Tool - Ænima
(it's a hologram!)
Writing about Tool is a bitch. Tool are such a divisive band that anything I write will either be ignored or blindly applauded. I could attempt to justify my love for this album by explaining the musical complexities, or by attempting to interpret the songs. Unfortunately, people who already hate this album will simply balk and say “pretentious bollocks!” and those who already love it will probably like it slightly less, because some of the mystery will be gone.
How much of the hype for Tool is built around this controversy? I fell in love with Tool several years ago, my freshman year in High School. Yes, they are a good band for teen angst. But of all the bands I listened to then, Tool are one of the few I still listen to now. Aenima still sounds just as good to me now as it did all those years ago. Maynard's words still seem relevant to my life, though in a completely different way. Do I want to take the intimacy I have with this album and turn it into something public? Something subject to scrutiny?
Well this is supposed to be a record review, and if I don't want to talk about the music, or my personal relationship to it, what will I write about? If there is one thing I feel compelled to justify in the presence of other Tool fans, it is my preference of this album to Lateralus. Mostly this has to do with consistency. Aenima slips very comfortably into a spiraling groove; if you cut out Useful Idiot, Message to Harry Manback, Die Eier Von Satan, Cesaro Summability and Ions you have a really solid album with a really solid flow that is still more than an hour long. The filler is distracting, but you really don't have to listen to it. Lateralus, on the other hand, has less filler but starts much weaker. In my opinion, The Grudge and The Patient are pretty weak compared to Stinkfist and Eulogy. Lateralus does hit a higher peak, with the Lateralus, Disposition, Reflection trilogy, but it feels a bit forced and too self-consciously “trippy.” Aenima is more grounded, and comfortable with itself.
That's really all I have to say. Take it or leave it.