Tool fans span a cross-section from metalheads to emo kids, punks to goths, with its arty, prog-drenched heavy rock. The title debuted in the top 10 throughout Europe. In the United Kingdom, “10,000 Days” scored the group its highest bow with a No. This follows the sale of more than 8 million copies of its first three studio albums in the United States. The band’s new album, “10,000 Days,” marked Tool’s second appearance at the apex of The Billboard 200, with 564,000 albums sold its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Its last three singles - including current hit “Vicarious” - have averaged more than seven minutes, forcing some radio programmers to create their own edits.Īnd while the music business clamors to embrace digital formats, Tool has yet to reach an agreement with its label, Volcano/Zomba, for such distribution. Tool often waits up to five years between albums. And it has done so while repeatedly bucking industry convention. Without ever really leaving those shadows, Tool has quietly become one of the world’s most commercially and uniquely successful bands. “We just stood in the shadows and worked really hard.” “We wanted people to get into the music, instead of going, ‘Well, how long is their hair?’ and ‘Are they cute?'” guitarist Adam Jones says. The four men of Tool - anonymous band members behind vaguely androgynous frontman Maynard James Keenan - had a credo when they formed the band 16 years ago: “substance over style, art over image.”