UNDERTOW

TOOL's first full length album at least got them on the map and certainly their grungy style with lots of bottom end made a lot of bands and music fans take notice.You have to agree though don't you that this is just a step to what would gain them world wide attention in "Aenima" and "Lateralus".

"Intolerance" has a really good sound to it instrumentally, especially the bass and drums.This is one of my favourites and shows the direction and style the band would develope more in the future. "Prison Sex" is a fan favourite but for me the title and music is "meh". Whatever. "Sober" starts off great with the bass and especially the guitar that comes in quickly. Reserved vocals a minute in. It kicks in with some f-bombs as contrasts continue. "Bottom" again has some killer bass on it. A calm before 2 1/2 minutes with atmosphere. Great section. Henry Rollins comes in with spoken words during this passage. It kicks back in after 4 1/2 minutes. "Crawl Away" sounds so cool when it kicks in with guitar, bass and drums. Vocals as it settles 1 1/2 minutes in. Not for long though. Good song.

"Swamp Song" opens with bass as drums and guitar join in. Vocals too. Catchy tune. "Undertow" sounds great to open with that guitar. It kicks in quickly. Some excellent bottom end here and guitar. I like this one a lot. "4" opens with strummed guitar. It turns heavy with vocals. "Flood" is dark to start out, kind of haunting. It kicks in heavily but slowly before a minute. I like the drumming here. It's 4 1/2 minutes in before the tempo picks up and vocals follow. Nice. "Disgustipated" has lots of silence then some sounds come in and spoken words. A waste.

If not for the last song a solid 3 stars, but i'll give it the third star (barely). Never quite understood why they put disturbing pictures in the liner notes and why they use raunchy lyrics. I guess this impressed the teens back in the day. Gimmicks.