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When it comes to unwavering devotion from fans, few have managed to earn the same level of respect and idolisation as Tool. Across three decades, the four-piece have become renowned for their unconventional approach to progressive metal – and tonight at The O2, all of that experience culminated into one set.
Centred around the band’s last studio album, 2019’s ‘Fear Inoculum’, this tour comes after the rock icons’ live experience of new songs gave them a newfound understanding of the record itself, as bassist Justin Chancellor recently told us. The vast majority of the two-hour set is taken up by the expansive delivery of the likes ‘Invincible’ and ‘Pneuma’.
“You know the drill, we’re going to take you on a journey,” frontman Maynard James Keenan explains at the beginning of the set; quickly juxtaposing the somewhat artsy sentiment with a warning that anyone who doesn’t adhere to the strict no-phones policy can politely “eat a dick” (he’s never one to suffer fools over this). That’s about it for banter this evening, as Keenan spends the rest of the show lurking at the back, with his signature crouch and elaborate mohawk creating an unmistakable silhouette against the swirling backdrop, and his eruptive vocals resonating through the arena.
It’s a small bittersweet pill to swallow that the longer tracks from ‘Fear Inoculum’ compromise the potential of having classics like ‘Sober’ or ‘Stinkfist’ make the final cut. That being said, there is no mistaking that the members had a vision in mind for these live shows, and went to painstaking lengths to deliver it.
While it feels near-impossible to take your gaze off the immense visual display, which veers between the spiritual and the grotesque, the real strength of the set lies in the raw skill of each member. Each track flows between its various sections effortlessly, with guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor navigating the sea of polyrhythms to create a wall of sound that doesn’t feel quite possible from three people. Things rings true the most on the sheer intensity of ‘Invincible’, although renditions of past favourites ‘The Grudge’ and ‘Intolerance’ come in close competition.
Putting all else aside, this is the perfect manifestation of where Tool are at now. No aspect of the set has been designed without scrutinous detail; with only these four musicians capable of pulling off such a spectacle with this much prowess and without alienating through self-indulgence. One may long for a tad more of the grit and fury of the past, but this is the result of 30 years of evolution. This is their vision. Only they can do this.
‘Jambi’
‘Fear Inoculum’
‘Lost Keys’/’Rosetta Stoned’
‘Pneuma’
‘Intolerance’
‘Descending’
‘The Grudge’
‘Chocolate Chip Trip’
‘Flood’
‘Invincible’
‘Forty Six & 2’
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“I received plenty of comments saying it was far too soon to ‘go solo’,” Geese frontman Cameron Winter told NME last year while reflecting on how people initially reacted to his decision to branch out on his own. “Most likely because a lot of folks assume that ‘solo albums’ only happen once a band has passed its peak and that they usually feel like uninspired cash grabs.”
Honestly, everyone is trying to earn a living however they can these days, yet no one expected a Geese side project to generate any real financial payoff in 2024. “Just so you know,” he went on, “my solo album is different: because barely anyone knows my band, I am young and comfortable living with my parents and I have the freedom to follow any ideas that interest me.”
Brooklyn indie followers and former NME cover stars Geese were gaining real momentum when their second album ‘3D Country’ mixed cowboy psychedelia with a jazzy, art-punk energy that had already captured the attention of many UK 6 Music dads back in 2023, but who could have predicted what came next? Geese have become one of the most talked-about bands of 2025 and are expected to dominate multiple end-of-year lists with the ambitious and full-range rock of ‘Getting Killed’. Yet the moment that set the stage for this rise was Winter’s Lou Reed-inspired debut solo record ‘Heavy Metal’.
A handful of late-night US television appearances and a spot on Jools Holland acted as a welcoming doorway for the world to see what this 23-year-old can do far beyond what many twice or three times his age are capable of. Now the sold-out Roundhouse audience made up of indie teens, art school regulars, fans who traveled across Europe and seasoned listeners reacts with a collective breath as a slight opening in the stage curtain reveals the silhouette of Winter seated at a piano. First comes a spark of excitement, then a sudden hush.
There is no flashy social media moment, no chatter overriding the music and almost no sea of raised phones. There is a sincerity to how the night unfolds. The Geese singer barely turns toward the audience. “Turn around!” someone calls out from the balcony at one stage. “Is this not enough for you all?” Winter teases back. For some, maybe it was more than enough. At least four people appear to faint around the warm and crowded Roundhouse while the room stands in absolute focus as Winter moves through the dreamlike storytelling of ‘Try As I May’, the emotional swirl of ‘The Rolling Stones’, the bright lift of ‘Love Takes Miles’ and the sermon-like stomp of ‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’. When he reaches the intense and spiritually charged ‘$0’, even the most skeptical hipster might be convinced that “I’m not kidding, God is actually real”. In that moment, it feels as though we all understand.
The entire performance can be summed up in how ‘Drinking Age’ unfolds. It starts softly with a gentle touch on the keys before erupting into a thunderous attack on the Steinway that could echo into next year, followed by a long, open cry aimed toward the sky. Winter somehow manages to blend something minimal with something enormous, something grounded with something cosmic, a delicate approach that hits with staggering force as he reaches toward ideas of existence, heaven, hell and everything surrounding them.
Winter could recite the phone book and still leave a crowd stunned. He carries the spirit of a post-punk Rufus Wainwright you can play alongside The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, a Gen Z Tom Waits for listeners exhausted by TikTok overload, a new Nick Cave who arrives at exactly the moment he is needed. His voice feels older than his years yet perfectly suited to express the concerns and emotions of his own generation.
We will continue praising Geese endlessly because they deserve it. They are an extraordinary burst of musical creativity that goes far beyond what their lineup would ever imply, and along with Fontaines D.C., they are poised to become one of the decade’s essential bands. Still, tonight offers something quieter and more intimate. Cameron Winter stands completely on his own power, talent and magnetism, proving himself a rising force who can hold an entire room with only his voice, a piano and an entire future waiting for him.
‘Try as I May’
‘Emperor XIII in Shades’
‘The Rolling Stones’
‘Love Takes Miles’
‘Drinking Age’
‘Serious World’
‘Nausicaä (Love Will Be Revealed)’
‘If You Turn Back Now’
‘Vines’
‘Nina + Field of Cops’
‘$0’
‘Take It With You’
‘Cancer of the Skull’
