Maynard James Keenan admits this early Tool song is actually ‘just dumb’

Maynard James Keenan, one of the most enigmatic blokes in rock, has admitted that one of Tool’s early tracks makes him cringe. 

The Tool frontman jumped on Steve-O’s Wild Ride! podcast, and got brutally honest about some of the band’s older material. Turns out, there are some old tracks he just can’t stand playing because he reckons he’s “failed them”. 

 "They're popular songs, but I feel like I was trying to make a joke, and it was a dumb joke. I should have just moved on," Maynard admitted.

The song in question comes from Tool’s 1993 debut album, Undertow, with Maynard singling out ‘4°’ as the one that still bugs him. 

"The way I wrote it... I was trying to f*cking make a butt sex joke, and it was dumb,” he said. “The song's beautiful, what those guys did musically is great… but the words are just dumb. 

I don't know what the f*ck I was thinking.

He reckons he eventually got the balance right when he wrote ‘Stinkfist’ later on.

Steve-O told Maynard that he asked AI to describe his three bands. It spat out ‘reverent’ for Tool, ‘romantic’ for A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer got ‘Asburd’. The system also suggested that all three groups aim to “dismantle the ego”. 

Maynard’s response was hilarious, and on brand: “I don’t know about that… reverence for fist f*cking?” 

He then added that all bands are “serious play”, and all of the songs he’s ever written balance humour with accomplishing something. 

The chat wasn’t all taking the piss out of butt-sex lyrics - he actually got pretty vulnerable. 

Maynard admitted to dealing with “crippling self-doubt”, and other personal struggles. He also yarned about his musical identity, business ventures, spirituality, diet, AI and his humour. 

And if you’re worried he’s spiralling about his back catalogue, don’t be.

When he spoke to Bryce from The Morning Rumble, Maynard claimed his favourite song to perform is ‘Invincible’.  

So don’t stress, the legend doesn’t hate all the hits - just the ones where the punchline didn't quite land for him thirty years later.