"Opiate" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

and the title track from their debut EP recorded by producer

Sylvia Massy Sylvia Lenore Massy is an American record producer, mixer, engineer, instructor and author. Massy is renowned for her multifaceted production/mixing and engineering skills, with her first major breakthrough occurring with 1993's '' Undertow'', th ...

at Sound City Studios in 1991. "Opiate" serves as the final track of the ''Opiate'' EP and contains the

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

, "The Gaping Lotus Experience". The song plays as one continuous track with a runtime of 8:32

Live performances

"Opiate" has held a regular position on Tool's concert setlist since 1992. In 1994, it was often played back-to-back with "Flood", transitioning smoothly between songs and skipping the lengthy "Flood" intro. By 1996, "Opiate" would often serve as the penultimate song of concerts, preceding "

Ænema "Ænema" is a song by rock band Tool, released as the third single from their second major-label release ''Ænima''. Adam Jones made a video for the song using stop-motion animation; it is included in the ''Salival'' box set. The song reach ...

". Maynard James Keenan has dedicated the song to

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and author Timothy Leary on multiple occasions and to former Tool

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

Paul D'Amour Paul D'Amour (born May 17, 1967) is an American musician and was the first bass guitarist for Tool. His bass sound is recognized by the aggressive picked tone he developed with his Chris Squire Signature Rickenbacker 4001CS, which can be heard ...

on others, referring to him as "Paul of Love". Various musicians have collaborated with Tool in performing "Opiate" live. Examples include Layne Staley in 1993 and '94, Tricky in 2001, and

Heitham Al-Sayed Senser are a politically charged UK rap rock band, originally formed in South West London from a group of friends in the late 1980s. The initial line-up comprised Nick Michaelson (guitar), Heitham Al-Sayed (vocals), Kerstin Haigh (vocals), ...

in 2006.

Nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

band

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

has also been known to have

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

the song live.

Opiate²

"Opiate" was re-recorded and released as "Opiate²" on March 1, 2022. It's four and a half minutes longer than the original and includes the same lyrics as the original version, plus the extended instrumental midsection as well as an instrumental outro and different intro. A

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

short film directed by Dominic Hailstone was released on March 18 to commemorate the EP's 30th anniversary. The commentary is provided by BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon of '' RuPaul's Drag Race''.

Charts

Personnel

Tool *

Maynard James Keenan Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pusci ...

– vocals * Adam Jones – guitar, synthesizer (Opiate²) *

– bass guitar * Danny Carey – drums * Justin Chancellor – bass guitar (Opiate²) Technical personnel *

– production *

Steve Hansgen Steve Hansgen is an American musician from Washington, D.C. He is best known as a member of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat. He also played briefly in the D.C. hardcore band Government Issue, and joined Youth Brigade for their short reunion ...

– production *

- production (Opiate²) *

Toshi Kasai Toshi Kasai is a Japanense record producer, engineer, mixer and musician. He is most well known for his strong vocal production work with hard rock and metal groups such as his long standing relationship with The Melvins and his work with Tool. ...

- engineering (Opiate²) * "Evil" Joe Barresi – mixing (Opiate²) *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

- mastering (Opiate²)

References

{{Tool (band) 1992 songs Songs critical of religion Tool (band) songs Songs written by Maynard James Keenan Songs written by Danny Carey Songs written by Paul D'Amour Songs written by Adam Jones (musician)

Live performances

Opiate2

Charts

Personnel

References

Opiate²