to TOOL, and you would be correct. The original can still be found at the now-archived site, https://toolshed.down.net.

Since the original author, Mr. Ahktar, has archived his site, and along with it the original FAQ, I felt that it should be kept alive and updated, and I intend to do just that to the best of my ability. Although I have put this new FAQ together from scratch, I did the best I could to maintain the integrity of both versions. I’d like to consider this to be an homage to not only TOOL, but to Mr. Akhtar and TDN as well.

In pursuing this challenging endeavor, my main goal was to have a sort of “one stop shop”, if you will, of information about TOOL, much like how it was originally. Over the course of several months, in my spare time, I have scoured the internet for as much information as I possibly could find and put it all here, in one place for anyone who wanted to know more about the band.

Although I can say that I am now done, I also realize that it will never be totally finished. To that end, I intend to make regular updates for the foreseeable future- even if those updates are simple spelling or grammar corrections. I have also tried to cite as many sources as possible, as you will see. Having said that, if there is any information not contained within this FAQ that you, the readers, have that isn’t already contained within, please be so kind as to let me know and so long as it is credible and verifiable, I will do my best to try and work it in.

I would like to express my personal gratitude to Mr. Ahktar for making the original FAQ. I hope wherever you are in this life, Good Sir, that you are in a good place, and on behalf of every TOOL fan, thank you. Without you and your original efforts and work, this new FAQ certainly would not be what it is now.

I would also like to express my appreciation toward hellboy1975, and his site, www.fourtheye.net for helping me out along this journey. It’s been a ride, that’s for sure. Cheers to you, mate!

I also wish to send my thanks to Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Danny Carey, Paul D’Amour, and Justin Chancellor, collectively known as TOOL, for their music and art. Without these fine gentlemen, I think it’s safe to say none of us would be where we are now.

And I would also like to thank you, the readers, for coming here and learning more about our beloved band, TOOL. I can only hope that you, Dear Readers, will appreciate what I have tried to accomplish here with this new FAQ.

Spiral out!

Steven W. Luttrell