I have been a fan of Tool for more years than I’m comfortably sharing (it would reveal my age). Being a drummer in my younger years, Danny Carey always stood out as THE drummer in the metal genre who not only could destroy his kit, but added subtlety and skills not many others cared to learn. “Eulogy” was an example of this. 16th notes on the hi hat. Pretty standard rock on bass and snare. But every third note on the hi hat was open.
If you take out the open HH part, its a fairly straightforward beat. Add that open HH and you make 90% of drummers immediately fall into a triplet pattern. Its annoying. Its infuriating after failing for an hour. And its one of those subtelties that most people will never hear and understand. When drummers list their idols, Danny Carey is toward the top of the list with examples like this. You’re part of a special group of miscreants if you know it. Its a secret handshake. And its a marvel every time you hear it.
From Lateralus forward, Tool played around more with odd time signatures as part of a larger mathematical pattern. The title track “Lateralus” was originally called “987” because it would have bars of 9/8, 8/8, then 7/8 measures back to back. Maynard also played his own tricks by hammering out the Fibbonaci sequence with the lyrics’ syllables. Genius.
Back in April, Vic Firth released a live video of Danny playing “Pneuma”. First, do yourself a favor and watch. Its a masterclass in drumming.
Did you have a feeling from time to time that you could not catch the beat? It is almost like you are constantly chasing to find the down beat. Even though major parts of the song are in 4/4, Danny is playing polyrhythms between both feet and hands. His feet are on a steady 4/4, but his hands are again playing in 3s via sixteenth notes. Its Eulogy all over again. Later in the song, Danny starts exploring 5 drums, then 4, 3, 2, until a climax in the song. Austin Burcham breaks it down:
And this is why Danny and Tool remain one of my favorite bands. They continue to grow. They take a very unconventional approach to music. Being an engineer through education, I fully appreciate the mathematical patterns and their application. Its not the low-level bass on 1 and 3 and snare on 2 and 4.
Now you have a greater understanding and appreciation of their work.