FEAR INOCULUM

There are three great pieces hidden in this over-long project: "Pneuma", "Invincible" and their masterpiece - "Descending". All the rest is not good enough. "Pneuma" is far from perfect but has that old Tool magic; it gives you the feeling of birth, that first breath of life, and it's even optimistic. "Invincible" is the ultimate old-warrior epic. Tool recount their tales of glory, admit they're getting old, and still trying to win some battles here and there. Feelings of nostalgia mixed with the same old rage and change-the-world spirit - a very mature track which doesn't sound too long, although it could have been produced with a richer wall of sound. "Invincible" is the album highlight. Much more than just an anti-Trump piece, it's almost a religious call-to- arms epic. The amazing lyrics by Maynard James Keenan get uplifted with Danny Carey's unbelievable drumming abilities. Not only is this a musical speech to be remembered, it's almost an artistic last will and testament. Only a huge band like Tool can deliver such a triumph to its humble fans. All the rest of the material is almost negligible, or at least way too long, plodding, smeared and sometimes even "filler" to my ears. Was it worth the wait between albums? probably no album in history is worth such an arduous wait. I take these three mini-epics to my heart and carry on. If this is their last album, so be it. I highly recommend "Descending" to any young man in America today. Now we must carry on this heavy burden forward, keep on the fight, because the three Tool guys seem a bit wasted.