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TOOL
RATING: 4
PLAY THESE: SOBER
SKIP THESE: UNDERTOW, FLOOD, TRACK 69
First off, I have to admit that I don't know very much about these guys. I do have vague, half-baked memories of driving around in my friend's truck listening to 'Sober' over and over again, but other than that, I couldn't name a single Tool song before I listened to Undertow. However, I promised a loyal reader that I would review the band's catalog, and they seem a bit intriguing to me, so here it goes....so please don't hate me for this, Andrew.....hehehehe......
While I am not discounting the possibility I might like some of Tool's stuff, I do not like Undertow. At least not much of it. The music is dark, bleak, and pretentious. Metal prog-rock saviors they may be to some, but to my ears it all sounds the same. Let me put it to you this way: I've never hard any band use the cliched "E-to F#" vamp as often as Tool does here. Where are the riffs? Metal bands are supposed to have riffs, damnit!!! These is all barre chords! OK, there are a few riffs, but most of these seem to be lifted from the Black Sabbath songbook. Granted, the band sounds very tight, the drummer is excellent, and they do use some interesting time signature changes on occasion, but there is very little to recommend in terms of the instrumentation.
I do quite like Maynard James Keenan's voice a lot though - it's very distinctive, and has a very pissed off, confrontational edge to it that suits the music quite well. On the other hand, his controversial lyrics - which are often praised by Tool fans and critics alike - just don't live up to the hype (at least not yet). Far from being profound and thought-provoking, many of the words seem to be crude and - whisper it - more than a little bit dumb (e.g. "you're a stupid dumb ass belligerent f*cker" in 'Swamp Song'). That being said, I do give Maynard James Keenan credit for trying to avoid heavy metal clichés, and for broaching "serious" topics that most heavy metal lyricists wouldn't dare explore (e.g. 'Prison Sex' and its references to the cyclical nature of abuse). Unfortunately, only a couple of these songs are more intelligent than, say, 'Unskinny Bop.' And I probably don't need to mention that 'Unskinny Bop' is a very thought-provoking hit single from the brilliant, Los Angeles-based hair metal band, Poison.
The best song is 'Sober,' which was an unlikely first hit single for the band. The chord progression is haunting (and slightly spooky), and the dynamics are good. I don't like the fart-like bass sound though. It is surprising that Tool managed to avoid being tagged with the "one hit wonder" tag with this song, but somehow they did it, even though the odds were stacked against them. For that reason alone, I am optimistic that I will like their later albums. The band must have some sort of quality if they're still around today. The other well known song is 'Prison Sex,' which I like in spite of the fact that one of Keenan's lines is so disgusting that I feel kind of icky even thinking about it. I won't repeat it here, but you can probably guess what it might by reading the song title. I also like 'Swamp Song,' even though the lyrics are retarded - it's still powerful though, and the song often gets stuck in my head.
But in spite of the fact that a couple of tracks sound very good, none of the other tracks manage to make much of an impression, although I suppose that the fifteen minute-long 'Track 69' (a.k.a. 'Disgustipated') stands out for all the wrong reasons. Somehow I managed to make it all the way through this one - please learn from my mistake, and avoid this one at all costs. In the end, this is a pretty mediocre metal album, albeit one that shows some glimmers of hope. Four out of ten.
RATING: 7
PLAY THESE: STINKFIST, FORTY SIX & 2, AENIMA
SKIP THESE: HOOKER WITH A PENIS, (-) IONS, THIRD EYE
Much better. After listening to Undertow, I was starting to get worried that I was going to hate these guys, but I'm happy to report that Aenima is, err, the cat's meow. The greatest thing since sliced bread. A-1. Top drawer. Well, OK, not quite, but I do enjoy it for the most part. It's a very good CD. In comparison with Undertow, a sludgy, generic 90's metal album that consisted of two or three recycled Sabbath riffs, Aenima is quite a diverse album. There are a lot of interesting sounds (particularly the varied percussive instrumentation), the short musical interludes between the songs spice things up quite a bit (although the circus music in 'Interlude' is pretty dumb), and the band is as tight as Lars Ulrichs' sphincter at the mere mention of the word "Napster." The drummer (Tool's, that is, not Metallica's) in particular puts in some unbelievable performances - I guess I better take the trouble to learn his name, 'cuz he's definitely one of the best metal drummers of the modern age.
I actually almost bought this album back in 1996, not long after it first came out. I remember being in an HMV store, and listening to Aenima on a pair of headphones and thinking "hey, I kind of like this. I really liked 'Sober' a lot, and if I like this album on the first superficial listen then maybe I should buy it." However, I decided to buy The Stone Temple Pilots' 4 instead, and never really gave Tool a second thought after that. Actually, I think the deciding factor was the album title: Aenima. I remember asking myself, "do I really want to buy an album that promotes the use of a liquid put into the rectum to clear out the bowel or to administer drugs or food?" I decided against it, but it appears as though I was mistaken in interpreting the word "aenima" in that fashion. Apparently, there are several layers in the word "aenima." The following is an excerpt from an email I received from a renowned Tool expert and respected music commentator, Andrew Goertz:
I discovered that the word “AEnima” is supposedly created by Tool to combine two words: Anima (latin for soul) and Enema (the standard anal cleansing). The result is a word meaning “cleansing of the soul” but I still prefer to believe that it more accurately points out the fact that my anus has a soul too. I highly recommend that you listen to AEnima all in one shot, followed by Lateralus. Then check out Undertow, which is the most standard and simple of those 3 albums. If you like those, I can rip the newest 10,000 Days for you too.
Regardless of its meaning, Aenima is generally a strong album. The album opener, 'Stinkfist,' is both confrontational and catchy, and 'Eulogy' is almost as good. My favorite, though, is 'Forty-Six &2,' with its huge, made-for-stadium chorus and razor-sharp guitar riffs making it a standout track. The grinding, searing title track is also very good, and lyrically speaking it is probably the best thing Tool had done up until this point. Here's a sample:
"Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car."
I don't think I've ever heard a more damning indictment of modern consumerist culture than this song - it's pretty powerful, to be sure. Apart from these four, none of the other songs truly stand out of the pack, but there are some other worthwhile moments. The Hitler's Youth rally-like ambience 'Die Eier Von Satan' is creepy but compelling, and with a little bit of editing 'Pushit' could've been a very good song. There are, however, a couple of duds to be found. '(-) Ions' tries to be trippy, but to my ears it's just a boring compilation of various electronic sounds. And 'Hooker With A Penis?' I'm sorry, but all I can say is that the "Maynard James Keenan is gay" rumours aren't going away any time soon with song titles like these. Nevertheless, there are few moments of craptitude on this album. It's a bit too lengthy, and would have benefited from axing three or four tracks, but on the whole this is a very good listening experience.
RATING: 6
PLAY THESE: THE GRUDGE, SCHISM, PARABOLA
SKIP THESE: none, but some of the longer tracks start to drag after a while....
After the release of Aenima in 1996, Tool became entrenched in a nearly five-year-long legal battle with its record label. As a result, fans were nearly rabid with excitement by the time Lateralus was released in 2001, and the album shot up to the top of the Billboard albums chart. So how does it compare to Aenima, the group's masterwork? Well, the overall sound hasn't changed much on Lateralus, but the song structures have become even more lengthy and complex. This is a very dense, heavy, difficult album, where the most accessible song ('Schism') still clocks in at almost seven minutes, and where most of the songs use unusual time signatures like they're going out of style (thank the drummer for this - he's easily the most talented member of the band).
A word to the wise: if you have a Rain Man-like appreciation for numerical patterns, then this is the album for you. On the title track, Keenan's vocals during the first few minutes form a so-called "Fibonacci sequence." If you have a lot of time on you hands, you may notice that the number of syllables progress to the sixth step, then back down to the first step; up to the seventh step, and then back to the fourth step, etc.... It has been said (not by me, but by Wikipedia) that the Fibonacci sequence shares a relationship with "Phi," the golden ratio. The golden ratio is used to describe spirals, which are mentioned several times in the lyrics (e.g. "Swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be human", "Spiral out, keep going," and "Spiral out, keep going."). Supposedly, there are other complex patterns to be found on other tracks as well. This is mildly interesting and all, but part of me can't help but wonder how much better this album could have been if the band had spent as much time on writing melodies and riffs as it did making patterns. After all, there aren't nearly as many standout tracks on this album as there were on the last one. In fact, you would probably need a photographic memory to be able to remember what any of these tracks sound like after the music has stopped playing.
That being said, 'The Grudge' kicks major ass (even with its strange 10/8 time signature), and the guitars have never sounded as massive on any other Tool song as they do on 'Parabola.' The catchy 'Schism' has great vocals and drumming, and the title track is more engaging than most other nine minute tracks that I know. The throat-shredding Maynard James Keenan screaming during 'Ticks and Leeches' is pretty cool too.
Still, one can't help but conclude that this CD is a small step down from the musical heights found on Aenima, and when one also considers the fact that it took them so damn long to finish the album, the slight drop in quality becomes more of a concern. It is still pretty good though, and if you liked Aenima you'll probably enjoy this one too.
RATING: 5
PLAY THESE: VICARIOUS, WINGS FOR MARIE (PART ONE), ROSETTA STONED
SKIP THESE: Huh?
Well, I think I've set a new record for procrastination on this review. I've listened to 10,000 Days five or six times by now, but I've still found it extremely difficult to think of anything to actually write about. As a result, I've put off writing this review for about six weeks now, focusing instead on my noble quest to review all of the KISS solo albums. Shows how much this music excites me, I guess....
Musically speaking, 10,000 Days sounds almost exactly like Lateralus, which itself is basically a poor man's Aenima. Most of the tracks are lengthy, repetitive, and sound the same. The best ones are called 'Vicarious,' 'Wings For Marie (Part One),' and 'Rosetta Stoned.' They are OK, but nothing special. If you want to know what they sound like, read the descriptions of some of the songs in previous reviews. The same adjectives apply here too.
What do you mean "is that all?" If these guys spent half as much time coming up with memorable melodies and riffs as they do chasing unusual time signatures, I would probably feel more inspired by their music. Truthfully, I don't hate this album, but it's certainly nothing I would ever choose to put on the stereo. Buy Aenima instead.