Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan was interviewed by Joe Rogan on Monday, and they both poked fun at Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich’s battle with Napster in the early 2000’s. Keenan also discussed the new Tool album Fear Inoculum, and why Tool can be ‘difficult’ and ‘ignorant.’ Alternative Nation transcribed Maynard and Rogan’s comments about Metallica.
Maynard James Keenan: This Friday August 2nd, the [Tool] catalogue goes up on-
Joe Rogan: On Napster.
Maynard: On Napster! You familiar with Napster?
Joe: I’ve heard of it, it’s great. That Lars guy is really upset about it.
Maynard: You should talk to Lars about this, he’s got a whole thing. He’s going to try to figure out how to undermine it.
Joe: He’s going to stop it in its tracks.
A Tool member looked miserable in an announcement photo over the weekend. Keenan said about the long wait for the album, “Fuck, what a weight lifted off my chest. It took a lot of work. The four of us are a lot of fucking work just to get anywhere. Oh my God — everything’s a fucking committee meeting and always gets shot down.”
He said something surprising delayed the album, “Success. When you get successful, you think you’re right about everything. You’re pretty sure as that individual, ‘I am right and you are wrong.’ I’m successful and we’re successful because of me, not because of you.’
“It’s not that bad with us… There’s a dynamic of, ‘I want this and I’ve always gotten my way and that’s why we’re successful, because I don’t compromise.'”
Keenan also discussed the future of the world, predicting the planet will be ‘done’ in 400 years.
“Based on some of the things I’ve kind of seen online and the chit chat and overhearing conversations with people that are part of NASA and those kind of things and they kind of go, ‘We’ve got 400 years and the planet is done.'”
He added,, “There’s natural resources and all those things to start to kind of fall apart then weird diseases start showing up, weird funguses that take you out that didn’t before…”
It was Rogan who kept the conversation grounded, stating, “I don’t think the world is going to end but I think it’s very likely that human beings will be drastically diminished.” Maynard agreed in the fullest, clarifying, “That’s my point. The thing that we just are so arrogant about is that we’re somehow included in the future. We’re just not included. We are not included.” Keenan has also announced plans to play the new Tool album early.
