Opiate (EP)

Opiate
Cover art for Opiate, featuring a priest with six arms and hands, with the hands pressed together
EP by
Tool
ReleasedMarch 10, 1992 (1992-03-10)
RecordedDecember 1991 – January 1992
StudioSound City (Van Nuys, California)
GenreAlternative metal[1][2]
Length26:52
LabelZoo
Producer
Tool chronology
72826
(1991) 		Opiate
(1992) 		Undertow
(1993)
Alternative cover
Cover art for the re-release and digital versions
Cover art for the re-release and digital versions
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Kerrang![4]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]
Select[6]

Opiate is an EP by the American rock band Tool. It was produced and engineered by Sylvia Massy and Steve Hansgen. Released in 1992, it was the result of two years of the band playing together after their formation in 1990. Opiate preceded Tool's first full-length release, Undertow, by a year. It is named after a quote by Karl Marx: "religion ... is the opiate of the masses".[7] It was certified platinum by the RIAA. The EP charted on several international charts when Tool released their catalog to online streaming in August 2019.[8]

  1. ^ Johnson, Howard (2002). X-Rated: The 200 Rudest Records Ever!. Carlton Books. ISBN 1842227491.
  2. ^ Gatta, John Patrick (February 28, 2019). "Top 10 Tool Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Opiate [EP] – Tool". AllMusic. Retrieved August 23, 2004.
  4. ^ Mörat (July 11, 1992). "Tool 'Opiate'". Kerrang!. No. 400. London, UK: EMAP.
  5. ^ a b "Tool: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Perry, Andrew (September 1992). "Tool - Opiate". Select. p. 81. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  7. ^ DiCarlo, Christopher (October 31, 2001). "Interview with Maynard James Keenan". Cdicarlo.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
  8. ^ Gottsegen, Will (August 14, 2019). "All Four Tool Albums Now Charting in Top 20 on Billboard, Thanks to Streaming Debut". Spin. Retrieved August 16, 2019.