No band rules the slide-projector set like Tool. Its compositions, rhythmic labyrinths of trigonometric drum taps, intense crescendos and multiple melodies convert heavy music into an impenetrable equation, and song titles such as "Parabola" seal the deal. In concert, the quartet sounds like more than the sum of its parts, thanks to elaborate visual aids. At one point during the band's performance almost a year ago, mysterious silver orbs floated above the players' heads while film footage depicted a tube-tethered experimental subject dissecting a little green buddy. Simultaneously, an elaborate light show illuminated a concave backdrop consisting of thousands of eyes while glitter sprinkled from the ceiling, every speck undergoing a multicolored transformation on its way to the ground. Every reaction -- each ocular flare from a stone-faced demon, all of the dying-transformer color blasts -- matched a sonic shift in the songs, and fans enjoyed a sensory overload unmatched by any current stage show.
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