TOOL - The Pepsi Challenge (2025)

STUNNING TOOL BROADCAST FROM THE LATERALUS TOUR • In January 2001, Tool announced a new album, Systema Encéphale, along with a 12-song track list containing titles such as "Riverchrist", "Numbereft", "Encephatalis", "Musick", and "Coeliacus". File-sharing networks such as Napster were flooded with bogus files bearing the titles' names. A month later, the band revealed that the new album was actually titled Lateralus; the name Systema Encéphale and the track list had been a ruse. Lateralus and the corresponding tours would take Tool a step further toward art rock and prog territory. Rolling Stone wrote in an attempt to summarize the album that "Drums, bass and guitars move in jarring cycles of hyperhowl and near-silent death march ... The prolonged running times of most of Lateralus' thirteen tracks are misleading; the entire album rolls and stomps with suite like purpose." Joshua Klein of The A.V. Club expressed his opinion that Lateralus, with its 79 minutes and relatively complex and long songs - topped by the ten-and-a-half-minute music video for "Parabola"- posed a challenge to fans and music programming alike. • Extensive touring throughout 2001 and 2002 supported Lateralus and included a personal highlight for the band: a 10-show joint mini-tour with King Crimson in August ‘01. Comparisons between the two were made, MTV describing the bands as "the once and future kings of progressive rock". Keenan stated of the minitour: "For me, being on stage with King Crimson is like Lenny Kravitz playing with Led Zeppelin, or Britney Spears onstage with Debbie Gibson." • On 21st July 2001, Tool performed at the Pepsi Center in Denver CO, where they played one of the tour’s finest dates, which was recorded for live FM radio broadcast. Previously unreleased, this superb show is now available in its completion on this new 2CD Set.