Tool played Auckland tonight like a band with zero interest in phoning anything in. No warmup energy, no autopilot.
They hit The Grudge straight away, rolled into Fear Inoculum and Rosetta Stoned, and from there the whole set bent into that darker headspace they seem to live in.
The setlist is where things really broke open. Disposition showed up for the first time since 2002, and they followed it with H., which they have also ignored for two decades. Crawl Away returning for the first time since 1998 pushed the whole thing into rare territory. You could feel the crowd realise they were getting something unusual tonight, not the same nine song run they have taken around the world for years.
Jambi, Pneuma, Vicarious and Intolerance kept the middle tight, but the encore was the part people are going to keep talking about. Chocolate Chip Trip did its usual brain scramble, Hand of Doom landed like a filthy little Black Sabbath detour, and Invincible closed the night in that long, collapsing way Tool likes to end things when they do not want people cheering, just absorbing.
All of this drops just before they hit Australia for a headline run in Perth and Adelaide and Good Things Festival 2025. After tonight, that headline set suddenly feels like it could be the most unpredictable thing on the whole day. If they bring Disposition, H. and Crawl Away into a festival environment, that is a genuine moment.
The studio side matters too. In our new music update, the band made it clear they are writing and do not want another decade long gap. Auckland felt like the kind of show a band plays when they are reconnecting with old ideas while working on new ones.
Zoom out further and you hit the broader cycle sparked by the announced world tour. Combine that with what just went down at Spark Arena and you get a band moving, shifting, changing shape again rather than coasting on the safest version of their catalogue.
On paper Auckland was another stop on the way to Good Things Festival. In reality it felt like the moment this whole run actually woke up. If this setlist carries through to Australia, people are about to get the sharpest version of Tool they have seen in years.
Tool Auckland Setlist – 22/11/2025
The Grudge
Fear Inoculum
Rosetta Stoned
Disposition (first time since 2002)
H. (first time since 2002)
Jambi
Pneuma
Crawl Away (first time since 1998)
Vicarious
Intolerance
Encore:
Chocolate Chip Trip
Hand of Doom (Black Sabbath cover)
Invincible
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