Where to start with...Tool
(Sigh) Where to start with Tool. Very good question. Well first off, Tool are quite simply an amazing band who write extremely complex songs about intellectual subjects. The songs are often lyrically and thematically dense, containing allusions to philosophy, mythology and legend whilst also tapping into the most primal of human emotions. So far so Thomas Pynchon! They are an enigma, wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a Salvador Dali painting. The article could quite easily be “Where to start with <insert Tool song here>” rather than a profile on the band itself, but I digress. For 20 years now Tool have been crafting compositions that not only challenge the listeners perceptions and expectations about what music should be and how it should make you feel but also go about using said music to change listeners perception of the world around them. The thinking person’s metal band, the musical avant garde or guys who’ve done too much LSD?! Call them what you will, but one thing’s for sure, dive in with an open mind and you’ll come away a changed person. This is as far away from Ed bloody Sheeran as you’re ever likely to get!
Music as Art...Undertow (1992)
When Tool burst onto the scene with Undertow in 1992 the metal world was turned upside down and fans of the genre were treated to something alive and vital. It was a music that was filled with a host of fascinating paradoxes that had people in the know clamouring for more. It was melodic yet aggressive, ugly yet beautiful, melancholy yet uplifting, challenging yet catchy...put quite simply your first Tool experience is a total headfuck. I don’t care who you are, this is music that makes you go WOAH! The first time you hear the creeping ominous bass of lead single “Sober” you know your life is never going to be the same again. Maynard James Keenan’s haunting yet powerful voice carried just the right amounts of sorrow and anger whilst all the while remaining beautifully melodious. He is able to convey deep emotion in a few notes like no-one else in rock and has an amazing ability to switch emotional registers on a dime. Tool hit the headlines and garnered a certain amount of notoriety for their songs “Sober” and “Prison Sex” which dealt with Religious scepticism and child abuse respectively; topics conveyed all the more powerfully when combined with guitarist Adam Jones’ creepy yet wonderful stop motion films. Everything about Tool, from the music to the aesthetics, is worked out to the minutest of details untill you realize that every little nuance is in fact a conscious choice designed to challenge mainstream social mores and subvert expectations. Look out for a guest appearance from Henry Rollins too.
Dabbling in the Spiritual/ A Tribute to Bill: Aenima (1996)
1996’s Aenima album was as stunning as it was bafflingly beautiful. The band dedicated the record to the recently deceased comedian and philosopher Bill Hicks who had been a great friend to the band and often opened up for them on tour. Bill’s routines, philosophy and overall modus operandi really struck a chord with the band who felt they were communicating similar ideologies through different mediums. The “Arizona Bay” the band refer to in the
title track was one a big part of one of Bill’s routines and the title of his last comedy album. Hicks’ early and tragic death from pancreatic cancer hit the
band hard and with that in mind the album gains an extra dimension and is often incredibly moving as a result. Classics such as “Stinkfist” juxtapose the spiritual and beautiful with the ugly and the coarse in such a way that I’m sure would have made Hicks proud. “46 and 2” ponders the next step in human evolution whilst the wonderfully angry and vitriolic “Hooker With a Penis” questions those who are quick to brandish the sellout label all to readily. The song “Eulogy” is a fitting tribute to their departed friend as well as a stinging attack on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Tool love songs that have a double or maybe even triple meaning and this one was no exception. Even the curious spelt title has a double meaning; Anima meaning soul (spiritual, beautiful) and enima meaning embarrassing medical procedure (earthbound, the coarse).
title track was one a big part of one of Bill’s routines and the title of his last comedy album. Hicks’ early and tragic death from pancreatic cancer hit the
band hard and with that in mind the album gains an extra dimension and is often incredibly moving as a result. Classics such as “Stinkfist” juxtapose the spiritual and beautiful with the ugly and the coarse in such a way that I’m sure would have made Hicks proud. “46 and 2” ponders the next step in human evolution whilst the wonderfully angry and vitriolic “Hooker With a Penis” questions those who are quick to brandish the sellout label all to readily. The song “Eulogy” is a fitting tribute to their departed friend as well as a stinging attack on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Tool love songs that have a double or maybe even triple meaning and this one was no exception. Even the curious spelt title has a double meaning; Anima meaning soul (spiritual, beautiful) and enima meaning embarrassing medical procedure (earthbound, the coarse).
The Mainstream takes notice: Lateralus (2001)
Lateralus was the album that launched Tool into the mainstream and gained them the most attention. Not that the album was any less challenging. Most songs clock in at around 7 minutes in length, Maynard sounds as angry as ever and the songs are as complex as you like. There is even some Tibetan monk chanting in the middle of the record! Singles “Schism” and “Parabola” gained a certain amount rock radio play in the States but are themselves mind bending meditations on human kind’s place in the world and the nature of the soul. The creepily yet beautiful nature of the songs as well as the mysterious and uncompromising attitude of the band itself began to strike a chord with ever-growing legions of devout followers whilst fascinating, and I’m sure scaring the hell out of, the mainstream media who often struggled to understand exactly what they were dealing with. The band enlisted the help of visionary artist Alex Grey who gave the artwork and overall artistic aesthetic that the band were trying to create an extra dimension and a much needed boost. The video for Parabola is a 10 minute Lynchian nightmare of a short film that has to be seen to be believed...then seen again to make sure you're not dreaming. Sleep well kids!
The Personal Album: 10,000 Days (2006)
10,000 Days contains much of the same vitriol, anger and complexity that fans have come to expect but it is certainly the most personal of all their ecords. Keenan is much more sombre and reflective as a result of recently losing his mother to a debilitating and paralysing illness. Questions about mortality, spirituality and human nature permeate the songs, infusing them with a wistful type of melancholia. Moments like “10,000 days part II” are achingly beautiful, transporting the listener out into the ether and into realms beyond. Excellent songs like lead single “Vicarious” and superbly catchy “The Pot” call attention to the inherently hypocritical nature of human beings and unusually for Tool, are refreshingly direct for a change. The music is extremely complex and often takes several listens to digest. The band utilizes pedals, talk boxes and vocal effects in order to create a truly mind boggling sonic experience. “Rosetta Stoned”, a song about a man’s encounter (or non encounter) with aliens whilst on LSD, is for sure the craziest thing you have ever heard. I’ll bet my life on it!!
The Essential Tool Playlist
Sober- Undertow (1992)
Prison Sex- Undertow (1992)
Bottom- Undertow (1992)
Stinkfist- Aenima (1996)
Eulogy- Aenima (1996)
46 and 2- Aenima (1996)
Hooker With a Penis- Aenima (1996)
Aenima- Aenima (1996)
Parabol/Parabola- Lateralus (2001)
Schism- Lateralus (2001)
Lateralus- Lateralus (2001)
The Grudge (Lateralus 2001)
Vicarious- 10,000 Days (2006)
Jambi- 10,000 Days (2006)
The Pot- 10,000 Days (2006)
Rosetta Stoned- 10,000 Days (2006)
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Prison Sex- Undertow (1992)
Bottom- Undertow (1992)
Stinkfist- Aenima (1996)
Eulogy- Aenima (1996)
46 and 2- Aenima (1996)
Hooker With a Penis- Aenima (1996)
Aenima- Aenima (1996)
Parabol/Parabola- Lateralus (2001)
Schism- Lateralus (2001)
Lateralus- Lateralus (2001)
The Grudge (Lateralus 2001)
Vicarious- 10,000 Days (2006)
Jambi- 10,000 Days (2006)
The Pot- 10,000 Days (2006)
Rosetta Stoned- 10,000 Days (2006)
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