“The way he plays drums without overplaying is extraordinary. He never takes over the music”: Tool’s Danny Carey managed to distract Mick Pointer from Rush

Mick Pointer and Danny Carey.

Marillion and Arena co-founder Mick Pointer was inspired to play drums by Neil Peart, and never lost his appreciation for Rush. But as Pointer told Prog in 2019, he was swayed by the music of Tool once he discovered them – and, of course, became a fan of their own drummer, Danny Carey.

“It was Neil Peart who got me into drumming during the 70s. When I heard Danny Carey I thought his polyrhythms were spectacular. But I was slightly late to the Tool party – I never really heard them until about 1996 or 1997.