Fake Tool Vinyl Guide

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Updated: March 2017

I have been getting a fair few emails from people asking questions about tool vinyl whether items are fake or not. So I have put together a “Fake Tool Vinyl Guide”. Some of this info I have collected over the years, other stuff and came from Galen, at http://www.collectiveunconscious.org/.

On a side note, I know there are people out there who love tool and want to own anything they can from these guys, but all this stuff below is utter crap. Do not pay money for it, or let anyone you know pay money for it. If you are after rare and interesting recordings from tool there are 100’s of recordings available in different circles on the Internet… All you need is a Bittorrent client, and check out a few sites like:

  • thetradersden.org
  • dimeadozen.org

FAKE Tool Vinyl

Tool ‘Aenima’ Colour Vinyl Reissue LP Gatefold Sleeve

This is probably the most offensive and damaging counterfeit tool vinyl item as so many people are looking for original pressings, and when they end up with one of these it hurts. It says reissue, however there has never been an official reissue.  This comes in yellow or green vinyl most often, however there are also plenty of black vinyl versions. From Ebay: Limited edition reissue, double LP on coloured vinyl (Yellow or Green). Comes in gatefold sleeve with plain white inners.

Stinkfist –  “Eastern European Promo”

Label: “HYA KOH”
This fake / bootleg “promo” copy looks to be like it could, possibly be legit. This has only been on eBay & seems to be sold by one guy from the USA. There is no record of this ‘record’ ever being produced for any reason.

Lateralus – “Rare Blue Vinyl”

A poor, poor counterfeit pressing that offers nothing but a (probable) CD > Vinyl transfer. The actual release of Lateralus by Tool was mixed differently for the vinyl release. This just a sad & poor attempt at making a bootleg.

Lateralus – “Rare Double Vinyl”

This is a different version, obviously, from the blue version because it is “more complete” as it is a “double album”.
Ebay info: This is a mysterious print of Lateralus LP. This was played only one time by me. The tool logo and the title of the record are printed on a sticker on the cover, maybe you could see in the photo. On the vinyl label there are the tool logo, the Lateralus logo and the songs title. I don’t have any other information about this record.

Parabol – “Rare Black Vinyl”

Probably MP3 Sourced. Home-made vinyl pressing. The person or persons who manufactured this have absolutely no idea what they are doing. Side A? Side A would definitely be either the demo’s or something live. Side B has to be various stuff *downloaded* via the Internet in the early 2000’s. All of this stuff is mp3 sources, and freely available on any p2p network…Limewire, Bittorrent etc. The cover has also been taken from a Pink Floyd bootleg.

Salival – “Rare Vinyl”

This tends to surface on eBay & also seems to be available both in the land down under but also in Eastern Europe. Description include comments like “Get this rare MINT LP”, “TOOL – SALIVAL COLOURED DOUBLE LP ”

Album Notes from Blair @ toolband.com:

I’ve received over a dozen e-mails in the past few days about SALIVAL VINYL being sold on ebay. According to the people writing me, these are advertised as being as rare as hen’s teeth (well, as being extremely rare), and can be very pricey (same with the DVD/CD ‘box set’ – those that aren’t even signed by a band member!). For those wondering about the authenticity of the Salival VINYL, I’m fairly certain that these are ALL bootlegs offered for sale by unscrupulous types. As the French might say, this is a travesty. My advice would be to save your hard-earned money, and to keep in mind that I’m not adverse to using an acronym that’s also an anagram (where applicable). But, more about this later. Also, some of those emailing about the questionable Salival vinyl are wanting to know about any possible analogue release for 10,000 Days. To this, I’m sorry to say that I’ve no word yet, but will be sure to post if/when that day comes.

Tool 10,000 days new double LP record coloured Red or Blue

This is a pretty good attempt at looking official, and sales on Ebay are going well because everyone is waiting for the band to make an official vinyl release of the album. But I assure you this is counterfeit. If/When there ever is an official release of 10,000 days on vinyl there will be news of this of the official band website. There has been no such news yet (2017 – maybe it will never come?). Notes from Ebay: New, mint, never played, sealed. This is a limited record: there are only 1000 of it available.

Tool –  Tainted Love Vinyl LP color

Tracks: Calling Dr. Love, Rev 22:20, Passenger, Santa Monica & Orange, Choked, Muhammad My Friend, Divorced, Sober
Someone has taken all of the randomly labeled tool mp3’s that floated around in the Napster era and made a bootleg vinyl from them. There’s a nice Tool font used, and some Pink Floyd-ish cover art. The vinyl itself is blue. Santa Monica, a sublime cover isn’t actually even Maynard or Tool.

Tool  ‘Lollapalooza’ USA 1993 Colour vinyl LP

Tracks: Intolerance, Cold & Ugly, Sober,Swamp Song, Opiate, Bottom, Jerk-Off
A vinyl pressing with source audio from the 1993 Lollapalooza show in Irwindale. The date listed on the auction of the show is: 7/7/1993. However the show was actually in August, not July. The bootlegger has likely used the same source material as the many CD bootlegs floating around that were made from this source: “Tales From The Dark side”, “Sleep Forever”, “Westwood One” “Opium Den” . Ironically if the bootlegger was more resourceful there are plenty of great Sound Board recordings from 93’ Lollapalooza.

Tool Silver Tongue LP

Tracks: Part of me, Hush, Crawl away, Jerkoff, Cold & ugly, Spasm, Wrong way, Kill the revolution
Partly sourced from Mp3 rubbish floating around on p2p networks in the napster era, some of which isn’t even tool (Wrong way).

Tool ‘Lateralus’ Red Vinyl Double LP

The official Lateralus vinyl release took a while to be released to the market, and in the mean time there were a few bootlegs that floated around to fill the gap. These still pop up on eBay from time to time, even though the official release is now easy to come by. I have put a few photos below of auctions I have seen that are not the official release. To see what the official release looks like check out my vinyl guide.

Tool Salival – Red

This one is a bit more recent (2017), and very common. There has never been an official Tool release of Salival on vinyl. The font used is much more recent than the album, which would be pretty weird for starters if you were thinking this is legitimate.

Tool Opiate – Orange Transparent Marbled Vinyl

Pitched as a European import, uses copies of the original labels. Counterfeit.


Tool Ænima 2 × Vinyl LP Album Unofficial Release Gatefold Red

This one is crazy. It’s not even pretending to be official, it says Unofficial in the auction title, yet somehow they want $1450 for it? Crazy right? It is “ULTRA RARE”.

Tool Opiate – Red / Marbled

Looks pretty legitimate because it uses the same label as the original pressing. Counterfeit.

Now on Ebay:

Get items removed from Ebay

If you feel strongly about counterfeit Tool vinyl items on ebay and want to get auctions removed, here is the page on ebay that talks about items like these…it has a link at the bottom that allows you to report fake items….read here.

192 Comments

  1. itsthezing May 7, 2012 at 9:39 am

    I just want to echo what @Dave said above. Pleas avoid “ihunt007”. He baited me with an “original” copy of Undertow, but when I pressed him for more information (citing this website) he confessed saying that he did not, in fact, have an original. He sent me a free copy of Opiate to appease me, but the entire ordeal was uncomfortable.

  2. baraka98 May 10, 2012 at 10:41 pm

    Hey all, my name is AdAm. I just recently was “officially” excited about my Parabol (i now know as a boot because of this site…i’m bummed but relieved) and Silver Tongue Tool Vinyls. I’m still really confused about the Silver Tongue Album…it seems so legit? i’m sure it’s a boot any way but can anyone shed some more light on this topic for me? totally mad i wasted money but i do have a LEGIT copy sealed of Lateralus. I DID DO MY RESEARCH ON THAT ON : ) PLEAS HELP THOUGH ON THE SILVER TONGUE VINYL.

    AdAm

  3. Eric May 11, 2012 at 9:03 pm

    @baraka98 – You’re right, it’s a fake or bootleg as some on the internet are calling it. It’s no more legit than a Salival vinyl…there were none created on vinyl (CD/DVD/VHS – ONLY).

    Take a look at this…maybe it’ll help.

    http://www.discogs.com/Tool-Silver-Tongue/release/2009472

    Also, take a look at this closed eBay auction. Read the seller’s comments at the bottom. He/she is determined not to meet in person…seems a bit odd to me…

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tool-Silver-Tongue-lp-green-vinyl-perfect-circle-puscifer-hard-rock-/270962114929?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item3f1699c171#ht_500wt_1182

  4. baraka98 May 28, 2012 at 10:27 pm

    Well thanks for the the INFO Eric i do appreciate that. Also here is a question i’m sending out to all the tool fans on this site. Since Tool has yet to release any of there songs on ITUNES yet, is there a pretty common consensus in the tool community that once CD’s (which are being discontinued at the end of this year) are done and gone, Will the price of Tool Originals (CD/DVD/VHS) stuff skyrocket? i’m a huge collector of RARE AND OUT OF PRINT THINGS, and won’t all of TOOL”s stuff then be considered RARE AND OUT OF PRINT? just posing some question to all of you out here.

    AGK

  5. Eric May 29, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    @baraka98 – You’re very welcome!

    Do you have a link that verifies CD’s going away the end of 2012? I’m unable to find anything except rumors. There’s a lot of comments on these sites stating this very thing…and the comments are rather rude. Most are ticked the site’s bloggers shouldn’t have even posted it without verification. I myself got really bored/tired reading responses from people with their boo-hoo’s about this and others stating “this will never happen anytime in the near future”, “loss of jobs”, etc.

    I couldn’t find anything verifying none of us will be able to buy a CD of 10,000 days, Undertow, etc (other than official OOP ones from collectors) end of 2012. I don’t want to make any assumptions about Tool’s items until there’s verification.

    Right now a ton of people are assuming this is true, and they will start selling more items on eBay (example) at higher prices because sellers stating such things. There’s already enough of that. It’ll be as bad as Facebook’s stocks recently and how they screwed the legitimate buyers.

    I was able to come across where some car manufacturers are starting to not install CD players standard.

    http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/10/10096404-automakers-shedding-cd-players?lite

    One company in Brussels posted in 2006 where some of their pressing companies will no longer create CD’s. But that was six years ago.

    http://www.rhji.com/01/MyDocuments/cme_liquidation_us_pressing_bus__english.pdf

    But, I have been unable to find legitimate verifications.

    Hey, just a thought, but this would be a great topic to discuss in the Forum’s -> Lounge section (“if it can be verified”).

    It’s simple to sign up, and with the traffic this site gets it could generate a lot more responses.

    http://toolvinyl.com/forums/forum/lounge/

    If you want to start it up using what you mentioned above with verification, I’ll repost mine and see how it goes. It’ll be hard for other Tool fans to find this on the “fake” vinyl page.

    A personal suggestion without stepping on the Admin’s toes or being rude to you…if there’s no legitimate verification I’d recommend not posting further discussions about CD’s going away here. This is based off my rumor findings above. This site may get a bad reputation and no longer be considered a legitimate source for Tool fans, etc.

    L8R

  6. baraka98 May 29, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    Well thanks so much for the response. I really didn’t mean to step on any toes. I mean as a forum reader and writer is hard for me to believe that for me to write down the inevitable fate of CD”s really got under someones craw out there. i mean logically that’s like someone being in total shock and awe that they are going to die. seriously it’s almost laughable but hey to each their own. I mean it all comes full circle. I found a pretty recent article and also a pretty credible source about the LOOMING DEATH OF CD’s (oh no i accidentally wrote it again, I’m going to hell LOL) sorry still a little laughable to me. but here is the article

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/19/cd.digital.sales/index.html

    Hope this may clear up any rumors or any sort of doubt about the fate of things. However as a collector of all things out of date, i have recently sold VHS tapes and Laser Discs so obviously there is always going to be a market for things out of print, out of date, and the like. Hope to hear some other responses.

    AGK

  7. shane July 26, 2012 at 4:39 am

    thanks for all the info, now i know all the copies of salival on ebay and amizon are fake. How is it that they are able to get away with selling these? it doesnt seem like they’re interested in enforcing anything

  9. Baraka98 August 11, 2012 at 11:45 am

    SO I TOTALLY GOT MY SALIVAL DVD/CD COMBO (1st pressing w/ errors) in the mail yesterday. WAS SUPER EXCITED TO OPEN IT. I JUST WISH THERE HAD BEEN A LEGITIMATE COPY OF SALIVAL PUT ON VINYL.NI WOULD HAVE BEEN SO BADASS.

    AGK

  10. NotoriousTIMP October 14, 2012 at 12:51 pm

    So I came across this copy of Lateralus yesterday at a local shop and I wanted to know if it’s official or a bootleg.

    Front:
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/cingularrox/A2364847-871E-432A-8F68-1ED46C2CFF31-36385-000011B3B9A7000C.jpg

    Back:
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v412/cingularrox/2EFE600C-0615-4817-9129-A8F769836C8C-36385-000011B3C2474CC8.jpg

    I’ve never seen this pressing before and there doesn’t seen to be any record of it on eBay.

  11. Axel October 21, 2012 at 8:05 am

    Hi,

    I bought a copy of the Lateralus promo picture disc in Germany this summer and after doing some research I can now to 99% tell that it’s the bootleg copy I’ve got…which kind of sucks.

    But, is there any value at all in these bootlegs? Regarding collectors or such. Or is it just crap?

    Axel

  12. Tatatool November 16, 2012 at 8:49 pm

    @NotoriousTIMP… Definitely is a bootleg version… furthermore is an australian version… not a bad bootlegs.. i have it… but a bootleg after all!!!

  14. Shawn January 18, 2013 at 12:21 pm

    I have bought an Aenima first pressing from this ebay seller that was legit thanks to this website, (and i love love LOVE it) but i just noticed this version thats stopped me in my tracks, and would love your thoughts:

    Tool Promo Picture Vinyl LP Selections From Aenima (1996)

    link removed – dead

    is this the real deal? and worth grabbing?

  15. Lazyprophet January 30, 2013 at 9:37 pm

    I’m not so expert, but searching around I think that selections froma aenima is a real artwork for promotion before the album went out at the time…but 1000 $ it’s a lot even if it’s a real artwork…I’d prefer spending 300$ for the first issue of the entire Aenima : )

  16. Lazyprophet January 31, 2013 at 8:04 am

    link removed – dead
    …seems real…but I’m not so sure ’til I see the vinyls photos…
    What do you think about it??

  17. Bee February 27, 2013 at 12:39 am

    @Shawn The Selections from Aenima (SFA) picture disc IS the real deal. The seller is ‘globalthinking’ from Germany. It is, without a doubt, one of the rarest (and coolest) TooL vinyls around. The press is reportedly limited to just 50. check out popsike.com, and you will see that it commands a lot of money. These rarely pop up on ebay. It comes in neato packaging, and has an insert sleeve. It is totally worth it. I would buy it if I had the coin. So I guess I will have to happy with just 1 copy : )

  18. Jesse April 3, 2013 at 1:32 pm

    Hey folks,
    I’m currently trying to acquire a Lateralus Vinyl and I’m very sceptical about all of the “LATERALUS LIMITED DOUBLE PICTURE DISC VINYL LP SET W/ GATEFOLD COVER SEALED” copies available on eBay at such reasonable prices.
    This auction in particular from mindspeedmusic
    This seller keeps adding this listing after each auction ends with the exact same photos of an opened copy.

    These sellers seem to have a hellofa supply for a “limited edition” vinyl. So I guess I’m just wondering if these are actually legit? Does the sticker in the top left give some kind of assurance? How many pressings were made of this album?

    I just don’t want to get ripped off. I’m beginning to amass an impressive collection of TOOL stuff and I would like to avoid fake shit as much as possible.

    Thank you Admin for a great site, and thanks to all who make this such a killer community.

  19. Guy April 15, 2013 at 2:26 pm

    Hi folks,

    I am wondering if there will be any interest in my signed Aenima vinyl. I purchased it in 98 and worked on some of their shows here in NZ. The band signed it to me. What could it be worth on the current market?

    Guy

  20. Eric April 16, 2013 at 4:44 pm

    Anyone seen this one yet? Fake/Real? Never seen it before.

    TOOL – MMXII DOUBLE PICTURE VINYL LIVE 2012 LIM. EDITION 500 COPIES BRAND NEW

    link removed – dead

  21. Josh May 2, 2014 at 8:09 pm

    Interesting. I picked up the 10,000 days 2x red with black cover at my local record store. It was used, listed as fan club press. I paid $30 for it. It does sound damn good. A bit disappointed now that I see that it’s a bootleg.

    The fact that it wasn’t 180 gram made me question. For a 2006 fan club press I’d think it would be 180 gram.

    Out of curiosity, is real tool vinyl pressed from analog tape or digital masters?

    I’m looking at the current undertow vinyl reissue and the non picture disk lateralus. Thanks!

  22. Chesty Vulva June 27, 2014 at 9:52 am

    I fucking love bootlegs! I own all of these bootlegs that are being talked about and they all sound amazing. The official lateralus vinyl sounds like shit. Fuck big companies! Buy a bootleg.

  23. Thamara November 9, 2014 at 2:50 pm

    Hello!

    What an amazing site for someone like me.
    My boyfriend loves vinyl, and Tool. I would love to give him Lateralus for christmas. But I do no know a lot about what the right album is, and the right vinyl.

    I found a site who sells Tool vinyl, with the right catalog numbers I found on your site.
    But since the image is still different I was wondering if this is a fake one, or a real one. I hope you can help me with this.
    This is the site:

    http://www.discogs.com/sell/item/176361864

    Since I’m from The Netherlands, and this vinyl is from Austria it costs less to deliver it.

    Thank you in advance,

    Thamara

  24. Simon Ward November 9, 2014 at 3:31 pm

    Your welcome. The easiest way to get a legit lateralus, is to get one that has an actual photo of the vinyl, and make sure it has the sticker on the front. like the one in this auction..
    link removed – dead – Bootlegs aren’t too much of an issue for Lateralus, as there is plenty of supply of the legit ones.

  26. Justin May 31, 2015 at 4:10 pm

    I have Aenima on vinyl. The back says BMG printed in NY USA , had the printed inner sleeves, both vinyl are black. The labels on the records have grayish hard to see markings. On the vinyl itself I don’t remember what side it has the lock groove section but my record player is not manual. It’s a newer cheap record player so I think that the reason why it does not stay in the lock groove section.
    Does my copy sound legit? I bought it in 2008 or 2009 for around $200 or so. The shrink has the Aenima sticker on the bottom center and the parental advisory to the right.

  27. John September 28, 2015 at 10:21 am

    Hello,
    Is the vinyl that has the image of the head filling the entire disk a legitimate version and what version is it if so?

  29. Maria November 30, 2016 at 4:32 am

    Hi there

    I’m from India and my boyfriend in Portugal is a HUGE Tool fan and loves vinyl. I’d love to send him a good one as a present but the more I read about it, the more confused I’m getting. Please help me out…I don’t want to get ripped off and send him a fake one!

  30. Warzawa May 3, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    Salival on vinyl is. Doesn’t matter if it is a bootleg. Still sick. I paid a lot of money for worse recordings. It’s the nostalgia factor. Love your boyz!

  31. Israel Coover September 2, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    Hey I got an undertow U.K. Promo that is dark red and black color vinyl. I want to know if this release came from the band and that it’s not a bootleg. Can anyone help me?

  34. Eric November 15, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    I have another way to tell if an Aenima is fake. I took a pic of the warning on a fake one I got screwed on and a legit copy. Anyway, it is the font type on the warning on the back. Fake ones look pretty good…but the ones I’ve come across the font is really noticeable with the 1996. The fakes are like a Ariel font and the legit is another font, but I don’t know what it’s called off hand. Here’s a my photo: https://ibb.co/duA5sm

  35. 0SMB0 December 14, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    SO, You are telling me my $50 10,000 days record and $170 Aenima record is fake?? I fell more depressed now, wish i didn’t see this article… But it feels good knowing this info and it still is kinda cool that i have their music on a record even though it’s fake.

  37. Nathan November 8, 2018 at 3:54 am

    I just got a copy of undertow new from jbhifi and I think it’s a copy, had bubbles and dents had terrible sound lots quite of pops and noise though the whole thing, the hole in the record is messy looks like someone used a pencil to punch though it, going to return it tomorrow

  38. Matty December 17, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    Thank you so much for this, I have my original undertow and anemia albums I bought when I was a kid, knowing how the band feel about their music it’s so frustrating seeing people hijack their art
    It’s a disgrace.
    I have so much respect for the bands Art and their stance on the industry in general they have done such a good job of being true to themselves and their art it’s incredible.
    I’ll be keeping an eye on your awesome website for official releases which I absolutely can’t wait for!!!!
    Thank you again

  39. Nate December 20, 2018 at 4:10 pm

    Hey there. Recently I purchased at amoeba music the grey undertow and it has a pink disc inside. Real or fake? Thanks

  40. jikurisoma March 18, 2019 at 11:19 am

    So…. in all honesty, I’d really love to have a copy of Aenima, 10,000 Days and Salival in my record collection, but I’m not going to spend $300 to $1,000+ for an original.

    Does anyone have either of these, and could you testify to the audio quality of them?

    – aenima gatefold, black vinyl single art-sleeve with Chet Zar eye/b+photos, without bill-hicks/third-eye man sleeve.
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/264243999119?ViewItem=&item=264243999119

    – 10,000 days gatefold, black vinyl, photo-sleeves, alex grey gatefold art

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOOL-10000-DAYS-DOUBLE-VINYL-LP-Gatefold-new/183736593544?hash=item2ac78dec88:g:IckAAOSwD~Fb4KSq

    $50 or so isn’t too shabby, especially considering the fact that the bootlegs are now kind of a cult-status in their own right….. but if the audio sucks, then they wouldn’t be worth anything. Should I just wait to see if the rumors are true that TOOL is planning to issue/reissue these?

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