Halloween edition, October 2000 E.V.
At 11:11 P.M. on Friday night, Oct 20, exactly four and a half years from the date the band began recording "Aenima", a standard Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram was performed in the studio where Tool will begin recording their next record. The banishing was deemed all the more necessary due to the fact that road cases with the name Kenny Loggins stenciled on them were seen in the hallway. After these preliminary focusing rites and other composite rituals were completed, a talisman for the month of October was erected next to Danny's drums, which had been set up with the proper orientation of 31 degrees E from N (in precise alignment with the "Kiblah" at a Latitude of 57 degrees 16' 00" North and Longitude of 4 degrees 27' 45" West.) Once in place, the talisman was bathed in black light and the sessions began. On April 17, 2001 E.V. (Maynard's birthday) their efforts will be unleashed to a world that waits them. Speaking of Maynard, congratulations on A PERFECT CIRCLE 's debut CD going platinum. Where's my copy?
WE GET LOTS OF E-MAIL - HERE'S A FEW SAMPLES:
Staci writes: hey, I am a very big fan of Tool. I was wondering if Tool is Christian? I hared (sic) they were not, I would be very disappointed if they weren't because I love their music. Thank you
Sure they are, Staci. This should be evident from the lyrics, but maybe you'll just have to listen more closely to what's being said. Glad you enjoy the tunes and be sure to tell all your friends about one band that's fighting the good fight! By the way, if you play the vinyl "Undertow" release backwards, a faintly audible but stirring sermon by Ralph Reid can be discerned. I suggest that you and your friends buy the record and check this out for yourselves - listening with headphones of course.
Jeremy writes: I read in a magazine briefly about the meanings behind the designs on Danny's drum heads and the large circle next to the drum set. I would be interested in learning more about them, and would appreciate any info you could give... as I am currently researching tattoo designs for myself.
Jeremy, the "designs" Danny uses are of a Goetic nature and can be found in certain medieval grimoires that deal with the black arts. I agree that they would make nice tattoos, however the demons whose sigils (having Qliphothic aspects) you have painted ON YOUR BODY have been known to come and take them back (along with a considerable amount of the individual's flesh - their surgical procedures are befitting of their medieval dating), the reason being that they do not wish their repose be disturbed by the likes of a "bad seed Tool fan." STACI, STACI, STACI... I'm kidding of course.
{C}This "large circle" Jeremy refers to is actually not a devil-board, but is known as the "Sigillum Dei Aemeth" of Dr. John Dee. The Sigillium Dei Aemeth contains letters in the Enochian or Angelic language that were derived from the skrying sessions of Edward Kelly during the years 1583-1587. These in turn were transcribed from Dee's diaries "Libri Mysteriorum", which were reprinted by Meric Casaubon in 1659 in a book called "A True and Faithful Relation of what Passed for Many Years between Dr John D...And Some Spirits". For those who don't already know, Dr. John Dee was an Elizabethan scholar who attempted to communicate with otherworldly intelligences and left a detailed account of his trafficking with these "angelic" beings, which can now be viewed in the collection of a British museum. According to some researchers, however, Dee's angel-magick was in reality a cryptographic system whereupon the recipient of the encrypted message calls upon "angels" to decipher the plain text. This plain text could have been military dispatches or state secrets involving political intrigues etc. Dee was reputed to have been a secret agent of sorts with the code-name of 007 - which is where author Ian Fleming got the idea for his fictional James Bond character. The other large circular board on stage with Danny contains talismans of planetary magick for whichever month it happens to be during the performance. (NOTE: these diagrams were copied from a book in Danny's possession known as "The Grand Grimoire". This book is not the same Grand Grimoire (Il Gran Grimorio) made popular by A.E. Waite which was allegedly translated from works by King Solomon and edited by Antonio Venitiana del Rabin, this being a notorious Italian text of black magic which was recently published in English by Trident books and Ars Obsura. With regards to the book in Danny's possession, a crimson-leather volume privately printed by a quasi-Masonic lodge, I have never been able to locate another copy or learn any additional information about it.) The bass drums of old featured a type of hypercube known as the tesseract. Other drumheads contain drawings of various examples of sacred geometry such as the unicursal hexagram and Star of Babalon, this being seven-sided.
Q: When will the Pygmy Love Circus CD be released?
A: Shortly. Date will be posted in a future newsletter, Mr. Savage. Q: What did you think of the re-release of the movie, The Exorcist?
A: Frankly, I didn't buy it - that a Christian exorcism would be efficacious against a Mesopotamian "demon" of the first millennium BC (and probably even much older). Anyway, a better title would be The Extortionist as that is what the Roman Catholic Church does - takes money from its followers to exorcise the devils it alone created. It's hardly a coincidence that many books of so-called black magic were written by members of the clergy so the church would have something to protect its members from. Even the infamous Black Masses were conducted by catholic priests whose repressed sexuality led to deviant and psychotic behavior that played out alone in secret "ceremonies" held at night. This kind of behavior continues today. If you don't believe me, read or watch the news. But, getting back to the film, my feeling is that the priest would have as much chance as a pee-wee football team would have in beating the pros (San Diego Chargers excluded). The real message of the film is don't do ritalin.
With regards to the Necronomicon, the most frequently asked question is, is the book real, or is it a literary hoax on a grand scale? The best answer might be that suggested by the prominent British occultist, Kenneth Grant. Mr. Grant seems to think that the Necronomicon exists in another realm - in the akashic records. This means that it is an astral grimoire, which Lovecraft tapped into in his dreams or, rather, nightmares of which he suffered from on a regular basis. If Mr. Grant is correct then the book would only be accessible in dreams or astral pathworking.
Another question is whether or not the book is a useful magical tool. The opinion of most magicians is that at least one of them, the "Simon" Necronomicon does, although it is deemed dangerous to experiment with. In my opinion, if the Simon book (Schlangekraft recension) is dangerous it is only so to competent magicians, for dabblers will be protected by their own ineptitude. As for the other Necronomicons out there, most researchers believe them to be little more than interesting conversation pieces. For instance, the limited print-run of L Sprague de Camp's opulent production of Al Azif (Owlswick Press, 1973) contains "spidery" calligraphy, which resemble Arabic characters. This is supposed to be the ancient Duriac script but it is in reality a fictional language created by the author (or graphic designer) which more-or-less repeats itself between the first and last page. Another book in the growing list of forbidden texts is the cheaper produced Hidden Key of the Necronomicon. As the title suggests, this contains the hidden key to unlock the gates in the Simon version. These keys are the seals of the Zonei from chapter two, "Of the Zonei and their Attributes" which have been placed inside the blank centers of the diagrams in the 3rd chapter, "The Book of Entrance And of the Walking". Buyers beware! When tampering with neural circuitry I guess there is always a potential danger.
The best resource for questions regarding the Necronomicon mystery is The Necronomicon Files: The Truth Behind the Legend by Daniel Harms and John Wisdom Gonce, III.
And now a final thought on this night when the veil between the living and the dead is at its most transparent... when children and adults, good Christians (like yourself, Staci - I know you're still reading this) and pagans alike engage in all kinds of devilment, donning gaudy plastic masks of ghouls, vampires, skeletons and monsters (even Disney characters for those indoctrinated by the devil at an early age)...on this night only, when the fires of hell outshine the face of God, perhaps I will finally except the invitation I received from "In His Presence" church and step inside and say a prayer for your souls - those of you tramping about in haunted houses in towns all across the USA turned into Satan's playground - for I am reminded what a wise man once wrote in a book called The Starlit Mire: "That our Prayers are so Seldom Answered is a Proof that God Hears Them." And now, without further adieux, let's open the gates of hell.. ZAZAS, ZAZAS, NASSATANADA, ZAZAS
HAPPY TRAILS
JUSTIN
DANNY
MAYNARD
ADAM
BLAIR