Robbed hit of the week 1/30/23 - Tool's "Schism"...

 

 

"Schism" - Tool

from the album Lateralus (2001)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #67

 

This week's "robbed hit" comes from the progressive metal band Tool, who came together in Los Angeles in the beginning of the 1990's under the leadership of singer Maynard James Keenan along with guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey, and bass player Paul D'Amour. Keenan had performed previously with the comic art-metal band Green Jellÿ, who had a top-20 pop hit in the summer of 1993 with "Three Little Pigs". By that time Tool, who were also signed to Zoo Records, released their first EP (extended play single) Opiate om March of that year, followed by a full-length debut album Undertow a month later. That set's first radio single, "Sober", climbed to #13 on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock radio chart at the close of 1993. Undertow went to #50 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, staying on the list for over a year and selling over three million copies. Their use of stop-motion animation in their music videos (which was Jones' talent before the band) came them a natural edge on MTV, even if the powerful follow-up "Prison Sex", about child abuse, was censored by the channel after a few showings, even though it eventually was nominated for an award by the channel.

With the momentum built from that debut, Zoo Records shut down and was taken in by Volcano Entertainment, where Tool released their second album Aenima, which sported a lenticular cover that animated itself when you move it around (I bought it immediately). By that time D'Amour had left the group amically to be replaced by Justin Chancellor on bass. The lead single from the set, "Stinkfist", reached the top 20 on both the Mainstream (#17) and Alternative (#19) Rock radio charts in 1996. The music video was nominated for a Grammy, losing to Janet Jackson's "Got 'Til It's Gone". Three other cuts from the album also made the Mainstream Rock chart, including title track "Aenima", which won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1998. The album's striking cover artwork helped it get nominated for the Grammy for Best Recording Package the prior year, which went to the Ultra Lounge sampler collection which had a faux leopard skin cover (I call shenanigans!). The Aenima album spent a week at #2 on the Billboard 200, and sold over three million copies. 

Accompanied by this success were a bunch of troubles, including the band involved with lawsuits with Volcano over their contract (they settled) and their former manager (it was thrown out). While this was going on, a live release Salival came out which made the top-40 on the Billboard 200 at #38. Keenan formed a separate band as a side-project, the "supergroup" A Perfect Circle, who released their first album Mer De Noms in 2000, which hit #4 on the Billboard 200 and sold over a million copies. Three songs from the album make the rock radio charts, with "Judith" making the top ten on both Mainstream (#4) and Alternative (#5) stations, and was a top-40 hit in Australia (#25) and New Zealand (#34). 

After the legal issues were settled, and Tool resigned on with Volcano, they reconvened and recorded their third LP together, Lateralus, which came out in the spring of 2001. The album was very experimental in using sounds and uncommon instruments, and composed more like the progressive rock of the 1970s. The first single from the record, "Schism", was a prime example of that, with so many time signature changes in the music that it wipes your mind clean of predisposed notions on how music "should" work. The lyrics use "big words" to illustrate the troubles of communications in relationships. Written by the band, they bring up jealousy and blame until Keenan repeatedly utters the phrase "I know the pieces fit" like an optimistic mantra. The resulting "smart metal" was quite well received by fans as well as the radio, vaulting them into the top ten on the rock radio list and placing themselves on the "big chart" Hot 100 for the first time. The music video replaced most but not all of the stop-motion with painted dancers...

"Schism" was a massive rock radio success, spending thirteen weeks at #2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock radio chart and one week at #2 on the Alternative Rock counterpart, both blocked by Staind's grunge-pop "It's Been Awhile". On the "pop" Hot 100, the song was their biggest hit but stalled at #67 in December of 2001 (you know mainstream stations weren't going to touch it). Internationally, the single spent a week on the Dutch chart at #56. The Lateralus album, released in May of that year, took a week at #1 on the Billboard 200, going on to sell over three million copies. At the Grammy Awards in 2002, Tool won their second Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

The second song from Lateralus promoted to radio was the title track "Lateralus", which was cut from its original ten minute version to a still long close to six. The track made the top-20 on the Mainstream (#14) and Alternative (#18) Rock chart, but missed the big Hot 100. The same went to the third song to hit rock radio, "Parabola", which had an epic ten-minute video, which may have helped the ballad get to #10 on the Mainstream Rock chart (and #31 on the Alternative counterpart). 

After touring behind Lateralus, the members of Tool took a break, and Keenan returned to A Perfect Circle, where they released two more albums, Thirteenth Step in 2003 and Emotive a year later, with both reaching #2 on the Billboard 200. The former spun off two singles that made the Hot 100 with "Weak and Powerless" going to #61 and topping both the rock radio charts in Billboard. 

Tool reunited in 2005 and put together their fourth album 10,000 Days which was released a year later. The album became their second #1 on the Billboard 200, and sold over two million copies, and its distinctive CD case with 3D glasses included, won the Grammy for Best Recording Package. It was preceded by the single "Vicarious", which took the runner-up spot on the two rock radio charts, and was nominated for the 2007 Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy, losing to Wolfmother for "Woman" (a worthy win). The second release from the record, "The Pot", landed the band their first and so far only #1 hit on the Mainstream Rock chart, where it stayed for a month. It also was up for the Best Hard Rock Grammy a year later, which went home with the Foo Fighters for "The Pretender". 

There was a long pause before a new album from the group came out, during which time Keenan formed another side-project, Puscifier, which has released four albums and made the Rock radio charts twice with the funky "Queen B." going to #26 at Alternative in 2007 and the harder-edged "Money Shot" hitting #37 on Mainstream in 2016.  another A Perfect Circle record, Eat The Elephant, was released in 2018. (Their most recent rock radio hit, "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish" which went to #27 on the Mainstream Rock list, references my absolute favorite book series).  Finally, after thirteen years, Fear Inoculum, their most recent album, came out in 2019. The title track "Fear Inoculum" took a week at #2 on the Mainstream Rock Chart, and #30 on the Alternative Rock side, and popped on to the Hot 100 at #93 for a week. The song was nominated for a Grammy in 2020 for Best Rock Song, which went to Gary Clark Jr. for "This Land". It was followed by "Pneuma", which is their latest rock radio hit on the Mainstream chart at #15. Another track from Fear Inoculum, "7empest", won the award for Best Metal Performance at that same Grammy ceremony. 

(8/10)

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Here's the band performing the song in concert in 2014...