Opiate (EP)

Opiate
EP by Tool
Released	March 10, 1992
Recorded	December 1991 - January 1992
Genre	Alternative metal
Length	26:52
Label	Zoo Entertainment
Producer	Sylvia Massy, Steve Hansgen, Tool
Tool chronology
72826 (1991) Opiate (1992) Undertow (1993)
Singles from Opiate
"Hush" Released: 1992

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Kerrang!	[2]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Opiate is an EP by American rock band Tool. It was produced and engineered by Sylvia Massy and former Minor Threat bassist Steve Hansgen. Released in 1992, it was the result of some two years of the band playing together after their formation in 1990. "Opiate" preceded Tool's first full-length album, Undertow, by a year. It is named after a quote by Karl Marx: "Religion [...] is the opium of the masses".^[3] The EP was certified platinum by the RIAA on April 1, 2005. As of July 7, 2010, Opiate has sold 1,155,000 Copies in the US.

Background

Opiate features six tracks, two of which are live recordings. Some versions of the EP feature a hidden seventh track titled "The Gaping Lotus Experience". The song is hidden at the end of the last track of the EP, "Opiate", and begins approximately 6 minutes and 6 seconds into the song.

The song "Sweat" was featured on the Escape From L.A. soundtrack.^[4]

"Cold and Ugly" and "Jerk-Off" were recorded live at the Jello Loft on New Year's Eve 1991, the band's second public show.^{[citation needed]} These two tracks, along with "Hush" and "Part of Me", were featured on the band's debut demo recording, 72826. "Jerk-Off" and "Cold and Ugly" have never been recorded in the studio except for in this demo. All four songs were re-recorded for this EP.

In the original CD inserts of the EP, there is a collage of tiny photos of the band members as children, and also includes a picture of someone engaging in necrophilia with a well-decomposed cadaver. In reality, it is a friend of the band joking around in prop maker Stan Winston's studio.^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sweat"	3:46
2.	"Hush"	2:58
3.	"Part of Me"	3:17
4.	"Cold and Ugly" (live)	4:09
5.	"Jerk-Off" (live)	4:23
6.	"Opiate"	8:28

• "Cold and Ugly" was recorded December 31, 1991 at the Jello Loft in Hollywood, California
• "Jerk-Off" was recorded January 1, 1992 at the Jello Loft in Hollywood, California
• "Opiate" ends at 5:20. The hidden track, "The Gaping Lotus Experience" begins at 6:06

Personnel

• Maynard James Keenan - vocals
• Adam Jones - guitar
• Paul D'Amour - bass
• Danny Carey - drums

Notes

1. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Opiate [EP] - Tool". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r56286. Retrieved 23 August 2004. 
2. ^ Mörat (11 July 1992). "Tool 'Opiate'". Kerrang!. 400. London, UK: EMAP. 
3. ^ Christopher W. diCarlo. "Interview with Maynard James Keenan". Cdicarlo.com. http://www.cdicarlo.com/paper_04maynard.htm. Retrieved 20 May 2007. 
4. ^ "Escape de Los Ángeles (1996) - Soundtracks". IMDb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116225/soundtrack. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
5. ^ "The Tool FAQ". Toolshed.down.net. http://toolshed.down.net/faq/faq.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011.