In a surprising move, legendary rock band Tool has licensed one of their songs to Warlock, a brand-new RPG coming from Wizards of the Coast and Invoke Studios. Announced at The Game Awards, this Dungeons & Dragons game is teasing monsters, magic, and a dark tone that was elevated by Tool’s music being used in the reveal trailer.
Tool has a history of being incredibly selective when it comes to licensing their music. Frontman Maynard James Keenan’s side projects, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, have been licensed across various film and TV projects, but when it comes to Tool, it’s a very different story. The band has to make sure that whatever project a song is being used for fits, and Wizards of the Coast is probably quite pleased that Tool agreed to have one of their most popular songs used for the Warlock announcement.
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What Tool Song Was Used in the Trailer?
The Warlock trailer opens up with a sprawling tower surrounded by mountains as the opening bass line for “Forty Six & 2” starts playing. It kicks off the reveal in a way that immediately captures one’s attention, and from there, the entire energy of the trailer gets kicked up a notch. Images of smoke billowing through the interior of the castle, a lone eyeball sitting on the stone floor, and a fountain surrounded by a glowing purple spell paint the scene as the trailer leads to the introduction of protagonist Kaatri as she uses her magic to vanquish the undead, vampires, and other beasts. It’s incredibly cinematic and the addition of Tool’s “Forty Six & 2” really adds an extra dose of drama to the reveal.
Tool Isn’t a Total Stranger to Being Licensed in Video Games, But it’s Been a Really Long Time
- Three Tool songs were featured in 2008’s Guitar Hero World Tour
- The songs were “Schism,” “Parabola,” and “Vicarious.”
Since Guitar Hero is a rhythm game, it makes sense for the band to allow their music to be used for it, but Tool and Dungeons and Dragons is a pairing that many weren’t expecting, especially since the band has such a reputation for being so particular. Apart from Guitar Hero and Dungeons and Dragons, Tool has also allowed movies and TV series like Escape From L.A., Captain America: The First Avenger, Beavis and Butt-head, The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, and Alien: Earth to license various songs. Now that Dungeons and Dragons spin-off Warlock has been added to that list, it will be interesting to see if Wizards of the Coast is able to license any more of Tool’s music for future trailers, whether it be more Warlock or a fresh yet-to-be-announced game.
Tool isn’t just selective about music licensing. For years, the band refused to be put on streaming platforms. However, that changed in 2019, when Tool finally agreed to put their music catalog on streaming.
It’s hard to say, really. For a band that has been around for 35 years, there are very few instances where Tool has let its music be used commercially. More Dungeons and Dragons trailers with Tool songs would definitely be exciting, but the band is bound to continue keeping many songs close to the chest. Wizard of the Coast’s Warlock is a strong match for the band, especially with the trailer’s imagery, and while a Tool song makes almost anything look even cooler than it already is, it will probably be a long time before another song is heard in a game trailer.