Neither do I, they don't sound alike.

I've never paid close attention to their lyrics, personally. What I'd like to hear from them next is kind of a "back to basics" rockin album. I don't mean straight-forward rock, I just mean less spacey and just in your face. Like Aenima but closer to 45-50 minutes and without the experimental filler tracks. I just want something I can put on often. The problem I have with pretty much all of their albums, as much as I love them, is that they are too long so I don't put them on as often as I'd like to (being an album listener). I still want their technical abilities and songwriting, just in a more compact package.

Thank you to whoever changed the name of this thread.

sidewinder, I have a problem understand what it is you mind about longer albums if you're an album listener. I like a playlist as much as the next, but there's just a one-a-kind experience that comes with listening to a whole album. I dig the longer ones when I'm driving, but I can always pick up where I left off no matter where I listen to music thanks to technology.

Back on topic, though, Tool's lyrics is what does it for me, really. I've learned to, in some instances, detach myself from the music and just feel the lyrics. This being because I went through a phase (perhaps still going) of really just loathing Maynard's voice. He's a hell of a vocalist, but I don't know. I don't know how I feel about him anymore.

A lot of people, I think, loved them for their in-your-face rock, when they made very angry music. There's still a taste of hostility in what they write today, but some of the lyrics from their earlier days can still give me goosebumps. I find that more fans of this type of genre identify more with anger versus what Tool is trying to present these days. What they convey in their music presently, I feel, leaves much for interpretation. My love for words, lyricism and poetry is always touched when I listen to them, but what makes me weak, to be cheesy about it, are Adam Jones' riffs weaving in and out of Chancellor's subtle, beating bass lines. It's where it all comes together in my mind, or soul if you want to get all cosmic and shit.

I agree the album experience is like nothing else, which is why I listen to albums. I just prefer the tight feel of a 45-50 minute album, and I feel that longer ones have a tendency to have a little filler here and there. Trimming the fat on some of these albums (even the slightest amount) could turn a 4.5-star album into a 5-star one. ;) And yes I can pause an album and pick it back up later, but I usually prefer to do it in one sitting, and sometimes grow impatient. My attention span isn't what it used to be...even if it's a great album.

Hey I've recently been wanting to get into these guys, where do I start with them?

Undertow. But I'm sure you'll many different opinions.

Undertow's a good album... but I'd definitely say Aenima first...

If you can, start with Opiate. I think they're the kind of band you've gotta digest from the begin to end. The music progresses quite a bit from the time the first EP was dropped 'til 10,000 Days. For me, the most prominent aspect of this band is their public growth as musicians and a band, all of which you can witness in their discography.

I just started my Tool journey. FINALLY!
it's about time i've listened to the discography. Listened to some few tracks, they seem my style already. But I'm starting now from their debut album.

I agree with the notion that you should start with Opiate and move on, successively through each album.... there truly is a progression that can be clearly heard... and trust me it is a GOOD progression... they are indeed one of those rare bands who better themselves each album, without leaving the previous one sounding awful, either...

While I like each album, I still have a soft spot for Undertow. I like 10,000 Days but it still has room to grow on me, I can't say each is better than the last, personally.

I always recommend Aenima for people who haven't gotten into Tool yet, then Lateralus. Often when people start off with earlier stuff they just dismiss it and don't see what's so great about it.

It's a difficult decision, but I think Lateralus is my favourite Tool album.

Really? I would have never guessed ... : P

I think this greatly depends on a lot of things, taste being the most obvious (but we can't account for that when making a recommendation). Not all bands improve from album to album. There are many bands whose early work outshines their later work. This statement seems more like a reflection of your own opinion about Undertow. ;) Which is fine, you're entitled to it. Just sayin'.

this, goddamnit.



i think Chancellor gets the **** end of the stick in the band, really :(. i mean, how many other bassists can give Tool's songs the feel that they have like that??

I agree. Chancellor does wonders with his guitars and effects. There have been moments where I was unsure that the sound I was hearing was even a bass. Pure brilliance, if you ask me. One of my favorite Tool tracks for the bass at the moment would have to be "Disposition". Typical, I know, but it always makes me think of transitional seasons. Sometimes, I think their more mellow songs like this move me more than any of their stuff.

The ending to Lateralus, Disposition/Reflection/Triad, would easily be top 5 greatest album endings of all time for me.

I don't know if I can agree with that, but the transition between "Lateralus", "Disposition" always gives me the chills.

So true. Chancellor is highly underrated. I think in a way he changed the image of the bass in that particular scene; he's not your typical bassist and he finds new (but still technical) ways to make the bass work as an instrument to suit him and Tool. The first time I heard the Schism bass riff I was hooked.

And yeah, Tool's mellower songs are amazing. People seem to forget this side of them, only concentrating on their 'heaviness.' But their music holds a lot of light and the mellow aspect of them is just beautiful.

I wouldn't bat an eyelid if Tool just did a really mellow album with one of those really deceptively complex rhythyms from Carey, with some nice subtle guitar work and Maynard using his quiet, almost whispering voice... Although they do heavy music and excel at it, they are way too talented a bunch to limit themselves....

Nah, I'd be disappointed if Tool released something like that. They need both their mellow aspects and their heavy aspects to work together. Without the heaviness... they wouldn't be so progressive and epic.

I'm listening to Undertow and it's awesome! (no it's not my first time)

I'm reading the negative reviews on RYM and really I'm just baffled sometimes. I guess it's true sometimes you just had to be there. Or somewhere. Other than where you were. If you don't like it. I'm just glad I was there.

Lateralus... maybe it's just me and my "mellow" kick lately... I've been through a fairly rough period recently and now I am finding all sorts of changes starting to spring open.... mellow electronic music is definitely one of those changes...

But yeah, I still love bone jarring intense metal when I really need heavy....

I agree with the stuff about Chancellor above. That guy is amazing to behold live. He rocks out way harder than anyone else in the band. Whenever I'm at a Tool show, my attention is on him or Danny Carey the vast majority of the time.

Yes, Maynard own his very own wine company AND vineyard based in Arizona. check it out. he also has a bunch of interviews and videos about it on youtube.

I think that they are all some of the greatest musicians in rock and metal. Especially Carey. and Jones. and Chancellor. and maynard.
wait a sec... :)

Yeah he's been spending A LOT of time with his wine-making/ vineyards at the moment and less time with his music which is pretty disappointing. He also named the first batch of his wine after his mother who passed away. You can read all about his current pursuits and thoughts about things in his blog which is at Puscifer's MySpace Blog | Puscifer

A pretty interesting read for anyone who is an MJK fan.

So I have a pretty limited knowledge of Tool that I am wishing to expand. I have 10000 Days, which I like. What do you think is the next album to get?

Lateralus and Aenima are two great ones

Cool I'll pick those up. By the way, I DID like Mastodon. We can still be friends:D

Yay, it's pretty uncommon for somebody to pick up 10,000 and like it without having heard other Tool stuff as 10,000 is one of the most difficult to get into IMO. If you like it though, most definitely check out Lateralus next.

I did find it a bit difficult to get into (probably because almost every song is over 6 minutes long) but it's just a really well done album in whole. I especially like Vicarious and The Pot.

See, I feel like they do this already with both Lateralus and 10,000 Days. I pretty much agree with scottsy, only minus the Maynard vocals. I've said this so many times before on here. He's an amazing factor to the band, but I'm sick of him. I'm sick of people overly glorifying his every project whether it be wine or a new band. As a whole, Tool is already epic and progressive. The idea of a completely mellow album is enticing, but I don't think it's something they'd be into. Especially considering how much time they devote to each album. A purely instrumental one would almost seem too easy. Also, I think a more toned-down album in the sense of instrumentation can be heavy as well as mellow. Loudness isn't the key to heaviness all the time and very few bands have grasp this aspect.

@storymilo: If you're already begun your Tool exploration from the end, I suggest you keep backtracking and experience their growth in a new light. Maybe you'll notice something we haven't discussed on here. So, your next assignment: Lateralus, which happens to be my favorite Tool album. Enjoy.

I'll download it as soon as I get the chance:D

But this is exactly what I was saying - that they do combine both mellowness and heaviness together to create such a complete, full and progressive sound which is Tool. And so I agree with you in that a more 'mellow' album is indeed enticing but it's not something that I can never see them doing, something I don't think would be received well, and something that I just don't think would be true to Tool. And I agree completely that loudness isn't the key to heaviness... you're right in that very few bands grasp this and I think this is one great thing that Tool do grasp. So, although they certainly have mellow aspects and have created mellow music, I just don't see a completely mellow album (in the way scottsy was referring to mellow) as something that would suit Tool.

As for the thing regarding Maynard, I've never really glorified him and his projects in any particular godly way, I'm just interested in his pursuits and think he is a very intelligent person. I always find myself appreciating Carey, Chancellor and Jones more than I find myself appreciating Maynard or worshipping him as ridiculously as so many other Tool fans do. When it comes to Tool, I'd have to say that Maynard is definitely overrated. However, when it comes to some of his other pursuits, I still find him very interesting and like reading his writing and getting into his other projects, just as I like exploring the other members' projects outside of Tool. It's got nothing to do with glorifying him or overrating him, I am just genuinely interested in his projects. It's also funny that Maynard himself KNOWS that he his worshipped in ridiculous ways by people of the public, and so he tries to purposefully downplay himself.

PM me if you're interested in a link :)

This is what I wound up doing when I first got into Tool, started with 10K Days and worked backwards. I think I'm almost glad I did it that way, because each step I took backwards kind of reinforced the albums ahead of it. It took me about a month to feel like I had fully clicked with Lateralus, but once I did made me appreciate 10K Days even more (which I had already clicked with) because of the differences between it and Lateralus. Hope that makes sense:hphones:

I've never heard Tool but you guys have all convinced me to check them out. Thanks for all the recommendations and suggestions.

You're welcome and I am sure you won't be disappointed! They're an amazing band without a single bad album in their back catalogue...

How many albums do they have anyway? Too lazy to do a search...

6 that I could find and I've ordered them all.

Lets see... beginning with the Opiate EP, then albums...

Undertow
Aenema
Lateralus
10,000 Days

So four albums and an EP.... and I think there could be DVDs the band released too...

What was the sixth one.... I need it! lol!