Fear Inoculum

Lore & Background

The writing process for Fear Inoculum began in earnest after early 2008, yet progress was frequently stalled by external forces. By 2012, the band's webmaster noted instrumental material that sounded like Tool while pushing boundaries, estimating the album was half done. However, reality intervened: in 2013, a scooter accident involving drummer Danny Carey (who suffered cracked ribs) wiped out nine days of jamming time. In 2014 Jones and Carey said that legal issues and court battles stemming from a 2007 lawsuit had also slowed the work.

By 2014, Carey revealed only one ten-minute track was nearly finished. Keenan likened the state of the music to "noodles in a big basket" with no dishes formed. It wasn't until 2015 that legal issues were resolved, allowing Jones and Carey to develop twenty different song ideas. The band toured in 2016, debuting an incomplete version of "Descending," while Keenan balanced work on this album with his side project, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle.

Reader's Guide

The album consists of seven main tracks running just short of 80 minutes, maximizing CD capacity, alongside three digital interludes stemming from Carey's scrapped plan for a single continuous piece. The concept of seven is woven throughout; Jones and Chancellor composed riffs in unusual time signatures related to the number, while Keenan integrated thematic elements of seven into lyrics. Musically described as progressive rock, progressive metal, and alternative metal, the songs are lengthy but contain multiple movements.

The album also explores the idea of growing "older and wiser". He advised that understanding the album requires patience and multiple listens, comparing it to a slowly developing movie rather than an instant hit. While Carey predicted finishing by mid-2018, Keenan noted that constant second-guessing extended the timeline, though he admitted a version from 2011 would have been "fantastic" too. Notably, guitar riffs in "7empest" trace back to ideas Jones wrote in the mid-1990s, which had previously failed to make it onto 10,000 Days.

Did You Know?

• The single "Fear Inoculum" became the longest song to ever enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 93.
• The album features guitar riffs in "7empest" that date back to musical ideas written by Adam Jones in the mid-1990s.
• Maynard James Keenan recorded his vocals at his Caduceus Cellars winery in Arizona, though the specific timing during the 2018 wine harvest is not confirmed.
• The deluxe edition of the album includes a full 4-inch HD screen and a 2-watt speaker featuring an additional song called "Recusant Ad Infinitum".