Schism

In 2002, "Schism" won Tool the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The song had been released as the first single and music video from the band's third full-length album, Lateralus, and it went on to become the group's only entry on the Billboard Hot 100 until "Fear Inoculum" arrived in 2019, peaking at number 67 and staying on the chart for 20 weeks. It also reached number two on both the Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, blocked from the top spot on each by Staind's "It's Been Awhile".

The track was known for its uncommon time signatures and frequent meter changes, with one analysis counting 47 shifts in meter over its course. Bassist Justin Chancellor said the distinctive "twiddly" riff came from fooling around, explaining that he plays as much as possible and never writes ideas down, so he repeats a good idea until he cannot forget it. Singer Maynard James Keenan described the album's songs as being about relationships and learning how to integrate communication back into them.

The music video, directed by the band's guitarist Adam Jones, was created with stop-motion animation techniques featuring live actors. It followed two humanoids in a room with what looked like a letter "X" on the wall, one sinking into the floor while the other levitated, and ended with the pair joined together as if they were co-joined twins. "Schism" later appeared as a DVD single in 2005 and featured in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.