TOOL Opiate 1992 double-grooved VINYL & PROMO PRESS KIT

$

43

   TOOL
   " Opiate "
    " 1992 Promotional Press Kit w/ glossy b&w photo, bio & record co. letter "

This is an amazing lot of Tool collectibles.
From the air conditioned depths of the Reptilian vault, we've been digging through non-acidic boxes of rare goods and pulling out promotional-only, never-sold-in-stores items for your bidding pleasure.  This is one of those things that you don't see for sale very often because of its very nature, being a paper product and arriving in the mail to people who didn't necessarily ask for them in the first place.  Most press kits/photos go immediately into the garbage bin at radio stations and record stores.  Lucky for you, we're born & bred hoarders.

ON THE BLOCK TODAY WE HAVE:

1) A 1992 one-sheet bio, glossy promotional black & white band photo with names and info, and a letter from the record company introducing the band and explaining why you should be interested.  Barely showing any signs of aging, lovingly stored in a protective vinyl comic book bag since they arrived.

2) An original 12" vinyl copy of Opiate, the debut 7-song EP by TOOL.

The EP, as explained below in the Wikipedia entry, is quite an interesting animal.
It contains, visually, 6 songs, according to the album cover and the record labels.
But here's the cool part...
the secret...
the mystery that makes it collectible, and probably an annoyance to the pressing plant...
THE VINYL IS DOUBLE-GROOVED ON SIDE 2!!!!
If you've never experienced a double-grooved record (like, say, Monty Python's original pressing of "Matching Tie and Handkerchief", back in the 70s), this is going to be the coolest thing since disappearing ink.
Depending on where exactly you set the needle down on the first track on Side 2,
you will either hear the listed song "Cold and Ugly (Live)", or the unlisted song, the hidden cut,
"The Gaping Lotus Experience".
One song is 4:10 and the unlisted song is 6:06!  You never know which one you're going to hear until you plop the stylus onto the vinyl.  It's up to fate, and your hand, as to what selection you get.
If you're a DJ and you want to play one of them on the air, you have a 50/50 chance of being right.
It could take a couple tries before you hit the right groove.
IS THAT COOL OR WHAT?
On the compact disc, you just get an extra song attached to the end.  BORing.
On this 17 year-old vinyl beast you get one of the coolest weirdest surprises ever to spring from the belly of the usually staid, corporate, middle-of-the-road creature known as the "record company".

The only downside to the vinyl part of this auction is the fact that the record and its accompanying cover are used, and a little bit beaten-up.  If they were a human being, they'd probably be in the hospital, and would be receiving stitches, but wouldn't be suffering from any permanent injuries.
Sadly, it's not a human.  Therefore, what you get is a record that has a lot of scuffs and marks that you can see, and it sounds a little crackly, but it plays fairly well even though it's not aesthetically perfect.  It doesn't seem to have any damage that will make it skip, but it's certainly not anywhere close to NM, and the silent passage at the end of the tricky double-grooved track is going to be a little louder than if you bought a brand new copy at the store.
Going by the Goldmine Grading System it's a strong VG, moving into VG+ territory at times.
The cover also looks a little lived-in.  Edgewear, minor corner wear and edge lines, and the inch long beginning of what will one day maybe be a seam split if you're not careful, but nothing that takes it below VG+/EX.
The inner sleeve has a couple of minor folds and creases, but is about the same grade as the cover.

As a whole, it plays much better than it sounds in the description.  I'm just trying to mentally prepare you for its arrival, so you'll know you're not winning a beautiful NM press kit and accompanying EP.  This way you can expect a nearly perfect record company promo-only collectible and a nice beginner's copy of their vinyl debut, and you may be surprised by the sound when you place it on the turntable.  I'm trying to do a good thing.


SEE OUR OTHER AUCTIONS FOR MORE TOOL!
Or if not more Tool, at least something very close, or related.
And if that's not true, I'll bet there's something cool you'll like.
C'mon, just look.  Just this one time. 

1. "Sweat" – 3:46
2. "Hush" – 2:48
3. "Part of Me" – 3:17
4. "Cold and Ugly" (Live) – 4:09
   • Recorded on New Year's Eve 1991 at the Jello Loft, Hollywood, California
5. "Jerk-Off" (Live) – 4:23
   • Recorded on January 1 1992 at the Jello Loft, Hollywood, California
6. "Opiate" – 8:28
   • Contains the hidden track "The Gaping Lotus Experience" 6:06
     

The night the live songs were recorded, Danny Carey played drums for all the bands that played; Pigmy Love Circus, Green Jellÿ and Tool

 
 
In March 1992, Zoo published the band's first effort, Opiate. Described by the band as "slam and bang" heavy metal and the "hardest sounding" six songs they had written to that point, the EP included the singles "Hush" and "Opiate". The band's first music video, "Hush", promoted their dissenting views about the then-prominent Parents Music Resource Center and its advocacy of the censorship of music. The video featured the band members naked with their genitalia covered by parental advisory stickers and their mouths covered by duct tape. The band began touring with Rollins Band, Skitzo, Fishbone, and Rage Against the Machine to positive responses which RIP Magazine summarized in September 1992 as a "buzz" and "a strong start".

Opiate features six tracks with seven songs, the seventh a hidden track entitled "The Gaping Lotus Experience". Side 2 is double grooved. Depending on where the needle falls, "The Gaping Lotus Experience" will play or "Cold And Ugly (Live)" will play. Both tracks are followed by some silence, then the record player will play the last two tracks.

Unlike their later releases, Opiate does not incorporate a progressive aspect. Opiate does, however, immediately display the band's technical prowess. Much of the album uses problems of society as a focal point. Topics range from extreme censorship, ethical choices, and religion as a form of control.

The first track, "Sweat," is quite indicative of their future work, dealing with a slightly more complex topic and making use of metaphorical lyrics. This song was also featured on Escape From L.A. soundtrack. The second, "Hush", is about censorship and political correctness, and is accompanied by a video featuring the entire band wearing signs that read "Parental Advisory: Explicit Parts" over their undercarriages. The song displays Tool's characteristic love of tongue-in-cheek satire, while also showcasing their willingness to express explicit ideas.

Please read the information at the bottom of this auction, pertaining to overseas bidders, ESPECIALLY if you're in Italy or Germany.
It seems like a lot of other sellers are experiencing the same problems.  I don't know if it's simply the postal system in those countries, or their customs officials, but packages are taking up to and over 30 days at times, and we're having claims and disputes filed on packages we've definitely mailed and can prove we've mailed.  So if you're in either of those countries, understand that you're going to have to pay extra for us to afford delivery confirmation or tracking, or some way to prove to you that it was sent.  I'm sorry, but that's how it's going to have to be.  We're losing money on bidders from both places.
 We will ship ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.  $4 US  $5 Canada $10 overseas

See the photo(s).  Sorry about my hand in the shots, (if it is), but I try to NEVER LAY THE VINYL DOWN ON ANYTHING, unlike lots of sellers, who FREAKIN' lay records down on tables and things to photograph them!  We give them all the very clean hand or WHITE GLOVE TREATMENT, as you see in the photos, and take the pics with someone holding the vinyl in the air, never touching it, pulling it carefully from its sleeve.  Whatever we sell you is going to be in the best shape possible. We're all collectors and know that other collectors appreciate the extra mile.

This is a vinyl record, NOT A CD.  You play it on a turntable.  That's an arcane device that spins a circular plastic disc around and around at a constant speed whilst a diamond on the end of a stick scrapes on the surface, riding along a singular groove carved into the vinyl, making noises that are then electrically amplified so you can hear what is contained therein.  While a sharpened diamond scraping along a textured plastic surface probably isn't the most perfect or truest way to hear what was placed there, it creates a certain ambient warmth, and album covers are BIG.