Maynard James Keenan Reflects on Spring, Feeds His Ducks in ‘An Easter Story’

Tool singer Maynard James Keenan gives viewers a hefty dose of springtime rumination in An Easter Story, his new short film that muses on the changing of the seasons and the symbolic hope it continues to hold. Also starring the flock of ducks that reside on Keenan's farm, the deep-thinking featurette was entirely directed, shot and narrated by the musician.

But. Tool fans expecting a rock video, take note: The film doesn't feature any loud music, nor does it contain Keenan's signature warble. Instead, it merely mulls the significance of rejuvenation, reproduction and rebirth as Keenan relates spring awakenings to the tale of a lost duck.

Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.

That lost duck's name, by the way, was Larry, but he didn't stay gone for long. When the Tool vocalist eventually found the animal, he realized the duck's departure was rooted in deep biological instincts for survival. You'll just have to see the film to find out why.

Elsewhere in the flick, Keenan waxes philosophic on spring: "Using the cycle of the moon," he says, "as a metaphor for the lifetime of a person — and the waxing, thin sliver of light as their awakening consciousness and the formation of self, and the waning light as our elder years — then the full moon represents that fully developed self. The full light of our accomplishments and personality shining…"

He adds, "But in reality, this is not the person's or the moon's light at all. It's the infinite light from a higher power — the sun. And we are simply reflecting that light. Which, in the instance of spring, is the bringer of life, rebirth, reproduction, resurrection, reconnection, salvation, infinity and hope. Have a happy Easter."

The music carrying the short is the "Nagual de Judiths" mix of "The Humbling River," a 2010 song by Keenan's other band, Puscifer. It originally appeared on the soundtrack to Blood Into Wine, a documentary about winemaking that focuses on the Tool rocker's Caduceus Cellars and Caduceus Vineyards in Jerome, Arizona.