"Parabola" is a song by the 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 ...

. The song was released as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their third studio album ''

Lateralus ''Lateralus'' () is the third studio album by American rock band Tool. It was released on May 15, 2001, through Volcano Entertainment. The album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood and The Hook, Big Empty Space, and The Lodge, in North ...

''. Initially released in 2002 as a promo only, the single was re-released on December 20, 2005, which includes the song and a DVD containing the music video and an optional "dual" audio commentary on the video by

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and politician. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Initially ac ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

. The dual commentary consists of two separate recordings of Biafra's voice, one playing in each stereo channel. The DVD was released alongside a DVD single for "

Schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

" as well. The song uses a modified drop-B tuning for the guitars. The song is featured on the video game ''

Guitar Hero World Tour ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero IV'' or ''Guitar Hero IV: World Tour'') is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' ...

''. The song was played onboard

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

mission

STS-130 STS-130 ( ISS assembly flight 20A) was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). 's primary payloads were the ''Tranquility'' module and the ''Cupola'', a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and ...

, as a

wake-up call A wake-up call (alarm call in the United Kingdom, morning call in east Asia) is a service provided by lodging establishments allowing guests to request a telephone call at a pre-specified time, thus causing the guest to wake up at that time. It i ...

for astronaut

Robert Behnken Robert Louis Behnken (; born July 28, 1970, in St. Ann, Missouri) is a NASA astronaut, engineer, and former Chief of the Astronaut Office. Behnken holds a Ph.D in mechanical engineering and the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, where he se ...

Music video

In support of this promo single, a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was released – clocking in at over ten minutes because of the inclusion of the 3-minute "Parabol" lead-in (a separate track on the album set right before "Parabola"). The last note in "Parabol" can also be heard at the beginning of "Parabola" in '' Guitar Hero: World Tour''. It was directed by Adam Jones and, like other Tool videos, includes several abstract scenes (which can be seen on the single art).MVDBase
/ref> These include humanoids meeting and cutting pomaceous fruit, then vomiting a black liquid in a circle. Another scene features interactions between a small stop-motion creature and a human (played by English musician Tricky). The small creature calls out to the man for help but is crushed by The Berry. The man dissects the creature's body, then wanders into a forest and encounters a leaf that turns into a flaming eye. The man then sees himself as transparent, with all the internal functions of his body visible. Two flaming eyes appear and begin to fly around his body. As the eyes glide about, lotus flowers symbolizing the "

Chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

s", begin to line up in the center of his body. The two flaming eyes then join together on his forehead to form a "

third eye The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is a mystical invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In ...

" and the man is assimilated into an endless, glowing pattern. The whole sequence could be a visual presentation of a mystical experience called "

Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

awakening", in which a mystical energy or force called Kundalini rises through two intertwined channels within the body. Painter

Alex Grey Alex Grey (born November 29, 1953) is an American visual artist, author, teacher, and Vajrayana practitioner known for creating spiritual and psychedelic paintings. He works in multiple forms including performance art, process art, installation ...

created the design and was deeply involved in the animation from the beginning of the flaming eye sequence through to the end of the video.

Track listing

;Promotional single # "Parabola" (radio edit) – 6:08 # "Parabol" – 3:04 # "Parabola" (album version) – 6:03 ;DVD single # "Parabola" (video) – 10:09 # "Parabola" (commentary) – 10:09 # "Parabola" (

Lustmord Brian Williams is a Welsh industrial musician, sound designer and film score composer. He is often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord. His experimental work has been described as "not tra ...

remix) – 11:35

Personnel

Tool *

Danny Carey Daniel Edwin Carey (born May 10, 1961) is an American musician and songwriter. He is the drummer for the American rock band Tool. He has also contributed to albums by artists such as Zaum, Green Jellö, Pigface, Skinny Puppy, Adrian Belew, Carol ...

– drums *

Justin Chancellor Justin Gunnar Walter Chancellor (born 19 November 1970) is an English musician best known as the bass player for progressive metal band Tool since 1995. He was also the bassist of the band Peach. After settling in the US, along with his engage ...

– bass * Adam Jones – guitar, art direction *

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 Production *Produced by

David Bottrill David Bottrill is a Canadian record producer. He has won three Grammys. Formerly, he owned Rattlebox Studios in Toronto, Ontario with producer Brian Moncarz. Moneen, Basia Lyjak, and The Getaway Plan are among the artists to have recorded at th ...

*Mixing by

*Art direction by Adam Jones

Chart performance

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parabola (Song) 2002 singles 2001 songs Animated music videos Song recordings produced by David Bottrill Songs written by Maynard James Keenan Songs written by Danny Carey Songs written by Justin Chancellor Songs written by Adam Jones (musician) Stop-motion animated music videos Tool (band) songs Volcano Entertainment singles