Back in April, a Utah band called Spirit Machines posted the performance-based music video for their soulful mashup of Led Zeppelin's 1995 classic-rock staple "Kashmir" and Tool's 1993 alt-metal smash "Sober." The clip gained some viral traction and made a minor splash online, but now it's gotten a major boost — from none other than Tool themselves. The prog titans — and noted Zeppelin fans, having covered "No Quarter" many times throughout their career, including on Halloween while dressed as the Seventies rockers — shared a snippet of the video on the band's official Instagram account, along with the caption: "A very tasty tribute of Led Zeppelin and Tool." Watch the video in full above.
"All the respect and love!," Spirit Machines offered in the YouTube description to the mashup, which appears on their debut album, Feel Again. "Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin wrote 'Kashmir' while on a trip through the Sahara desert. The inspiration came when driving down a small, lone road that crossed the desert. On either side were sandstone ridges, making it appear like a channel with no end.
"The intensity of the song earned the band the label 'heavy metal,' one which neither Plant nor Page liked. Still, they couldn't deny its hypnotic effect, made by the drums playing a standard 4/4 beat and the guitar/strings following a 3/4 pattern.
"There are intense debates about what the song 'Sober' by Tool means. It's most obvious interpretation is of one struggling through major addiction. It vividly paints the picture of substance abuse highs crashing into rock bottom lows. The sheer distress that often accompanies it. And the desperate longing for something ... anything ... to be different.
"We have a deep love for both of these songs. We hope you enjoy our Led Zeppelin + Tool mashup, 'Zober'!"
