REVIEWS:
One of the few bands in the 'grunge' movement that actually has something of an art rock / progressive sound, at the core of Tool's music are emotionally profound, dark, angry, bottom-heavy songs done with quite an enigmatic and profound twist lyrically. They never appear in their own videos (which feature innovative and visually stimulating claymation figures) and use disguises when playing live - having also released just two albums and an EP since their career began in the early 90s further adds to their mystique. Their frontman, Maynard James Keenan, embodies this facet of Tool as a disturbed and highly powerful singer - his lyrics are often directly confrontational and often offensive but never immature.
The rest of the lineup includes guitarist Adam Jones (also the brainchild behind their music videos), bassist Justin Chancellor and drummer Danny Carey. Their releases include the 6-song Opiate EP, the grungier Undertow, the art rock psychological terror Aenima, which has one of the best album covers in music history, and their latest opus Lateralus.
--Nick Karn
COMMENTS
Im a hugh F***king Tool fan i think every cd is amazing from i like litterally every song from tool but under is a amazing cd , maynard brings to the cd amazing lyrics , songs about his life. Its cool they put one of adams pigs on the cd lol nice touch. i know so much about tool and i love them so much. There so f***king amazing. I wanna meet them so bad.
(Nick Karn's review)
There are often times where a debut effort from a band seems to serve merely as a warmup for the more spectacular material that would come later, and it seems to me this is one of those instances. The six songs on this EP covering 23 minutes are not only quite short by Tool's usual standards, but they also cover pretty much exactly the same approach as the following full length debut, only in a less produced and complex fashion. Sure, the overall thought that went into these songs is noticeably more than your average nu-metal tune (a genre Tool should be partially blamed for), but I just don't hear very many interesting changes in approach to these songs, and in many cases, they're not very memorable either. The bottom-heavy riffs are good, and really, I can't think of a single weak song on here, but there are better places to start with the band.
That being said, there is at least one true highlight in the title track, mainly because Maynard's vocal power and lyrical anger here is carried by the best melody on the album, which makes the aggressiveness of it even more addictive and thrilling. To a slightly less memorable extent, there's also the wonderfully sarcastic "Hush", with lyrics like 'I can't say what I want to / even if I'm not serious' driving the point home along with the patented, driving riff approach. Meanwhile, the live songs on here are among the least memorable tunes, but they hint at the formula later developed on Undertow the most, and I particularly dig the adrenalized scream of 'shoot... you... in...your... FUCKING HEAD!' right before the audience applause at the end of "Jerk-Off". I'm running out of interesting things to say about this album, since there isn't really too much to talk about. It's all enjoyable while it's on, especially when you're pissed off, though not much more.
A six-track, seven song EP that marks Tool's entry into the world of 90's metal, Opiate is noticeably less polished and less ambitious than Tool's later work. However, it manages to be just as good. The songs, while not as well-produced as those on Undertow, nor as epic and powerful as Aenima's, are still quite enjoyable. Every one of them has a solid riff, solid vocals, and as always with Tool, excellent lyrics. And while the production quality is somewhat raw, it actually gives the album a unique, almost hypnotic atmosphere. Otherwise, the music generally lands in the same field as Tool's other work, being relentlessly heavy, but possessing a thoughtful approach. You won't find any 13-minute opuses here though, in fact all the songs on this EP are shorter than what you've probably come to expect from Tool. "Hush", for instance, doesn't even make the 3-minute mark, and "Part of Me" just barely does. Compared to the stuff on Aenima, they could be interlude tracks!
The hidden song here would actually work as an interlude track. Called "The Gaping Lotus Experience", it appears after the last track, "Opiate", and although not a heavy song in the least, it's somewhat unsettling. Amusing at the same time, however, thanks to Maynard's lyrics. It's not the only time he goes for humor either, since the lyrics to "Hush", though certainly angry and vindictive, contain a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek quality to them. Suprising, considering Tool's songs (not counting Aenima's interlude tracks) are usually quite heavy-handed lyrically, but in a good way of course. In the end, Opiate is a very solid release from Tool, not as accomplished as the material that would follow it, but still highly enjoyable. Any Tool fan who hasn't acquired it, and there are probably quite a few, should definitely do so. On a final note, in the past I would have given this a 9, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm much too lenient with my ratings. So an 8 it is.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Tool's first full length album seems to be a combination of two things: a dark psychological journey through the mind of Maynard James Keenan and a lyrical and musical fascination with the 'bottom", as on tracks like "Swamp Song", a furious attitude-laden number that establishes itself with a vengeance in its' chorus - the line 'I hope it sucks you down' is delivered with a heck of a pounding force. The moody, dark underbelly of the lengthy 7 minutes plus "Bottom" features tight and aggressive band playing with a hopeless guest spoken poetry section by Henry Rollins, while "Flood", "Crawl Away" and the title track veer into progressive territory, with the former starting off with a lengthy 4-minutes plus jam that carries the force of a crushing wave (although it is a bit too lengthy), and the latter two having quite gripping musical conclusions after going through despair in the rest of those songs.
Other notable tracks include the opening "Intolerance", which is a numbing expression of hurt and sorrow ('you lie, cheat and steal and yet I tolerate you') with a riff as bitter as the lyrics, the two hit singles "Prison Sex" (which is an account of one Maynard James Keenan's most painful and disturbing childhood experience, boasting awesome basswork and a great time change toward the end of the song) and "Sober", which is built on a simple and repetitive, but quite addictive riff and seems like a last resort plea in its' vocals and lyrics, and the more intimate "4 Degrees", which has a nice Eastern intro and is a fairly peaceful (although still heavy) song musically, although quite disturbing lyrically if you really want to look into it.
The most terrifying song, however, has to be the hidden 'Track 69' on the CD, "Disgustipated", which really taps into the dark side of the terrible fate of farm animals that are about to be killed, with a thought-provoking sample section and a scary as hell repeated yell of, 'This… is… necessary… life… feeds on life, feeds on life…' with pulverizing drums. This is a very consistent and relentlessly heavy release that doesn't really vary in its' mood, which makes it get tiring after awhile, but the songs themselves are no slouch, so it's a fine effort.
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(Nick Karn's review)
Tool's follow up to Undertow goes into a much more art rock direction, with extended multi-part songs built on simple riffs that go through a few time changes and interlude tracks that showcase both their sick humor and inventiveness, making for a captivating and very intriguing listen straight through. Setting the tone for the rest of the album is lead single and opener "Stinkfist" (actually titled "Track #1" on MTV!), which shoves forcefully itself in your face in an odd time signature - don't even ask what it's about lyrically. Following is the phenomenal, thought-provoking and profound song about martyrs, "Eulogy", which boasts a powerful two minute buildup, brilliant lyrics ('he had a lot to say, he had a lot of nothing to say, we'll miss him'), climactic arrangement and great bassline.
"H." is a quieter and more introspective, almost ballad-like song that really explodes in the chorus, and "Forty Six & 2" is driven by soaring vocals and a tremendously understated rhythm section performance (particularly by Danny Carey). "Message To Harry Manback" is a calm, soft spoken rant over light piano by an Italian man that's both hilarious and genuinely threatening, while "Hooker With A Penis" is an absolutely furious rocker that rips apart the record industry and the idea of 'selling out' (the chorus of 'I'm the man, and you're the man, and he's the man as well so you can point that fucking finger up your ass' is brilliantly defiant stuff). Interestingly enough, a short 50 second organ-driven "Intermission" follows for a breather (and a little bit of comic relief), before the enigmatic "jimmy" closes the first half - a very futuristic and majestic-sounding track.
The second half begins with another interesting interlude piece, "Die Eier Von Satan", which sounds like a tribal chant of a man speaking in German performing a Satanic ritual with a crowd backing him up, but in actuality the lyrics are a recipe for deviled eggs (the title translates to "The Eggs Of Satan" in English). The nearly 10 minute "Pushit" is another one of Aenima's most excellent epic-length tracks, with a great angsty chorus and very moody atmosphere in a stunning extended slow middle section, while the title track (strangely enough, another hit single) is an intimidating, astonishingly conceived, burst of calmly sung venom against the city of Los Angeles.
"(-) Ions", meanwhile, is an interesting simulation of an electrical storm that sets up "Third Eye", the blistering 13 minute closer which features profound voice samples in the first minute or so and is the most progressive song on here, moving from almost complete calm to the ending scream of 'prying open my third eye' - it is a little overlong, but it manages to hold my interest the whole way through because it has perfect atmosphere like the rest of the tracks and further adds to the enigma of the whole album. There is no real easy way to describe the mind-blowing songs of Aenima - they simply have to be heard to be believed for full impact, as Tool has masterfully manipulated senses and moods here. And that 3-dimensional album cover with the eyes is visually stunning. Check it out.
I never would have even thought of listening to a Tool release if it weren't for a couple of statements made about this band. From the one hand I was personally told that Tool sounded "Stavesacre-ish," and I also read a review of a Stavesacre concert somewhere on the web saying something like "Their music was Tool-ish." Since Stavesacre are one of my favorite bands, I decided that they might be worth giving a try. Ohh and lookie here, I do happen to have a copy of Aenima lying around, so why not listen to it? It's only, what, about a whopping 77 minutes long? And it's big old newmetal too, right?
Actually, not right. After listening to this album for a while I've come to believe Tool's music has too much feeling put into it to be called that. I'd personally call it something to the extent of "really alternative emotional hard hard rock." Is there a name for that out there? I don't know. Anyway before listening to this album for the first time I put on Stavesacre's third, Speakeasy, to keep a fresh image of their music in my head so I could compare it to Aenima. My first impressions were that the two bands didn't sound a thing like each other. Tool were much darker and heavier, with less in the way of melody, and nowhere near as powerful. Well after listening more, I'll still agree with everything I originally thought, except that they don't sound the same. Some of the songs on this album are similar in style to Stavesacre's heavier and more intense numbers. The beginning of "Hooker With A Penis," for one example has an opening similar to parts of "Zzyzx Scarecrow" from Absolutes. I hear more and more similarities in the two styles the more I listen. It's at the point where I can call Tool "The Dark Stavesacre," or actually it would be the other way around since Tool came first.
I still don't like Tool as much as I do Stavesacre, and be warned that if you're one who absolutely needs a lot of variety to go along with your songs, stay away. If you're one who absolutely needs a lot of strong melody with your albums, stay away. I can personally live without those two things if there is enough feeling and power to make up for it. There's enough on this album for me. And Aenima isn't completely lacking in melody and variety, so that's a plus. Keenan is a fine vocalist too. He sings with a good amount of emotion in his voice, fitting in with the attitude of the music very well.
Now as for the album itself, my only big complaint is that's it's far too long. A few of the epics, especially "Pushit," aren't always all that they could be. However none of the epics ever get extremely boring or anything, just a little disappointing. Overall Aenima is certainly worth your looking into since it has an excellent atmosphere to accompany some strong songs. My personal favorites would be "Forty Six & 2" and "Third Eye," but there isn't a truly bad song on here. While certainly not one of my favorite releases, Aenima is a great album and highly recommended.
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COMMENTS
I absolutely love this album, and despite that it's generally the favorite album of a Tool fan, it's quite underappreciated. I consider this album to be The Wall, or to put it on more metal terms, the Master of Puppets of the 90's. It's so powerful, so moving, so captivating, and so intelligent, yet it also rocks just as much as a good AC/DC record. I'm continually amazed by this album, Danny Carey's drumming in particular, wow! I really don't know a damn thing about drums from a technical standpoint, but he sounds great. The record as a whole might be a bit too long, and even though I enjoy them, not all of the interlude tracks were really neccessary. So no, it's not perfect. It's a 10 though, easy. I'm just hoping they'll be able to match this with their next album.
[email protected] (tony souza)
As far as metal goes, Tool, IMHO, is far above most other metal bands. The dark sound, morbid sense of humor, and song dynamics presented on the cd is fantastic. The songs grow on you with repeated listens, revealing new surprises. Most of these songs are also catchy in their own way. I could do without the short sound bites between the songs though, they do nothing for me. Overall, though, these guys have the goods.
(Nick Karn's review)
In the five years that had passed since Tool had released Aenima, the band seemed to become more and more renowned for their mysterious brand of what I like to call epic 'progressive grunge'. Along with Radiohead, they seemed to be hyped as one of the bands who could 'save' rock from what it had become by the time Lateralus was finally released, complete with its' really out there packaging. The end result of this album doesn't exactly save modern rock from stagnation, as the overall sound isn't a huge groundbreaking departure from the last album or anything, but it's still nice to see a band with strong ambitious and uncommercial tendencies get so much mainstream success, and the actual set of songs are still quite strong in quality.
The lead single "Schism" seems to be a fair representation of what the band is going for here, with a simple and distinct bassline grooving on the rhythm of an odd time signature over the typical Tool heavyness, and the continued yells, "I KNOW THE PIECES FIT" are extremely effective and show Maynard James Keenan definitely hasn't lost anything vocally. The intense, but complex, riffing and drum bashing grooves of "The Grudge" make for a thorougly satisfying opener (though the arrangement and unorthodox verse melody can take a bit of getting used to), while the most striking features of "The Patient" are its' 'walking' quiet guitar line in the verses that merge effortlessly with its' heavier moments, and the fabulous "Ticks & Leeches", despite its' quiet middle build, actually boasts some of the few moments of real adrenalized anger on the whole opus.
The 'sort of' title track "Lateralis" is another involved 9 minute epic that keeps the successful Tool formula going, with intruiging lyrics in the verses, and what about that first half 'suite' "Parabol/Parabola"? That particular portion of the record starts off as a calm, peaceful, but still uneasy ballad whose transition into its' fierce rocking second part (Adam Jones' guitar tone rocks!) is an incredibly breathtaking moment. Also, am I the only one who thinks they sort of quietly reference "Roundabout" at the very end of it, or am I just Yes-obsessed at the moment? I guess the latter.
As for other 'connected' portions of the album, the last three normal songs seem to flow seamlessly as one huge over 20 minute piece. The first of them, "Disposition", is in the quiet ballad mode of "Parabol", with peaceful rhythms and deceptively soothing vocals (plus funny bouncing ball noises at the end!) and the second, "Reflection", is my favorite composition of the whole album, as the atmosphere created here is truly captivating, somehow managing to merge an 'Eastern' vibe with a really spacey, open and dark one, and needless to say, when the whole Tool sound breaks through it after a really lengthy intro, the song becomes even more spectacular. Then to close it off is the searing instrumental "Triad", which builds itself on a really ballsy crunching riff augmented by weird clanging noises and even contrasted by a violin towards the end.
Phew - so was the album worth the nearly 5 year wait for in all? Sure. There may be an exhausting 'overlong album' feeling that I didn't get quite as much from Aenima (even though both are well over 70 minutes long), some of the material may be a bit more repetitive and aimless than it should be, and in all the musical ideas that come through here aren't quite as interesting or executed in as epic of a fashion as the last album definitely was, but enough comparisons - Lateralus is still somewhat outstanding in its' own right, and longtime fans shouldn't be disappointed in the end results. I know I'm not.
It's been six long years since the last Tool album, and it was quite a wait. Some of it's been good (A Perfect Circle, Salival), some of it not so good (the lawsuit, the last minute delay), but now Lateralus is finally here. So does it live up to expectations? Well, yes and no. My personal expectations were much too high, I was looking for this to be the best album ever made, and that was a mistake. Yet Lateralus is a very good album, a great album in fact, and whether it lives up to my expectations or not shouldn't be an issue. What should be an issue is the music itself, and as most people expected, the music is a continuation of what Tool was doing on Aenima (just as Aenima can be seen as a continuation of Undertow).
Basically, it's a prog-rock album. To me, this is a good thing, I like prog-rock. I like music that digs deeper than your average pop song does, and music that acts not as just an enjoyable listen, but as something that truly affects you, something that acts on your mind, your body, and your soul. This is what Tool is attempting here, and for the most part they succeed. Songs like "Ticks and Leeches," "Lateralis," and even the single "Schism" act as not just songs but as experiences, moving and twisting through several different sections and emotions. This is even more true of "Parabol" and "Parabola," two tracks, but really just one song. The first is nothing but Keenan singing on top of a clean electric guitar. Then, around the 4 minute mark, a wave of distortion creeps up and the gentle picking is replaced by a huge riff. Here we have "Parabola," a loud rocker which moves through several different sections itself before ending after about 6 minutes.
The most ambitious moment of Lateralus, however, comes at the end of the album, with a three-song suite consisting of "Disposition," "Reflection," and "Triad." These three tracks, which share some of the same guitar lines and vocal melodies, cover more than 20 minutes of the album. I urge anyone who considers Tool just another 90's metal band to listen to this, it will change your mind. Tool's skills as musicians have progressed from the last album as well. I was convinced of Danny Carey's amazing drumming skills on Aenima, but this album certifies him as the Moon/Bonham of the day. He has integrated even more tribal rhythms this time, and I can't imagine what some of the tracks would sound like without him. Same goes for Chancellor's bass playing and Jones' guitar. Interestingly, both of them seem to have toned down the distortion a bit for this album. Finally, there's Maynard James Keenan. His voice here sounds somewhere between his vocals on Aenima and his vocals with A Perfect Circle. This is generally a good thing, but there a few times on the album where his singing is irritating. Not because of his voice itself, which is still godlike, but because of the way he sings. Luckily, this is a rare occurrence.
So far, I haven't really said anything too bad about this album. That's because there really aren't clear cut flaws here. It's just that Tool's complete indulgence in art-rock means they've left behind the more straightforward hard rock of Opiate and Undertow, which was something Tool did just as well. There's also the fact that this album is somewhat difficult at times, especially at first. It's a long, complex album, with a running time near 80 minutes, and digesting the whole thing on first listen is hardly possible. Yet with challenges come rewards, and this album offers plenty of both.
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REVIEWS:
During Tool's long hiatus between Aenima and its' yet to be released follow up album, lead singer Maynard James Keenan formed a new outfit called A Perfect Circle, which focused on moodier, laid back and more concise pieces.
--Nick Karn
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released by A Perfect Circle
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
The debut release from A Perfect Circle isn't a mere side project of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, as many think, but a completely new outfit. In fact, Keenan isn't even the dominating force throughout Mer De Noms (which I believe translates to Sea Of Names), as guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Billy Howerdel seems to be the brainchild of much of the musical territory, creating more laid back, mellow and textured (although still heavy in quite a few parts) instrumentation often very much unlike anything Tool has ever done. In any case, the overall mood of Keenan's lyrics is much less angry and venomous than we've come to expect from him, but his vocals (which are some of the more distinctive in the last 10 years of hard rock) still soar with absolute emotion, and carry a few of the songs to greater heights, especially the first half closer "3 Libras", which utilizes his vocals over breathtakingly sweeping string arrangements in the chorus, as contrast to the acoustic verses.
The rest of the material doesn't quite match that exceptional track, but there are other strong highlights as well. Lead single "Judith" is far and away the most Tool-esque of the set, as the biting riff, Keenan chorus screams, violent lyrics, and hard-hitting drums definitely recall them, although other well-written songs like the opening number "The Hollow" (which focuses on strong melody and a more unique, almost industrialized, approach to guitar tone), "Rose" (another song that uses strings, this time in the outro, and the rest of it is also quite airy and beautiful), the aggressive, but lyrically, very romantic "Magdalena", the atmospheric "Orestes", and the tense mood created within the music of "Brena" (which also has great guitar breaks) are enough to make it almost seem out of place.
Unfortunately, with the exception of "Brena" which comes next to last, pretty much all the highlights are covered within the very consistent and fulfilling first half, and the second has all the weaker and hard to get into tracks. The closing "Over", for instance, has almost laughable lyrics and melody over what sounds like xylophone and piano, "Thomas" and "Renholder" are more inaccessible mood pieces that serve more as transitions than actual songs, the grinding "Sleeping Beauty" is a little boring despite a powerful vocal performance, and the groove-oriented "Thinking Of You" is much too unfocused to be memorable. The rest of the songs are good, so this album is still worth your while, although the 7 I give it is a somewhat shaky one.
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released by A Perfect Circle
(reviewed by Alex Wilson)
In a manner that belies their name, this band has indicated they move in anything but circles...Sorry, that was a really shitty and contrived opening line, but it's still true! Thirteenth Step is a willfully uncommercial, challenging record and it's also pretty damn good. The band has stripped down their sound, removing the lushness that characterized their debut album Mer de Noms. In many ways, this could be considered APC's Vs, an album where they abandon the lush, commercial sound of their debut for an approach that is more edgy and alienating but ultimately more rewarding.
The rawer approach of Thirteenth Step is best seen in the impressive one-two punch of the opening tracks "The Package" and "Weak and Powerless." The former is a 7½-minute slow burner, with shards of atmospheric post-punk guitar giving way to lean yet crushing riffs. It also has some great lyrics. Dig the opening line: "Clever got me this far, and tricky got me in." Awesome stuff. "Weak and Powerless," the first single, wraps soaring melody and fragmented instrumentation in an interesting arrangement, packing it all in to just over 3 minutes. These tracks indicate how A Perfect Circle has realized the value of simplicity. By removing the occasionally overbearing guitar-heavy production of Mer de Noms, the band has expanded their range, covering both soft and heavy spheres with more emphasis and power.
What also works in APC's favor is that although they are a supergroup, they still sound like a tight band. Even with significant lineup changes, the chemistry of the band is striking. Maynard James Keenan's vocals meld perfectly with Billy Howerdel's minimalist guitar work and the rhythm section of bassist Jeordie Osbourne White and drummer Josh Freese is unflappable.
However, although the album has many truly shattering moments ("The Noose," the scathing rock of "The Outsider") it sometimes does lose itself in dreary ambience, which disrupts the overall flow. However, I've got a funny feeling that these softer parts could easily grow on me in the near future. Despite all this, A Perfect Circle is clearly more than your average modern rock band, and Thirteenth Step is an ambitious and impressive album, which hits more than it misses.
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