Few bands have a collegiality that matches that of Tool. With the exception of drummer Danny Carey, this is not a band of virtuoso musicians. What separates them from the rest is their united, progressive artistic vision and originality. Danny Carey's drumming is octopus-like, modulating every passage with rhythms I can't begin to understand. Put together with rest of the crew, the opaque instrumentation creates music of endless shades and layers, with time signature changes a supercomputer couldn't crack. There is magic here. Powerful, crunching riffs are foiled often by placid, narcotic passages, generating an album that only rarely "rocks." Instead, it's heavily cerebral, dark, beautiful...and ultimately indefinable. For a band that's selling millions of albums and getting mainstream recognition, they still carry an uncompromising progressive aesthetic.

Ignore those who make the asinine comment that "Tool sold out." All other factors being equal, this is Tool's _least_ commercially viable album. Frankly, I think it's fairly remarkable that they passed off a 7-minute music video ("Schism") onto MTV. (Credit the amusingly surreal video, I guess.) I guess when a band like this becomes popular, the so-called fans dismiss quality for the sake of remaining "hardcore." With lots of 8-minute songs, numerous melody shifts, texturally complex movements, world influences, enigmatic lyrics, this is not an album that can be easily digested. Aenima was complex in its own right, but is was nothing like _this_. I've had Lateralus for almost a year (at the time of this writing), and it remains as arresting as ever. It's so deep, I'm not sure I'll ever see the bottom; it's so high, I might never reach it. (Yes, I like that book.)

And yet in telling you all of this, I've told you nothing. I think the best music is the hardest to describe. Lateralus comfortably lands in that category.

We often hear, in a denigrating tone, "Yeah, that Lateralus is so self-indulgent." Quite. Tool made the album they wanted to make, with commercial considerations thrown out the window. Of course it's self-indulgent -- this isn't commercial pabulum. Clearly, Tool's objective wasn't to make _you_ happy, it was to make _themselves_ happy. This is what separates art from products.

Tool, strangely, managed to produce high art that remains a viable product. We expect mainstream rock to be dominated by bands like Creed, Nickelback, and Staind...not Tool. None of this matters, though. Whether it sells 10 million copies or 10 thousand, great music is great music. We don't need Rolling Stone or MTV to tell us that.


Deep? Complex? - these are understatements   February 27, 2003
 159 out of 173 found this review helpful

We've witnessed Tool's evolution, musically and lyrically. On their first full-length album (Undertow), the band spewed forth a large quantity of cathartic regurgitation, mostly on a "personal" level - telling tales of abuse, religious fraud and personal anguish. The following album (_Aenima_) would express these same ideas. However, the second time around, the band became more elaborate and "universal" with their aura and message - while expanding the time-lengths in their songs, adding eerie interludes, and making the music more complex.

On _Lateralus_, the boys seem less angry this time around, perhaps, arriving at a "spiritual" place the band were probably slowly heading toward to begin with. They still maintain the aggressive intensity found on their previous albums (as well as that distinct hypnotic, mysterious aura they always possessed), but, this time around, there seems to be a feeling of hope and salvation that most Tool fans probably thought could never have been achieved.

To say the album is deep, complex and mysterious would be GROSS understatements. Conceptually, the band seems to be exploring Qaballah (or Kaballah, whichever choice of spelling is accurate) transcripts. If you've intently explored such areas as Qaballah, astrology, numerology, mythology and other such metaphysical/new age subjects, you may just have yourself an interesting, challenging and/or fun time exploring this album, as it's soaked in equivocal references to each of these. You can find references to Saturn (god of depression, fears, sorrow, misfortunes, discipline, lessons learned through hard times), Mars (god of violence, strife, conflict, war), Mercury (god of communication, thought, travel), Pluto (god of transformation, regeneration and rebirth) and other mythological figures.

There's not much time or space for me to delve into every single detail, but, hopefully, this will help. Now, I'll discuss the significance of the song "The Grudge" and it's connection with the mythological figure, Saturn. There are references to the number "1" scattered throughout the song. Depending on where you look, number "1" can be a reference to the Sun (the god of life, power and vitality), or to Saturn. But on here, it's obvious that the reference is for Saturn. 1 and 10 represent the same figure: 1, 10, 19, 28 all equal "1" ("10": 1+0=1. "19": 1+9=10=1. "28": 2+8=10=1). In this case, I'm referring to the lyrical references of the song, "The Grudge." Singer Maynard James Keenan says lines like "Saturn ascends/choose 1 or 10"/Saturn ascends/comes around again." In the latter line, Maynard may be referring to an astrological term called "Saturn Return." This is where the planet Saturn takes approximately 29 years to plow through the 12 astrological signs of the zodiacal belt (Note: the planets and astrological signs are supposed to have, more or less, considerable influence on human beings and events on planet earth.) When this happens, everyone supposedly will go through a difficult time in their lives (particularly every 29 years.) And when this happens, we are supposed to learn and grow from this - as Saturn's influence indicates.

And perhaps, this is what Maynard & the rest of Tool have done: Grown, evolved, and learned through the tough times they've been through. Now, remember, this is only the significance of one track, as more of these lyrical/metaphysical correlations can be found scattered throughout the disc, but, the theme of evolution is a constant-running theme for the album.

Musically speaking - polyrhythms, alternating time signatures, odd chord/note progressions can be found all over the place. The band seems more refined in their execution of the performances - playing with as much intensity as before, but not sounding as muddy or gritty as previous efforts. Maynard's vocals sound haunting, mysterious and powerful as ever, but, this time (as I've said), he sounds like he's in a state of salvation, as opposed to the agonized vocals found on previous efforts. But, he does let out some powerful screams as well, so watch out! Drummer Danny Carey is playing tasteful, complex rhythms, without sacrificing his more explosive pounding behind the drum kit, and the understated works of Justin Chancellor (bass) and Adam Jones (guitar) contribute to intensify the ever-present dark, hypnotic and mysterious aura of Tool's music.

At 79 minutes, this is a lengthy album, but one that's so mysterious, entrancing and intriguing, you won't even notice that the album was long to begin with. If you want to see the more evolved side of Tool, and/or want some challenging music with some seemingly transmorgifying subject matter, pick this up. And remember, to say this album is deep is a GROSS understatement.


Progress(ive)   May 15, 2001
 47 out of 48 found this review helpful

Thankfully, Tool aren't one of the bands that you expect to make the same album again and again. Each new release, sparse as they are, moves the sound and approach of the band on in a new direction. And for all of you people worried that Lateralus might just be a re-tread of old territory... It's not. It's very hard to give an in-depth review of something that's only been in your posession for 24 hours, but I feel that I've got enough of a grip now to write a bit. The things that immediately hit me: 1) Production. It's less "mushy" than Aenima. Not suggesting that Aenima was badly produced, the sound worked great for the music. But Lateralus has cleaner sounds, generally. Adam Jones' guitar is still huge and crunchy, but it doesn't obscure the rhythm section in the way that it used to. The drum sound is superb, and the variety of lovely bass tones on the album are a nice surprise. I have to admit, "lovely" was never a word I'd previously associated with Tool and bass. 2) Maynard sounds quite a bit different. In the same way that his vocals changed between Undertow and Aenima, they've shifted again here. There's a fair bit of stuff that sounds like A Perfect Circle, but there's also some viscious distorted screaming that sounds harsher than anything I can recall on Aenima. 3) Rhythm. This album goes through almost every time signature in the book! The album kicks off in 5/8 (or 3/4 subdivided into quintuplets.. you choose!) on The Grudge, and stays similarly obtuse for much of the album. You've got to love a band this popular that releases a single with sections in 13/8! 4) Long songs. Sometimes they hold sections for what seems like a very long time, longer than on any of the previous releases. These tracks worked better for me when I was lying in bed in the dark, with the music up floor-shakingly loud. It's almost like listening to a drum&bass track - you don't expect fast changes, more a hypnotic wash. 5) Great quiet sections! Eon Blue Apocalypse vaguely reminded me of some of Bill Frisell's guitar tones on Grand Guignol (the track, not the album) by John Zorn/Naked City, and the other "segue" tracks (like Mantra) are equally pretty. All in all, a lot to get your ears around. Considering the level of anticipation surrounding this album, the fact that it's not a massive let-down is a vast achievement in itself. And I'm still laughing over the fact that Schism was the #1 new release in terms of radio airplay in the states. Seven minutes long, with some slightly baffling odd time signatures and lyrics that aren't exactly of the "I did it all for the nookie" variety. I love these guys!


It's Tool... What else is there to say?   April 12, 2002
 33 out of 39 found this review helpful

Well, where to start?

Melodically, Tool use mainly minor pentatonic scales. Being used prolificly in Medieval and Renaissance times, this lends a dark brooding beauty to Tool's music. It recalls dark ages of suspicion, prejudice, and simmering emotional discord. Tool also throw in non-Western melodic influences, with the flattened second scale degree, and the augmented second interval. Vistas of magical cultures are realised before our eyes, times and places beyond our mortal existence.

Rhythmically, Tool are an ever changing beast. Non symmetrical time signatures abound, there is little reliance on 'groove' to power the music. There is a kind of logical beauty to Tool's anisotropic rhythms, resembling the unearthly splendour that arises out of geometrical abstractions. The ethereal passage in 'Schism' floats in and out of space-time, carrying the sullen desire of a thousand lost and weary souls. The rhythm escapes physical restraints, venturing beyond what is thought possible.

Harmonically, Tool's exploration rarely ventures beyond the implications of the melodic framework. It is all heavy and doom laden, drenched in the sorrow of minor keys and non-Western scales. But within the vocabulary of a child, Tool speak with the poise and grace of a wisened adult. Harmonies soar with unity and simplicity, but drive straight to the essential being of existence.

Texturally, astral passages traverse the crowded mappings within oppressive and heavy spaces. Hurricanes are as common as light rain, and the eye of the storm is beautiful but ponderous. No respite is offered, sanctuary does not exist in Tool's universal vision. Fierce guitar tussles with haunting vocals, the bass worms it's way through lightless underground depths, while the drums mesmerise in their subtle isomorphisms and overt power.

Structurally, Tool play with chronological order, the very fabric of time is bent back upon itself. To enter Tool's physical universe is to abandon our own. There is no escape. Melodic themes are presented, then translated by violations of natural order. Motives are twisted by amorphous rhythms, yet the harmony remains discernible and somewhat stable. It is the sole acknowledgement to the world that was the point of departure. Souls are devoured in labyrinthine structures. Even the structures are devoured within the chaos, and spat out as perversely inverted reflections of the original. At the end, nothing is as it was, yet the point of arrival is a logical progression from the beginning.

In a new universe, we cannot possibly fathom why we understand the journey experienced, but we do. It is upon this realisation that the full impact of this new world occurs. The physical is no more. Only the soul survives, only the pure spiritual nature of ourselves.

Put together, the elements of Tool's music create an entity which is altogether umbrageous, anxious, melancholy, haunting, enlightening, cerebral, assurgent; in fact, beyond all superlatives. To put it simply, no other band do what Tool do. They must be treasured.

A jewel of human soul.


OH MY GOD   June 13, 2001
 29 out of 31 found this review helpful

I have been a Tool fan for some time now. The CD that got me into them was, like most other people's, 1996's AEnima. And I thought that was a great album. Little did I know. Their most recent album "Lateralus" is a departure from the more traditional metal sound of bands such as Staind, Cold, and Limp Bizkit. The album's first track, "The Grudge", sets the tone for this mind-expanding record. About nine minutes long, this song will do nothing less than cause a massive coronary heart attack, epileptic seizures, a few tears, and a big smile. The CD continues with both songs and interludes that add to the flow of the album. Among my favorites are "The Grudge", "Schism", "The Patient", and "Ticks and Leeches". If you are a musician and understand time signatures, prepare to be amazed. Danney Carey's drumming will make any prospective or experienced drummer cry. Maynard's voice is much more powerful this time around, pulling off a straight scream at the top of his lungs for 25 seconds straight in "The Grudge". Adam Jones' guitar mastery is both haunting and introspective. As for Justin Chancellor, the bassist, listen to the beginning of "Schism". 'Nuff said. In my opinion, this album far exceeds "AEnima" and "Undertow" because it flows much smoother as an album and is much more musical and imaginative. If you are a fan of Tool, then you should already have this. If you are new to the band, then I would suggest "Undertow" or "AEnima" as first albums simply because they are easier to digest. Simply put, this is an incredible album that should be used as an example of what hard rock music should really be: hard-hitting, musical, and emotional. Bow down to the king.