I loved those guys in the 90s. Saw them live a few times, and they were the hardest working band I'd ever seen. Did you ever see them doing that routine where they toss their horns WAY across the stage to a roadie on the sidelines?
I thought they suffered when Chris left. He was kind of the soul of the band I think. They seemed to get progressively heavier and angrier after that.
And watching some of that AIC special over the weekend reminded me of how much I loved them as well. Layne Staley was a force of nature. I only saw them once (Lolla '93). Layne was not in the best condition, and it was stupidly loud, but still a great memory.
I also discovered Tool on the side stage of that tour. Dinosaur Jr. were playing the main stage and I thought they kinda sucked, so I went to grab a beer. On my way back, I see a guy playing a Ric Chris Squire. Ltd. Ed. which stopped me in my tracks.