Justin Chancellor

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Chancellor is of English and Norwegian descent. He was educated at Tonbridge School in Kent, England, where he was the bass player for a school band named Slice of Life and used to perform a cover version of Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night" in the dining room of his boarding house. The band released an eponymously titled tape featuring a song of the same name. Chancellor went on to study at Durham University. He later joined the band Peach, which released the album Giving Birth to a Stone and two EPs, and supported Tool in 1994 in Europe before breaking up in 1995. In September that year, Chancellor moved to the United States and joined Tool full-time to replace Paul D'Amour who departed during the recording of the band's second full-length album. Chancellor has been a full member of the band since the 1996 studio album Ænima.

In Their Own Story

Chancellor's main bass guitar is a Wal MKII 4-string he bought on a friend's recommendation during the recording of Ænima. He also has three other four-string Wals. He normally plays Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky strings (.045, .065, .085, .110). He has used a Music Man Stingray on "Forty-Six & 2", "H.", "Pushit", "No Quarter" and "Descending", and has used a Stingray live on "Descending" since 2020. A Gibson Thunderbird was used once for "Prison Sex" live in 1995/1996, when he first joined the band. As of 2017, Chancellor has his own custom shop Warwick Streamer Stage II bass. His amplification setup includes Gallien-Krueger 2001RB heads (1 Dirty, 1 Clean, 1 Spare), Mesa Boogie Roadready 4x12 (for Dirty), Mesa Boogie Roadready 8x10 (for Clean), and a Demeter Amplification VTBP-201S Bass Preamp running direct to PA. He formerly used Mesa Boogie M-2000, M-Pulse, and Bass 400+ heads, and a Mesa Roadready 8x10 in place of the 4x12. His effects include a Boss TU-2, Guyatone VTX Tremolo, DigiTech Bass Whammy (used on specific songs including "Eulogy", "Schism", "Lateralus", and "Invincible"), Tech 21 SansAmp GT2 Distortion, Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble, Boss BF-2 Flanger, Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, MXR Bass Envelope Filter, Prescription Electronics Rx Overdriver, Colorsound Tone Bender Fuzz, Foxx Fuzz/Wah/Volume (volume pot removed), and a Dunlop Justin Chancellor Cry Baby Wah.

Reader's Guide

Chancellor has made several guest appearances. He played bass on the Isis song "Altered Course" on their 2004 album Panopticon, and also provided additional sounds/bass guitar on the Isis song "Weight" from their 2006 live Clearing the Eye DVD. He contributed additional bass on the title track of Intronaut's 2010 album Valley of Smoke. In October 2012, Chancellor featured as bass player on the song "In the Spirit Of..." on a The Fusion Syndicate album released by Cleopatra Records; his track also appears on the 2014 album The Prog Box. Chancellor narrated on the Primus track "The Valley" from their 2017 album The Desaturating Seven. In May 2018, Chancellor collaborated with Death Grips on the album Year of the Snitch, providing bass on the track "Disappointed". He played bass on Author & Punisher's 2022 album Krüller, on the track "Centurion". Chancellor and drummer Aric Improta of Night Verses collaborated on a 2021 track called "Exu". Chancellor played bass on Night Verses's 2023 album Every Sound Has a Color in the Valley of Night: Part 1, on the track "Séance". Chancellor played bass on Adam Jones's 2020 single "The Witness".

Did You Know?

• Chancellor was educated at Tonbridge School in Kent, England, where his school band Slice of Life performed a cover of Corey Hart's 'Sunglasses at Night' in the dining room of his boarding house.
• He bought his main Wal MKII 4-string bass on a friend's recommendation during the recording of Tool's album Ænima.
• Chancellor and his wife Shelee Dykman Chancellor ran a store called Lobal Orning in Topanga, California, dedicated to music and literature 'that shaped and changed' both of them; it closed in 2008.
• He played bass on the Death Grips track 'Disappointed' from their 2018 album Year of the Snitch.
• Chancellor narrated on the Primus track 'The Valley' from their 2017 album The Desaturating Seven.