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Cover of Ænima by Tool — Cover: Ænima

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“Forty Six And 2” by Tool

From the album Ænima (1996)

“Forty Six And 2” by Tool appears on 19 radio countdowns from 11 stations between 1997 and 2025. It was first released in 1996 on the album Ænima. Its best result is #30 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #105 alternative song of 1997 and #2,104 alternative song of all time.

19countdowns

11stations

#30best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1997–2025years charted

Watch

TOOL - Forty Six & 2 (Official Audio)

Video from YouTube (TOOLVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Forty Six & 2" came off Ænima, Tool's second album, in 1996 and went out to radio as a promotional single, and its title invites some digging. The popular reading ties it to Drunvalo Melchizedek's notion that humans might evolve past the usual 46 chromosomes by gaining two more and shed a state of disharmony; another points to Carl Jung's "shadow", the parts of ourselves we hate, fear and bury, and the urge to change by facing them.

All four members share the music, with Maynard James Keenan writing the words and singing, Adam Jones on guitar, Justin Chancellor on bass and Danny Carey on drums and percussion. David Bottrill produced it with the band, and it stalks along mostly in 4/4, slipping into bars of 7/8: alt-metal that thinks as hard as it hits.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

#656 of the '90s

Classic Rock

#3,195 of all time

Hard Rock & Metal

#1,502 of all time

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1997	76	105.7 The Point St. Louis, MO	105.7 The Point Top 105.7 of 1997	106
1997	42 (tie)	WBER Rochester, NY	WBER Listener Countdown 1997	99
1997	30	Triple J Australia (national)	Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997	100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1998	57	Triple J	Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998)	100
1999	257	107.7 The End	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	1077
1999	543	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)	1002
2004	229	107.7 The End	The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004)	500
2007	278	KROQ	KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007)	500
2009	57	Triple J	Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009)	100
2010	97	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010)	200
2013	96	KBPI	KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time	200
2019	94	X96	X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's	100
2020	205	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2020)	420
2021	209	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2021)	420
2021	367	99.1 PLR	99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021)	500
2022	304	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2022)	420
2023	303	105.9 The X	105.9 The X July 420 (2023)	420
2025	87	WFPK	WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s	500
2025	397	99.1 PLR	99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025)	400

Also listed as: Forty Six & Two; Forty-Six And Two; Forty-six & Two; Forty-Six and Two; Forty-Six & 2; Forty Six & 2.

Charting alongside it in 1997

Best songs of 1997 →

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