UNDERTOW

The first time I heard Tool was when I seen their first video. It was from the Opiate EP and I can't remember the song's name but it had the band members walking around naked with 'Parental Advisory' signs on their naughty parts. I didn't think much of the song itself. About a year later I seen the videos for "Sober" and "Prison Sex". Loved both songs and bought this album. "Prison Sex" is still my favourite Tool song. The lyrics are about child molestation and the claymation video for it is disturbing. But honestly I just like the music and the way Maynard sings; that's why it's my fave.

At the time these guys didn't have a completely unique sound but, nonetheless, didn't sound like most metal bands then. With 2010 ears this sounds to me like a mix of early 80s Crimson mixed with late 80s Voivod. At the time I just thought they were a cool sounding metal band. I think the press referred to bands who sounded like this as "sludge metal" back then. Even on this album you can tell Danny Carey is a great drummer. "Intolerance" is a pretty weak opener. Never really cared for the song. "Bottom" features Henry Rollins doing a spoken word section.

The title track is one of the better songs here. I cannot type the symbol for "degrees", so...."4 [degrees]" is interesting. It starts with electric sitar and in the middle has some tabla. Nice. "Flood" has a really boring start; it takes forever to get going. "Disgustipated" is the most interesting song on the whole album. It starts with what sounds like wood being chopped and Maynard imitating a preacher. He talks about the "cries of the carrots" and whatnot. Then you hear some guitar noises and a loud percussion section where you hear: "This is necessary...life feeds on life" over and over. At the end you hear somebody talking on a telephone or something.

Tool would get proggier over the next two albums. I still have never heard all of Aenima yet. When it was released I was in my classic rock phase where I accidentally discovered prog. This album deserves 2.5, but compared to Lateralus I have to knock it down to 2 stars.