Lusk

Following his exit from Tool toward the end of 1995, bassist Paul D'Amour teamed with keyboardist Chris Pitman of Replicants to launch the neo-psychedelic endeavor Lusk. Together with Greg Edwards of Failure and Brad Laner of Medicine, the group soon entered a rehearsal space in Los Angeles to compose and lay down tracks for the project’s first album, Free Mars, which appeared in 1997. Although commercial impact remained modest, the release drew sufficient notice to earn a Grammy nomination the following year in the Best Recording Package category. Concurrently, disputes with the label ensnared Lusk in prolonged legal complications, which encouraged the participants to channel their energies into separate endeavors; among them, Pitman embarked on an extended association with Guns N' Roses. As the new century approached, prospects for Lusk grew steadily more doubtful.