It happened again. Monsters of progressive arena metal TOOL once again reached across the aisle to pull up bluegrass wunderkind and born-again metalhead Billy Strings for a sit-in. This time, the combination happened on Strings’ home turf at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville where the musical tour de forces collaborated on TOOL’s “The Grudge”.
This musical cross-pollination follows Billy’s previous sit-in with TOOL on “Jambi” back in October in Salt Lake City. Perhaps a sign of their growing familiarity, or perhaps because in Nashville Billy Strings needs little introduction, TOOL singer Maynard James Keenan welcomed Strings with a simple, “This kid. Billy Strings.” Together, the five-headed monster took on the chugging opener to TOOL’s 2001 album Lateralus, “The Grudge”.
Following an intro perforated by Justin Chancellor‘s basslines, Strings and guitarist Adam Jones provided the low rumble that ultimately broke into syncopated power chord fury. At one point, Jones even gave Strings a friendly shoulder check (at the home of the NHL‘s Nashville Predators), encouraging the young guitar player to take the lead.
Related: Rush’s Alex Lifeson Joins Tool For “Jambi” In Toronto [Watch]
Somehow, by the grace of Jambi, some videos of Billy Strings’ second sit-in with TOOL have appeared online. The band has a long-standing policy against the use of cellphones at concerts. Maynard even summed up that not-so-unwritten rule at the start of Tuesday’s show, per The Tennessean.
“Here’s the deal,” he told the audience. “We’re gonna take a little trip. Stay with us. Stay connected. I want you to put your f–ing cell phones in your pockets and leave them there. If you have to take your phone out for the next two hours, you have a … problem,” though he gave the audience hope by adding, “If you are good, we will let you film the last song.”
Here’s hoping Maynard doesn’t see these.
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