Professional climber Alex Honnold has shared the full playlist he listened to when scaling one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, and it features Tool, Linkin Park, and more.
Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has also reacted to the climb, and shared how he found out that his music made up the majority of the playlist.
Honnold successfully climbed Taipei 101 last month, setting a new record for the tallest urban free solo in history after scaling the monument without any safety net or ropes.
He completed the ascent of the 101-floor, 1,667-foot building in just one hour and 31 minutes, and it was broadcast as part of a live event on Netflix. Speaking to Variety, he revealed that the playlist he chose was integral in helping him pace the climb.
“It was mostly Tool […] I made it months ago while I was driving. I’ve been training to it a bunch – it’s basically rock music that I’ve liked my whole life,” he said.
“Part of the appeal of music is that actually it helps me with pacing. Each bamboo box had been taking me about five to six and a half minutes. I just know how long the songs are. So it gives you a sense of if you’re going fast or slow.”
Now, he has shared the full playlist, with Tool tracks making up the majority of it. It features songs from them including ‘Lateralus’, ‘Schism’, ‘Forty Six & 2’, ‘Parabola’, ‘Pneuma’ and more, as well as tracks from other bands including Linkin Park and The Offspring.
‘Choke On This’ by Senses Fail also made the cut, as did ‘Hands And Faces’ by The Used, ‘The Emptiness Machine’ from the latest Linkin Park album, and six songs from NOTHING MORE, including ‘If It Doesn’t Hurt’ and ‘Spirits’.
Since Honnold went viral for the free solo climb, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has also spoken out about the ascent, and reacted to the number of his tracks that feature in the playlist.
“Not everybody and their mother texted me every three seconds telling me about it or anything,” he joked to ABC Audio (via Stereogum).
Speaking about the climb itself, Keenan added: “What the heck were you thinking, dude? It’s impressive! It’s extremely impressive, but, I mean, I wouldn’t make it past the first floor. I would fall to my death.”
When asked if he would be there for the next impressive climbing challenge Honnold embarks on, the frontman quipped: “I’ll be the guy down below eating french fries making fun of him.”
As for new Tool music, Keenan and guitarist Adam Jones shared an update last year, with the latter saying that they were “going to dive deep soon” into work on a new album.
Previous to that in 2024, bassist Justin Chancellor spoke to NME about fans’ fanaticism with the band and whether new material could arrive as a series of singles.
“It definitely comes on our own terms. The only pressure comes when we announce that we’re working on something new, because then we have to make our own predictions for when it’ll come out, and obviously you feel like you let people down if you don’t release it in a certain amount of time,” he said.
“It’s a nice feeling that people still want new stuff, but also they’ve got to understand that it’s not the easiest thing to do. It’s not a simple thing and it’s not always a natural thing that comes at the time you want it to come. Art is a very strange animal and it has its own schedule.”