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. Chris November 8, 2009 at 11:05 am

    Thanks for the help, I am proud to say I have a real copy of Lateralus vinyl signed by the band. Does anyone know how many copies of these were produced? Any help would be appreciated.

  2. Ben November 11, 2009 at 8:00 pm

    Collectors Corner (Swantson St, Melb CBD) has the Aenima Bootleg for $100.00, the print job looks really cheap and blurry. The guy behind the counter has no idea why the price is so high… but did say hardcore fans would pay that much…. If you want one you know where to find it (12/11/2009)

  3. GERsom November 16, 2009 at 1:38 am

    I am thinking about buying a copy of the 10000 Days Bootleg on ebay; can somebody tell me about the quality, does it sound goood and is it worth buying?!

  4. Terry December 12, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    Any insight into this LP – Is it MP3 sourced?:

    TOOL Silver Tongue Vinyl LP
    SIDE A
    1. Part Of Me (Demo)
    2. Hush (Demo)
    3. Crawl Away (Demo)
    4. Jerkoff (Demo)
    5. Cold & Ugly (Demo) (From the Rare 1991 4-track demo tape “TOOL)
    6. Spasm (Live cover version of a song originally recorded by the band “PEACH”)

    SIDE B
    1. Wrong Way (Live cover version of a Sublime song)
    2. Kill The Revolution (Unreleased demo of a collaboration between Rage Against The Machine and TOOL)
    3. Know Your Enemy (Maynard with Rage Against The Machine)

  10. admin December 17, 2009 at 11:06 pm

    Hi Ryan, the sticker looks like the sticker on the original, very hard to say for sure without seeing the vinyl…or perhaps comparing that serial with a real one. It looks legit, but it could be fake!

  11. jesse December 25, 2009 at 1:24 am

    man these bootlegs rule. I’ll buy the real ones when they come out. but i gotta say i love both reissues for aenima and 10000 days

  12. dbone February 1, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    DO NOT Order Anything From AURALEXPLOITS.COM !! They will send out partial shipments, don’t use tracking numbers, take forever to send out orders, refuse to answer their phones – and they will steal your money!

    Google them for other reviews – THEY SUCK

  13. Blue Agave February 4, 2010 at 6:23 am

    nima – Green Limited Edition Reissue

    * I bought this mint two LP set knowing that it was not the official release. The only official release of this record is on black vinyl and there has never been an official reissue. I was also able to compare this to the original.

    Both LP’s are bright green and you can see through them for the most part. There are some cloudy/milky parts within the vinyl that don’t make it totally clear. There are also tiny specks of what look like black vinyl embedded in each record.

    The cover is made of a thin rough material that is not like a typical album cover. It is flimsy and actually buckles when you handle it. The insert artwork is also a cheap reproduction of the original.

    When I played each record they had an unusual tap or bump sound as it rotated. The culprit was multiple excess vinyl tabs on the edge of each record. The only way to fix this was to file the edges of the records to be completely round. Once filed down each of the records played fine.

    Upon listening the records are obviously not pressed from the master recordings. They appear to be from CD when compared to the full and deep sound of the original pressing.

    Its obvious that the nima – Green Limited Edition Reissue is a cheap reproduction attempting to capitalize on the expensive nature of acquiring the original pressing.

    The original pressing of nima sounds absolutely terrific so dont be fooled by this or any other cheap reproductions.

    Label: Zoo Entertainment (3)
    Catalog#: 72445-11087-1
    Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Unofficial Release, green
    Country: US
    Released:
    Genre: Rock
    Style: Prog Rock, Heavy Metal

    Tracklist
    A1 Stinkfist 5:11
    A2 Eulogy 8:29
    A3 H. 6:03
    A4 Useful Idiot 0:39
    B1 Forty Six & 2 6:03
    B2 Message To Harry Manback 1:53
    Keyboards [Uncredited] – David Bottrill

    B3 Hooker With A Penis 4:34
    B4 Intermission 0:56
    Organ [Uncredited] – Eban Schletter

    B5 Jimmy 5:24
    C1 Die Eier Von Satan 2:17
    Vocals [Uncredited] – Marko Fox

    C2 Pushit 9:56
    C3 Cesaro Summability 1:26
    C4 nima 6:40
    D1 (-) Ions 4:00
    D2 Third Eye 13:47
    Synthesizer [Uncredited] – Chris Pitman

    Credits
    Performer [Uncredited] – Adam Jones , Danny Carey , Justin Chancellor , Maynard James Keenan
    Producer [Uncredited] – David Bottrill , Tool (2)
    Notes
    Gatefold packaging.

    On back:
    The BMG and Zoo Entertainment logos are trademarks of BMG Music ? 1996 BMG Music All Rights Reserved Manufactured and Distributed by BMG Entertainment, New York, NY Printed in U.S.A. 72445-11087-1

  14. jesse February 8, 2010 at 3:01 pm

    Has anyone heard of a tool undertow picture disc? Is it fake?, Is it real and is it rare because i have one.

  15. admin February 8, 2010 at 3:10 pm

    I haven’t heard of one Jesse…if you post an image we could know for sure…all the picture disc are from nima era. There is a Lateralus one too. But the limited edition undertow vinyl are the Grey and Clear releases.

  16. jesse February 8, 2010 at 3:53 pm

    I got it from hot topic so i’m pretty sure it’s real, i was just wondering if it was rare or worth anything?

  17. admin February 8, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    Without an image there is not much I can offer you. There is a sober single picture disc from the undertow era.

  20. jesse February 8, 2010 at 8:02 pm

    What happened was my wife got sidetrakked w my kid and didnt pick it up for me, but shes going back over tomorrow and getting it for me, i was just wondering if i should have her pick it up for me they want 12.00 for it. I dont know if its a hot topic exclusive, repress or what. Do you think i should buy it?

  21. Pete February 23, 2010 at 8:23 pm

    Glad I googled this before leaping into a purchase of 10000 Days on Vinyl! Cheers

    Does anyone know if they are going to release it officially?

    Does anyone know if they’re ever going to release a live in Concert DVD??? I know they shy away from the spotlight/commercial “success”, but fark man, every Tool fan and his dog who has seen them live is gagging for a DVD of one of their shows! SELL LIKE HOTCAKES!!! haha

  22. Pete February 23, 2010 at 8:27 pm

    I also want a copy of Aenima, but how are you ever to tell a real from a fake? The fake re-issues are all coloured, right, blue, green or yellow…the original legitmate release was only on black vinyl?

    PS – does reporting these actions on eBay ever actually acheieve anything, aside from killing time! lol

  24. Todd March 21, 2010 at 6:40 am

    I recently got a MetaMusicOnline ebay listing of four fake Tool records removed because I came to this site as a reference. It took a couple of months haggling with Ebay to get around to it, but it’s worth it in the end to get this thievery stopped. Thanks for the help Toolvinyl.com, Todd

  25. Todd March 21, 2010 at 6:45 am

    🙂 I sent a complaint to BBB against MetaMusicOnline, Phoned Paypal to let them know, and Phoned Ebay and talked to an actual person and found out how to submit a report. Then I also went on the actual listing on Ebay and “reported” it at least 3 times. It can be done, but yes it takes some work and time… but like I said before, way worth it to give that guy what he deserved. He’s not going to jail or anything for stealing this music and making money off of it, but at least he can’t take advantage of unsuspecting people anymore. 🙂

  27. Todd April 1, 2010 at 11:52 am

    Hamza the Salival vinyl you are looking at is a fake. They have never released it on vinyl to my knowledge. That is one of the fakes that is homeade that is being passed around. Put inside fancy wrapping to make it look good, don’t get fooled.

  29. Shawn May 4, 2010 at 11:21 am

    A slightly different edition of Aenima has been added to Aural Exploits:

    https://www.auralexploits.com/product09_7628.htm

    “Tool
    Aenima – Limited edition 180 Gram vinyl

    Label: BMG
    Country: EU

    Limited edition re-issue on 180 Gram black vinyl.

    Pressed on double vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve.”

    I was unable to find any information about this elsewhere. Probably fake?

  30. Todd May 8, 2010 at 3:36 pm

    Auralexploits.com is another site that is passing off fake vinyls. I feel bad for Tool.

  31. Todd May 8, 2010 at 3:37 pm

    Wondering if anyone can tell me a good site to confirm the small record numbers on the inside edge of a vinyl. Found an Aenima with B00000099X, trying to confirm authenticity.

  32. Todd May 8, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    Hamza those picture discs are all good. You can get one at Hastings music or anywhere, I have one myself. Really cool. The only ones that you can truly trust in buying are Undertow, Opiate and Lateralus.

  34. Rick June 3, 2010 at 8:09 am

    Hamza and Todd,

    I bought the one of the sealed Lateralus Picture Discs LPS Hamza posted.

    Why does it say copyright 2000 on the back when lateralus came out in May 2001?

    Let me know

  36. Admin June 3, 2010 at 4:58 pm

    Ben – operation_goodguys on Ebay contacted me to have one of the above comments removed…I checked out his listings and he seems to be one of the main bootleggers on Ebay…selling all the rubbish 10,000 days and ‘Aenima’ Colour vinyl…and making a killing from them. Stay well away from his auctions. … or even better report his auctions as replicas.

  37. Richard June 14, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    I just bought Lateralus at “Everybodys Records” in Cincinnati and I now think it’s a fake from what I’m reading. It has one clear disc and one yellow disc. Has anyone seen this and can anyone confirm it’s a fake?

  38. admin June 14, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    It’s fake for sure Richard, can you take a photo and send it to me, I will add the photo to the post so everyone else can see it, and not make the same mistake. Cheers

  39. James June 15, 2010 at 11:01 pm

    Wish I had seen this site a week ago. I just bought both nima and 10,000 Days from operation_goodguys on eBay. I just paid $130 for two records that are worth basically nothing.

    Having said that, I’m not too disappointed. I’m no audiophile so I can’t tell the difference between a bootleg and an original. And as much as I’d love to own a legit copy of nima on vinyl, I’m not quite willing to pay the hundreds of dollars to get one.
    Both bootlegged copies of 10,000 Days and nima that I received look great, anybody who hasn’t visited this site wouldn’t know they were fake. And the sound is good quality too (my only beef is that there’s a gap between Lost Keys and Rosetta Stoned, they don’t segue properly).
    Perhaps the best bit about owning these fakes is that I have no qualms about playing them. If they were legit I wouldn’t want to touch them, let alone play them. So I’ll get plenty of enjoyment out of the fakes.

    So thats something to think about. Make sure you’re aware what you’re buying before you commit. 🙂 But these bootlegs will give me plenty of good times while I wait for a legitimate release of 10,000 Days on vinyl and the live DVD we’re all waiting for.

  40. admin June 15, 2010 at 11:12 pm

    Thanks for the comments James. Plenty of people are buying those 10,000 days bootlegs! I think the live DVD is a dream though… That’s been in the pipes for years.

  41. jezza June 16, 2010 at 4:25 am

    hey hows it going, just wondering if you can tell me if aenima original came out in black vinyl, i bought one from NEWLPS and it looks good, the art work is good there is extra art work in the sleaves, but the vinyls ( double lp) are yellow and another colour the paper around the middle of the vinyl is not good, is it a fake? and can you tell me if they ever brought out salival on vinyl and if so how to spot a fake
    cheers

  42. admin June 16, 2010 at 5:30 pm

    Hi Jezza, there is no official Salival on vinyl, so they are all fake. The Yellow Aenima copies are fake also. Check out the buyers guide for more info on the actual offical vinyl releases. Cheers.

  43. Krieg July 12, 2010 at 5:36 pm

    hi, i’ve visited this page to find out more about real and fakes about tool LP, today i was searching on ebay and found the item posted in the next link

    http://cgi.ebay.com/Tool-Aenima-2x-LP-Ltd-Ed-Gatefold-w-2-inserts-oop-/160454731243?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item255bd8e5eb

    for what i know it has to be a bootleg because its on colored vinyl, but this one has something that the others don’t, the others ones i have seen only have one inner sleeve with the “eye” now this one has both inner sleeves and also the record label in the center of both vinyls looks like the real ones, if the vinyls werent in color i’d thought this was the real deal!! or is there an original version of aenema in colored vinyl?

    thx

  44. Aaron July 16, 2010 at 11:32 am

    I was visiting LA and went to Amoeba Records in Hollywood. To my surprise, they had 2 copies of Aenima for sale for $35 each. I grabbed one, even though I assumed it was a bootleg. (Sidenote, they had an “original” pressing autographed by the band for $400 behind the register.)

    The copy I bought looks completely legitimate. I compared the numbers and whatnot from this site to the back of the packaging and everything matches. I opened it up and the first disc was black so I thought I might have came across a miracle find. Then I got to the second disc and it was an orange disc. Was very sad.

    Anyways, this bootleg one that I purchased has all of the inserts. The Third Eye, Band Pics, Bill Hicks and Blue Man are all there. To anyone who doesn’t know any better it looks 100% legit. I have yet to listen to it, but for $35 I’m not too ticked off that it’s a fake.

  45. ryan w. July 28, 2010 at 5:44 am

    hey,
    there are fake aenima BLACK vinyls. so not just the originals are black. the fake black ones have white inner sleeves.stay away from them.
    also there is an undertow picture disc. Prison Sex/Sober 12″ Picture Disc. made in the UK. 1993
    just so you know

  46. Simon August 2, 2010 at 4:09 am

    I am aware, of course, of all the bootlegs/counterfiets going around but what I don’t understand is what’s the big deal? If I can’t find my vinyl because it is too expencive or unavailable I will be happy to buy a bootleg. The sound is great, the cover looks almost the same and as for coloured vinyl, the more the better. I am a collcetor and if Toll do not want to release vinyl that’s their problem.
    Just my humble opinion.

  47. Richard August 3, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    As a followup on my June 14 discovery of “Everybodys Records” in Cincinnati selling me a fake of Lateralus. I took it back and the guy(seemed to be an owner) kept saying it was not a fake. He was real pushy telling me over and over, It’s not a Fake. It’s not a Fake. When I gave him all the facts, he got pissed and jerked my credit card out of my hand, gave me my money back and told me to never come back in the store. It was pretty cool. I’m banned from Everybodys Records. I told him on the way out, that he just lost alot of money. He ran out the door after me yelling at me. It was awesome. I’m just thankful this website was here.
    What is the website that shows all copies of all albums and what to look for in fakes? I got that from this website but now I can’t find it. It was an awesome site for sure.

  48. jezza August 25, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    hi simon, i bought aenima and ten thousand days on vinyl and was told that they were originals, but then i find out that they are both fake, that realy pissed me off and so do bootlegers, they are making money off someone elses hard work., if tool havent brought out an album on vinyl i dont want it, ive been a tool fan from the very start, and if they dont bring out an album on vinyl thats their decision and i respect that, its the fucking bootlegers getting around selling tool vinyl that the art work and general look and feel of the album is shit and real tool fans wouldnt piss on it, that ive got no respect for what so ever!! just my opinion though

  49. Loz August 27, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    Hi, I just came across this site all the comments are so helpful!
    In 2000 I bought a white vinyl of prison sex for $20 AU, it looks very legit but now I’m not so sure after this. If you need a pic let me know.
    Any help would be great.

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