Artist Overview - Tool

After moving from Rhinelander, WI after my sophomore year of high school, my best friend at the time Mike started getting into guitar shortly before I did and sent me several 'mix' CD's of some of the music he'd gotten into. Metallica, Sevendust, etc. One band I had not really ever heard much of outside of a single called 'Sober' was Tool. I did enjoy it at first listen but didn't really click with me until repeated listens, which I think is true for a lot of their music. Tool is now without a doubt one of my 3 favorite bands of all time and had a profound influence on me in many ways. This is just a little look back on some thoughts, feelings, and ratings of their albums.






Opiate

Tool's first effort comes in the way of Opiate, an EP released in 1992. Loaded with plenty of 90's teen angst, aggressive lyrics, exciting bass play and some decent drumming coming the way of Danny Carey, the album comes loaded with 5 aggressive songs followed by the title track 'Opiate' which is a change of pace from the other 5 tracks, basically a shot at religion(Christianity specifically) . Two of the six songs are actual live tracks. Cold and Ugly really steals the show on this album in my opinion. The energy in this song is out of this world, to the point I don't know if it was recorded in study it would have hit me nearly as hard.

"Underneath her skin and jewelry,
hidden in her words and eyes
is a wall that's cold and ugly
and she's, she's scared as hell."


Undertow

Tool's first full album comes out a lot more polished and with more focus. Still filled with a lot of the same ideas and sounds off of Opiate as it comes out just a year after it. Sober really shines and provides them their first true hit. It also gives way to Adam Jones brilliant video making skills(He's a trained movie special effects artist working on the likes of Jurassic Park).


The album ends with a pretty funny secret track(Track 69... HUR HUR HUR... really guys?) called Disgustipated. From animal noises to a preacher screaming of genocide of carrots, it builds into a chant of 'THIS IS NECESSARY! LIFE... FEEDS ON LIFE.... FEEDS ON LIFE'.

Good shit




Ænema

After a 3 year hiatus in part due to conflicts with their record company, Tool comes out with their second full album with the assistance of new bassist Justin Chancellor, and boy o boy, do they come out like a bat out of hell.

Largely inspired by comedian Bill Hicks(my all time favorite comedian) who they'd grown to befriend and tour with, Ænema is really Tool at their very very best. Powerful lyrics, amazing musicianship, and a large dose of inspiration makes it one of the best albums I've ever heard. From the slow rhythmic bass work of the opening track Stinkfist, to some amazing drumming in Forty-Six & Two, the album explores the depths of drug use, Maynard paralyzed mother, and their general disgust for all things around the culture of LA/Hollywood, culminating in the epic final song Third Eye which features some audio of Bill Hicks as it leads in. All of these things outside of Jimmy really touch heavily on the philosophy of Hicks comedy and really give the album a real unique feel instead of a collection of good songs. I really wish Hicks could've lived to hear this album. On top of the songs, they honored him with a small little cartoon in the album sleeve of a Dr. Hicks performing surgery on Maynard.





Lateralus

Another long hiatus following some more record label fun, but minus the band turbulence. Lateralus again shows Tool's progress as musicians and as a band. To truly appreciate the album, it needs to be taken in as a whole and not as individual songs. From start to finish it's a single thought/theme which at times can sound very similar, but works beautifully together.

Tool tackles religion in every album they do, but instead of bashing them like their do a lot more in their previous efforts, it's more of a discussion about religion and human's need and craving for it, the relationship of the church to us, the progress of body and mind. Listening to the album, it's a lot like what you'd experience inside of your own head when considering things such as God, afterlife, why are we here, what if there's nothing, etc.

On top of that, some really interesting progressions and some phenomenal percussion by Carey who has a passion for numerology which inspires a lot of his timings and progressions. While not their best album, certainly their most unique and interesting.





10,000 Days

Another hiatus, but this time due to Maynard side project with a former Tool guitar tech in the form of A Perfect Circle, 10,000 Days hit in 2006.

A bit of a change up from the previous two albums, 10,000 days jumps all over the place in regards to content, it ranges from Maynard's mother who passed(the album title 10,000 days regarding about the time she spent paralyzed before passing), to oil greed, human condition, alternated states of reality via drugs. All typical Tool subjects, but really explored in their own individual way when compared to previous efforts.

Vicarious is the first single and track off the album and still feels a lot like Lateralus as far as the sound. After that the album really songs like it's own unique piece of work. The tracks Wings for Marie and 10,000 unleashes one of the slower songs Tool has ever produced and speaks of Maynard moms ascension to heaven(a deeply religious woman). The Pot provides maybe the most radio friendly song I've ever heard Tool produce and really a pretty big change compared to anything else they've done. Another favorite for me is Rosetta Stoned, a seemingly drudging song that just sort of builds and builds and totally destroys ass by the end.








While I would certainly welcome more content by Tool, what they do produce is fantastic albums with a lot of time, effort, and love put into them. I'll take that any day over pushing out an album every other year with a bunch of filler bullshit even the band really doesn't care for.