Tool were among the notable holdouts who kept their catalogue of albums away from digital marketplaces, and then streaming services, as the wider world moved away from physical media — a decision singer Maynard James Keenan now views as a mistake.
Keenan was asked about being digitally averse in a recent appearance on The Allison Hagendorf Show, and shared how his bandmates finally "caved" to making their music more available upon the 2019 release of their latest album, Fear Inoculum.
"I feel like we missed the boat. Like it started with downloads, you know, 24 years ago. And then by the time we actually came out, downloads are done," Keenan expressed [via ThePRP]. "We missed 20 years of reaching two generations of people to understand what it is that we do, in a format that, you know… I don't like listening to the MP3 version. I listen to CDs and vinyl.
"But that's the gateway to get [younger generations] into the vinyl and the CDs," he continued. "And I feel like we made a mistake not being on those on those mediums for 20 years. Me every year, saying, 'We should do this.'"
It's certainly a gateway for younger generations should they not find your exceptionally pricy, ultra-deluxe, limited vinyl sets and feature-laden CD releases unattainable.
Keenan also acknowledged that when Tool finally did make their catalogue widely available digitally, "There's an entire two generations that didn't [know about it]. That's why [there was] the big surprise when we ended up bumping Taylor Swift off the chart for her second week. They didn't know who [we are]. I mean 'Who is this?' 'I don't know who the fuck this is.' But, I mean, that's just, that's the reality, that people didn't know who we were because we weren't around. My son just finished law school, and his peers have no idea who we are. They weren't exposed to it. It's not on your phone."
It's clear that Tool's digital absence didn't affect everyone. How else could the younger generations rip off their merch designs?
Inevitably, Hagendorf also asked Keenan about new Tool music, referencing drummer Danny Carey's comments about having "tons of material" to follow Fear Inoculum with. Keenan shared of Carey, "He talks a lot. He's on tour now with the Beat tour, with Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, and, you know, it's an amazing, amazing lineup. It's really impressive. But he's out there. So, if he's out there, they're not in there, and I can't do what I need to do till they get in there and do the thing."
Keenan also spoke about training Mike Tyson, next year's Sessanta Version 2.0 tour, and more. Watch his complete appearance on the show below.