Formed in 1990, Tool’s line-up includes vocalist Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones and drummer Danny Carey. Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist since 1995, replacing Paul D'Amour. Tool has won four Grammy Awards, performed worldwide tours, and produced albums topping the charts in several countries.

To date, the band has released five studio albums, one EP and a box set. They emerged with a metal sound on their first studio record, Undertow (1993), and became a dominant act in the alternative metal movement with the release of their follow-up Ænima in 1996. Their efforts to unify musical experimentation, visual arts, and a message of personal evolution continued with Lateralus (2001) and 10,000 Days (2006), gaining critical acclaim and international commercial success. Their fifth studio album, Fear Inoculum, was released on August 30, 2019, to widespread critical acclaim. Prior to its release, the band had sold more than 13 million albums in the US alone.

Following the release of up Ænima in ’96, Tool were prevented from working on new material when Volcano Entertainment – the successor of Tool's by-then defunct label Zoo Entertainment – alleged contract violations and filed a lawsuit. After Tool filed a counter-suit stating that Volcano had failed to use a renewal option in their contract, the parties settled out of court. In December 1998 Tool agreed to a new contract, a three-record joint venture deal. But the band didn’t release another LP until 2001, by which time they had also sacked their manager.

But Tool continued to tour during their forced hiatus, and during their summer tour in 1998, they performed a show which fans still regard as one of their finest ever. Performing in Kalamazoo, Missouri on 15th July, the concert was recorded in its entirety for live FM radio broadcast, and is now released for the first time on this new CD.