TOOL

Many descriptions and reviews on the internet are misleading about the content of this Vicarious DVD, and for that reason I didn't purchase it until recently. What a mistake to wait! This DVD is essential for any Tool fan and an excellent find for any prog fan who likes the surreal, psychedelic, and strange. The main feature of the DVD is the Vicarious short film, which is Tool's first completely CGI video. Adam Jones and Alex Grey are the two main artists behind the video, and it's a really cool experience to see their ideas merge. Anyways here are the full DVD contents:

1. Vicarious music video (9 minutes)

2. 2 overdubs of the music video with actor/comedian David Cross making hilarious commentary (18 minutes)

3. Vicarious documentary (40 minutes)

4. Footage of the storyboards from Alex Grey and Adam Jones (1 minute)

5. Footage of Alex's art gallery COSM and him talking about it (4 minutes)

Rating: 8/10

This low rating gives a glimpse of what a bad record I think this is. But everything wasn't bad. I will begin with telling you what was nice and then start the indictment. "Lateralus" is the American Experimental/post metal band's third record and it was released in 2001. It has a total lenght of 76:15 minutes and features Maynard James Keenan(vocals), Adam Jones(guitars), Justin Chancellor(bass) and Danny Carey(drums). Somebody suggested Tool music when I told him I was into prog rock and open minded as I am this was an excellent occation to try something new.

Firstly the cover is an amazing piece of art and secondly there was two minutes of wonderful silence in the end of the track "Triad". Tool also uses very skillfull drums and in the song "Reflection" i heard oriental influences, perhaps instruments. Sometimes the overall feeling of the sound is appreciating(when I can't hear the voice). The best song is "Disposition" that was mild and also melodic.

But this listening was real pain for me. This music i very too long lasting and it is depressing all the time. This is not the most heavy music I have heard(and I like som really heavy stuff) but this was so psychotic I don't want to hear it again. The music is slow and very boring. Where is the intended melodies? I'm not sure I can hear any! Well the instrumentation is very good, well performed and I won't disagree this is progressive. The musicians are very clever in their stuff but I am not the man to handle it. Without vocals this record could have gained two stars from me because of it's sometimes cleverness but I found the vocals horrible. There are extremely atrocious and whining. This also reminds me of other very bad sounding music such as alternative rock and grunge etc. I wouldn't recommend you this album.

"Salival" is a relatively expensive boxset released a year before "Lateralus" that provided some nourishment for starving Tool fans who had already waited four years to hear something new since the release of "Aenima". I would recommend it only to hardcore fans willing to spare the cash. Even so it is a good package.

Instead of releasing a standard live album, Tool have packed in a few surprises along the way. "Third Eye" and "Part of Me" are reasonably close to the versions performed on the albums. "Pu[&*!#]" takes thing in a totally different direction. It's a stripped back version and puts an entirely new emphasis on the song, which is refreshing to see. "You Lied" is a cover song that's not available on any other Tool release.

"No Quarter" is the highlight on this album by a long way. It's the reason I rushed out to buy the album upon release. Recorded during the Aenima sessions, this cover of the Led Zep classic is a gem. Tool expand upon the original and give it a taste of their own signature style. The result is an 11 minute epic that shows the way a cover should be done - not just by playing the same song with more contemporary guitar distortion or some other superficial change, but by actually writing some new material that complements and enhances the original.

The album closes out with a couple of 'jokey' tracks, with "Maynard's Dick" in particular a track worth more than one listen.

There is also a DVD included with several of Tool's early film clips, and a glossy hardcover booklet with photos and artwork as well. Both of these fall under the category of collector's items.

For serious Tool fans, this is a 4 Star package and one you'll want to own. For others? 3 Stars, grab it from a bargain bin for "No Quarter" if nothing else.

Tool's "Undertow" is the album that I've listened to more times than anything else. In fact, I probably spun this thing up every day for close to three years after I first heard it circa 1993. But it wasn't an immediate love affair.

There are albums that you hear once, and which you instantly fall in love with. For me, "Undertow" was not one of these. It was a creeper. I had it copied to tape and listened to it in my car on regular rotation, and it didn't strike me as being better or worse than the other things I was listening to, such as Primus or RATM. It was only after several months that I realised other artists would come and go every few weeks - but "Undertow" kept finding its way back into the tape deck, and still sounded great. Moreso, it was actually getting better with every listen.

I bought the CD and it included a special edition live disc as an extra bonus. Many more months went by and it was still the album I craved most. Strange things began happening that I hadn't experienced before. Every month I'd have a new favourite song on the album. First Intolerance. Then 4 Degrees. After about a year of listening it became Flood, a song that was probably their first foray into something proggy.

At that point I realised that, in a very unassuming and gradual way, Tool had become my favourite band. They still are today.

I'm not sure exactly what it is about this album that resonated with me to such a great extent. Most likely, it was an album that was in the right place at the right time. I was a kid still trying to find his place in the world, and many of the themes on the album revolving around anger and frustration certainly spoke to me. They had a cathartic effect and helped me through tough times. Undertow became a convenient pressure valve for me to turn on whenever I felt the need.

The film clips went hand in hand with the music and enhanced the experience further. I remember showing some friends the "Sober" clip and how they recoiled at the odd creatures and themes on display. And how I tried to explain my viewpoint: "Don't you see this guy has been lost and alone for so long, searching and finding nothing, and then when he finally does find something he's incapable of understanding what it means; it's just this ugly, strange creature to him because he has no frame of reference." Suffice to say they didn't share my wonderment at this particular piece of art.

While not really prog, "Undertow" is still an incredible rock/metal album. It's the early beginnings of a band just stretching its muscles, with even greater things in its future.

Tool returned in 2006 with an album that has a few shining moments, but which ultimately falls short of their earlier works. That's not to say it's a bad album by any means, but given the pedigree of albums such as Aenima and Lateralus, for me it is somewhat of a disappointment.

The first half of the album is very strong. Jambi in particular is a standout. Very much influenced by touring buddies Meshuggah, it features some of Adam Jones' most complex guitar work. The polyrhythms of guitar, bass and percussion intertwine wonderfully and help to keep things interesting for the duration.

The centrepiece of the album is Wings For Marie Pt 1 and Pt 2. Clocking in at over 17 minutes, it's a moody, regretful and cathartic journey. In the earlier "A Perfect Circle" track "Judith", frontman Keenan delivers a scalding, contemptuous appraisal of his mother's religious beliefs in the face of her physical disabilities with lines such as "F$#k your God, he did this, Took what you had and left you this way." Now after her passing, he gives the strong impression that he wishes he could take those words back, praising her patience and her unshakable faith and likening her to an angel. "It's time now, Give me my wings." It's a deep and intimate window into Keenan's soul and thus one of Tool's most powerful moments on any album. Add to this the unbelievable bass playing of Justin Chancellor and it makes for a killer track.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot to like after this. "The Pot" is a great upbeat rock track, just the tonic to follow on from "Wings" and to lift the listener out of that dark and sorrowful moment. But then? The second half of the album is dominated by segues and ambience and all in all seems bereft of ideas. "Rosetta Stoned" is silly and a bit of fun but doesn't provide any lasting appeal. "Intension" sounds like the formative stages of a good song, but doesn't go anywhere. "Right In Two" provides the only substance in the last 40 minutes of the album, but as a song is only average.

This could have been a good, engaging 50 minute album. As it stands, it seems Tool were intent on maintaining the 70 minute plus standard of previous works, but just simply did not have the inspiration to fill it with anything meaningful. The resulting meanderings detract from the album as a whole.

As an addendum I would like to praise the CD packaging, which is very inventive and unique, complete with stereoscopic glasses built into the front cover. It's a great incentive for fans to go out and buy the product rather than just downloading it.

A solid 7/10 but I'll round it down to 3 stars.

After seeing Tool in concert last night, the time seems right to post a review on Lateralus.

I remember first sitting down to listen to this album when it was released in 2001, just a week shy of 12 years ago, and for several days not really knowing what to think of it. It was so dense, complex and intricate that I was somewhat overwhelmed. I knew that I liked it and wanted to listen to it more, and over the course of a number of listens the pieces fell into place.

"The Grudge" gets things underway and we're immediately assaulted with odd time signatures, and instruments juxtaposed with differing timings. These are undoubtedly some of the elements my head was trying to sort out in those first few listens. The math is sound, however, and all of the components ends up in the right place at the right time. For the rest of "The Grudge", it's all here. Intruguing lyrics, sweeping moods, amazing musicianship and a ridiculously long scream from Maynard at the end. And from there the album only gets better.

"Parabol/Parabola" are two halves to the same song. When the latter kicks in, it's simply a great rock track. The odd time signatures are dispensed with in favour of a good old fashioned belter. Add in uplifting, spiritual lyrics and there's an instant classic.

"Ticks and Leeches" is a thunderous, antagonistic track that would be more at home thematically on an earlier work such as "Undertow", but it's once again an amazing track and I have no issue with it appearing here. Danny Carey steals the show with some of the greatest percussion work you'll ever here. Maynard gives it his all, to such an extent that Tool rarely play this track live due to the strain it places on his vocal chords.

It's hard to pick a standout on an album such as this, but if I had to do so I'd choose the title track "Lateralus". It simply has everything, from a great buildup, catchy power chords, baffling and ingenious timing, and more great moments than I care to count. Take, for instance, the timing in the first verse, which is built upon a Fibonacci sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and back down again. Who would even think to incorporate that into a song, let alone have the audacity to make it sound amazing? Then there's the fretless bass goodness supplied by Justin Chancellor in the second half of the song, more inspiring lyrics, and everything else in between.

In short, the song "Lateralus" could best be described as the love child of a mathematical genius, an insightful philosopher and a sexed-up rock god.

"Disposition", "Reflection" and "Triad" are linked thematically and could be considered one creation. After the chaos of some of the earlier tracks, these show a more reflective, inward-looking approach that balances the album beautifully. Danny Carey once again shows his versatility by bringing other instruments such as tabla into the mix, and there's some excellent usage of synth to add to the atmospherics, something unusual for Tool.

Those complexities that had me scratching my head initially are the very thing that keep me coming back to this album 12 years later. In some ways, I'm still figuring it out. I could write a 300 page review on the meaning of lyrics and how the songs all fit together, but for now I'll leave it here.

Clocking in at over 76 minutes, one would be forgiven for thinking that Lateralus must at some point outstay its welcome. Albums of this length often do. But rest assured, this is an incredibly enthralling creation by a band at its peak. It's a towering monument to the skill, talent and creativity of all involved.

Ænima is a very bipolar album for me. At times, the musicianship is strong and the songwriting conveys a clear sense of development and intent, but at others, it falls flat on its face, tripping over its forced anger and becoming mired by its juvenile themes. This really is a case of a strong musical album being truly held back by tasteless lyrics. I understand and respect the idea of trying to communicate messages in an unapologetically direct fashion, but there are proper and improper ways of doing so while preserving artistic integrity. I get that's ultimately a question of opinion and taste, but Maynard's vehicle for expression presents itself here is very unpleasant to me.

There are numbers that are strong, but similarly to my review for Lateralus, a complaint I have is that they don't age well. I feel like once I heard them a few times, I had everything pretty much figured out and I stopped being surprised. Even my favorite track, the evocative "Third Eye", has lost some of its luster, and I fear it will continue to do so. I'll remain optimistic for now and not bury it as of yet, but it very well stands to reason that the review may become more appropriately critical and the number of stars may proportionately fall over time if things don't turn around. 3 stars until further notice.

I had a really hard time deciding how I should rate this album. On the one hand, there are very solid, inventive tracks that present unique atmospheres, complex ideas, and undeniably progressive development; on the other, it doesn't age well, there are parts I desperately want to skip with every listen, and I don't feel like I'm making any new discoveries with each listen. In fact, I'd go as far as to say the magic wears off a little more each time. Maybe my tastes are changing with each new group I discover, but regardless I will praise the innovation and high degree of musicianship the album demonstrates. Plenty other reviewers have already given their track-by-track analyses, both in positive and negative lights, so I won't pile on. What I will say, however, is that no matter what rating or opinion each reviewer has presented, this really is an album you'll just have to listen to and judge for yourself. Don't take the number of 5 star or 1 star ratings or reviews here; formulate your own opinions in regards to what you take away from the album.

It's unique and will undoubtedly offer something different for each person who hears it. I just don't feel the energy on this album I expect from a masterpiece and its diminishing returns for me are readily apparent. I give it 4 stars for now because of the strength of certain tracks and the talent of the musicians themselves, but don't be surprised if this rating falls, assuming the trend with this album for me continues and it never rebounds.

When my vinyl edition of Aenima arrived in 1996, I ripped into it with a sense of childish glee that I have probably never felt since. The vinyl release pre-dated the CD by about two weeks, so I was one of the first to experience this seminal release by one of modern metal's greatest forces.

I was a huge fan of Tool's first album 'Undertow', and my anticipation for this album cannot be understated. A year prior to release, a friend from the US sent me a bootlegged tape she had taken recorded at the 1995/96 New Year's gig. This featured many of the early songs from Aenima, written with departed bassist Paul D'Amour, including Stinkfist, Eulogy, PushIt and Aenema. Even though the sound quality was poor, I was already in love with these songs by the time the album was released, and hence my expectations were high.

The album kicks off with Stinkfist, a catchy, undulating rock song that received a lot of airplay here in Australia. This leads into the epic Eulogy, one of the first songs where Tool exercised their prog muscle and took us on a journey unlike than anything we saw on Undertow. The exquisite build up, crunching chorus, subdued breakdown and pulsating outro combine flawlessly. It was a taste of what was to come with the rest of Aenima and subsequent albums.

H and Forty Six & 2 follow, the former showcasing a new subtlety to Maynard's vocals, and the latter combining Justin Chancellor's amazing talents on bass and a more reflective lyrical content and delivery. Where Undertow dealt primarily with themes anger, frustration and agression, here we see the formative stages of the album 'Lateralus' as Maynard ponders themes of evolving and understanding oneself.

In PushIt and Aenema we have two more epic tracks. Aenema in particular is a standout, as the band gives us a tongue-in-cheek apraisal of the future of Los Angeles. Adam Jones is at his rhythmic best here, and Danny Carey's drumming in the outro is evocative - in a great way - of an earthquake that swallows the world.

When I saw in a pre-release statement that Third Eye was 13 minutes plus, I expected another Disgustipated from Undertow. That is to say, cricket noises or an equivalent filler. What I delight to discover this poetry-laced masterpiece as an outro to the album. For Tool fans, used to waiting 5+ years between albums, the line 'So good to see you, I've missed you so much' is almost an anthem. This track was also the first time I, and undoutedly others, had heard the work of comedian Bill Hicks, and the excerpts from his live performance used here frame the song beautifully.

Aenima is one of my top five albums of all time. It inspired me to pick up a guitar for the first time, and in 15+ years of listening has never grown tired. I can't give a higher recommendation than that.

Well, well! Proudly bring forth your resentment, spite and hardened hearts and get prepared for an onslaught of heavy riffs and powerful, rhythmic drumming when joining in on this angry, sweaty, grunge/alternative metal diatribe.

Taut, collected guitar riffs hammer or punch the unwary listener around in a harsh, but compositionally precise and uncluttered soundscape. Occasionally it almost overwhelms you in a stickier, sludgier way, coming down in thick slurs of viciously distorted power. It is supremely visceral. The drumming also helps with that, continuing the theme of gut-meets-precision via powerful, distinct rhythms (and near-tribal polyrhythms) that follow the shifting dynamics brilliantly. Adds a wonderful amount of body to the music. There is a tendency to alternate between tense, calmer and more deliberate bits and full-blown noisy catharsis, but without it ever really disintegrating into the looser, more whirling sounds that lurk in the shadows. Just a bit too disciplined for that. Menacingly, the bass rumbles on in the background, often in a sort of prowling repetition of a phrase or two. Sometimes it switches places with the guitar in filling the role as melodic lead, leaving room for a distinctly grittier melodic sound as well as percussive distortion from the guitars. I rather like that.

Under all this you find a nondescript collection of bits and bobs from the darker and more ominous parts of the industrial and psychedelic lost-and-found boxes. They sneak or slither in as metallic or electronic atonal or droning sound effects as well as wobbly, scratchy and eerie guitar overlays and Eastern-tinged percussive goodies. Especially prevalent in the short, mood-setting segues between the longer compositions, they also turn up as rare, twisted splashes of colour in between the guitar/bass/drum hegemony. Goes well with the overhanging sense of dread, isolation, urban grimness and angst-ridden, frothing frustration.

Keenan does a fine job marrying the vocal delivery with the music, elegantly following the dynamic back-and-forth between the sadder, mellower, slightly reflective and the venomous eruptions of hateful frustration and aggression.

It is a nice package and an album that makes me feel something. I love how visceral it is, I love how disciplined and hard-hitting it is. But the ideas are spread rather thin. After a while everything feels like the same song six times over, with the dynamic and compositional complexity never really reaching such heights or branching out into enough new and unexpected places that the initial interest in renewed. A bit of a one-trick pony, sadly. But if you are really into this stuff and find the time and energy to really dissect it - who am I to argue? It is possible I just do not appreciate the style enough to stay focused throughout.

So to sum it up, Ænima refuses to pay off as a long-term investment and slightly overstays its welcome each and every time. But you can still squeeze around twenty random minutes of great music from it every time you hear it. Not half bad.

3 stars.

//LinusW