Tool’s return to New Zealand has offered Australian fans a preview of what to expect when the band arrives later this month. The Los Angeles progressive metal innovators performed two consecutive nights in Auckland on 22 and 23 November, delivering setlists that diverged sharply across the two shows and included a remarkable selection of rarely played catalogue deep cuts. For a group renowned for its precision, its disciplined touring cycles, and its aversion to nostalgia, this was a significant display of musical archival excavation.
Tool have maintained a devoted fanbase across Australasia since first touring the region in the mid-1990s. Their early albums ‘Undertow’ and ‘AEnima’ established the framework for their sound: polyrhythmic structures, philosophical and psychological lyrical themes, and a musical aesthetic aligned more with art-rock than conventional metal. By the time Tool released ‘Lateralus’ in 2001, they had evolved into one of the most ambitious hard-rock acts of their generation, defined by meticulous production and uncompromising long-form songwriting.
The opening Auckland show on 22 November leaned heavily into rarity value. ‘Crawl Away’ from the 1993 album ‘Undertow’ surfaced for the first time since 1998, a reappearance that stunned longtime fans. ‘Disposition’ from 2001’s ‘Lateralus’ was performed for the first time since 2002, and ‘Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)’ from ‘10,000 Days’ received its first full performance since 2009. The evening demonstrated an unexpected willingness by the band to revive material that had effectively been dormant for more than a decade.
Both nights additionally featured a cover of Black Sabbath’s 1970 track ‘Hand Of Doom’, taken from the seminal album ‘Paranoid’. Tool’s affinity for Sabbath has never been subtle, but its placement in the encore at both shows created a direct lineage between the pioneering heavy-metal origins and Tool’s own progressive evolution.
The second Auckland show on 23 November featured a substantially different setlist and an equally notable group of returns. ‘Prison Sex’, from ‘Undertow’, was played for the first time since 2002, reintroducing one of the album’s most confronting and structurally complex tracks. The band also revived ‘Intension’ from 2006’s ‘10,000 Days’, which had not been performed since 2014. The show also included the live debut of ‘Mockingbeat’, the closing track from the 2019 album ‘Fear Inoculum’. It marked the surprise premiere of a piece fans had speculated might never appear in Tool’s live environment given its abstract electronic structure.
The full New Zealand setlists were as follows:
22 November
The Grudge (from Lateralus, 2001)
Fear Inoculum (from Fear Inoculum, 2019)
Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann) (from 10,000 Days, 2006) (first full performance since 2009)
Rosetta Stoned (from 10,000 Days, 2006)
Disposition (from Lateralus, 2001) (first time since November 24, 2002)
H. (from AEnima, 1996) (first time since November 18, 2002)
Jambi (from 10,000 Days, 2006)
Pneuma (from Fear Inoculum, 2019)
Crawl Away (from Undertow, 1993) (first time since August 8, 1998)
Vicarious (from 10,000 Days, 2006)
Intolerance (from Undertow, 1993)
Encore:
Chocolate Chip Trip (from Fear Inoculum, 2019)
Hand Of Doom (Black Sabbath cover)
Invincible (from Fear Inoculum, 2019)
Fear Inoculum (from Fear Inoculum, 2019)
23 November
The Grudge (from Lateralus, 2001)
Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann) (from 10,000 Days, 2006)
Rosetta Stoned (from 10,000 Days, 2006)
Intension (from 10,000 Days, 2006) (first time since March 27, 2014)
Right In Two (from 10,000 Days, 2006)
Pneuma (from Fear Inoculum, 2019)
Prison Sex (from Undertow, 1993) (first time since April 14, 2002)
H. (from AEnima, 1996)
Sweat (from Opiate, 1992)
Encore:
Mockingbeat (from Fear Inoculum, 2019) (live debut)
Hand Of Doom (Black Sabbath cover)
Invincible (from Fear Inoculum, 2019)
Vicarious (from 10,000 Days, 2006)
Tool’s Australian dates
28 and 29 November, Adelaide, Entertainment Centre
5 December, Melbourne, Good Things Festival
6 December, Sydney, Good Things Festival
7 December, Brisbane, Good Things Festival
Tool last toured Australia in February 2020, completing their run just weeks before the COVID-19 shutdowns that froze international touring for years. Their previous Australian tours span 2013, 2011, 2007, 2002, 2001, 1997 and 1995, each marking a different stage in the band’s artistic development and reinforcing a relationship with Australian audiences that has remained consistently robust.
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
