Legion Inoculant
by Tool

Album: Fear Inoculum (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is one of Fear Inoculum's four interludes: brief songs bridging the (much) longer ones. The song is all distorted vocal effects and synthesizer sounds. There are faint words, but it's almost impossible to understand what they're saying (if anything).

    The word "legion" was originally used for the major units of the Roman army, having up to 6,000 infantrymen and 200 cavalry. It has since become a common term for a large number of people in pretty much any context or capacity.

    The word "inoculant" refers to the active material used in an inoculation, with inoculation meaning "the introduction of a pathogen or antigen into a living organism to stimulate the production of antibodies."

    What Tool means by combining the two words is unclear, but it's probably something like "making the individual resistant to the masses" or maybe "making the individual resistant to the lure of joining the masses."
  • Legion is also the name claimed by a figure in the Bible. Mark 5:1-18 tells the story of a man living in the tombs and possessed by a demon. When Jesus, who is preparing to cast the demons out, asks the demon its name, it replies, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Music Video Director David Hogan

Music Video Director David HoganSong Writing

David talks about videos he made for Prince, Alabama, Big & Rich, Sheryl Crow, DMB, Melissa Etheridge and Sisters of Mercy.

Rob Halford of Judas Priest

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

John Parr

John ParrSongwriter Interviews

John tells the "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" story and explains why he disappeared for so long.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80s

Wang Chung Pick The Top Songs Of The '80sSongwriter Interviews

'80s music ambassadors Wang Chung pick their top tracks of the decade, explaining what makes each one so special.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.