Maynard James Keenan And Adam Jones Recall Ozzy Osbourne Tribute: Anxiety, Core Memories, And New Tool Music

In their first in-depth interview since the passing of Ozzy Osbourne, members of the band Tool have pulled back the curtain on the raw nerves and “devastating” emotion of performing at his final concert, an experience that left them with profound anxiety, a “total core memory,” and a powerful, renewed sense of creative urgency. Speaking on Loudwire Nights, vocalist Maynard James Keenan and guitarist Adam Jones revealed that the loss of their hero has lit a fire under the band to create new music.

“You know, life is short. You just got to f***ing do it now. There is no waiting,” Keenan declared. “You don’t know what’s coming tomorrow. You got to do it now. So that’s what we’re doing.”

The notoriously enigmatic band members spoke candidly about the immense pressure they felt performing at the “Back To The Beginning” tribute concert in Birmingham on July 5, with Osbourne himself watching from the side of the stage. When asked if he was calmer for this performance than he was at Ozzy‘s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Keenan was characteristically blunt.

“F**k no,” he said. “The Rock Hall, he’s literally 20 feet away, starting at the side of my head while I f**k up one his best Blizzard of Ozz songs and then this one, it’s slightly out of my range, so I’m just gripping n*ts to make sure I hit the notes. And the same thing here, he’s staring at my head.”

Adam Jones shared the sentiment, revealing he “really got anxiety, but almost in a good way” and that bassist Justin Chancellor had to “kind of center me before we were on stage.” Despite the nerves, he called it “a total core memory and an honor.”

When news of Osbourne‘s death came just 17 days later, the experience took on a new, profound meaning. “It was very devastating,” Jones shared. “At the same time, it was kind of this gut feeling of harmony, that we had been a part of sending him off.” He recalled hearing Black Sabbath as a kid while skateboarding and how the Osbourne family had been “nothing but cool and supportive of our band” over the years.

The band’s contribution to the tribute was a powerful cover of the Black Sabbath deep cut “Hand of Doom,” a song Keenan says he’s wanted to perform for years. “It took Ozzy almost dying for me to get these guys to do it,” he joked. Jones confirmed that Keenan had suggested the song years ago and that it was serendipitously still available when they joined the lineup late in the planning stages.

That sense of fate, combined with the devastating loss of a hero, appears to have had a tangible effect on the band’s notoriously methodical creative process. Jones confirmed that the instrumental members have been “jamming” and are planning to “dive deep soon” on a new record. For Keenan, the time for deliberation is over.

You can listen to the full interview here.