Originally Posted by Lateralus

Agreed on the account of Dream Theatre, I think they definitely overdo it and not for the sake of their music but for the sake of being wanks.

I don't think Tool overdo it, nor do I think they are pretentious. How are they pretentious about their lyrics and song structure? I think it is their fans that make them so hatable. Most of their fans build them up to be some kind of demi-gods of music, and most of their fans are pretentious when it comes to Tool's style and choice of the structure of their music. I don't think Tool set out to be over-the-top in the way that we're talking about.