The Official Tool Thread

sidewinder · 05-23-2010, 01:45 PM

Wings For Marie (pt2) is definitely up there too, but falls second place for me.

333 · 05-23-2010, 02:58 PM

I love those lyrics, Big3. Some of my favorite Tool lines, too, but my top album has got to be Lateralus. I perceive it as more of a transitional album for them and I can relate to it more. The lyrics and theme of the album always blows me away. What a great album for personal and spiritual growth.

"I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human."

TheBig3 · 05-23-2010, 06:39 PM

My favorite from that album is Parabol//Parabola

"this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that I am not alone and this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that all this pain is an illusion."

Lateralus though comes after many years (5?) of many different things happening. I have to give them credit - I don't know how many bands would have survived.

Edit: Hey, having said that I went back and listened to some Undertow. What do you think of his voice now? I sort of miss whats here on Undertow/Aenima.

DiSTANToblivion · 05-23-2010, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

My favorite from that album is Parabol//Parabola

"this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that I am not alone and this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that all this pain is an illusion."

Lateralus though comes after many years (5?) of many different things happening. I have to give them credit - I don't know how many bands would have survived.

Edit: Hey, having said that I went back and listened to some Undertow. What do you think of his voice now? I sort of miss whats here on Undertow/Aenima.

Aenima will always be my favourite Tool album

Astronomer · 05-23-2010, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

My favorite from that album is Parabol//Parabola

"this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that I am not alone and this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that all this pain is an illusion."

Lateralus though comes after many years (5?) of many different things happening. I have to give them credit - I don't know how many bands would have survived.

Edit: Hey, having said that I went back and listened to some Undertow. What do you think of his voice now? I sort of miss whats here on Undertow/Aenima.

Parabol/Parabola are my favourites off it, too. And one of my favourite lyrics ever is the line "we are eternal, all this pain is an illusion."

As for Undertow/Aenima and Maynard's voice, I don't have time to comment in depth right now but listen to the vocals in Pu**** at about 8.27-8.35 minutes. It gives me shivers every time.

333 · 05-24-2010, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

My favorite from that album is Parabol//Parabola

"this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that I am not alone and this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that all this pain is an illusion."

Lateralus though comes after many years (5?) of many different things happening. I have to give them credit - I don't know how many bands would have survived.

Edit: Hey, having said that I went back and listened to some Undertow. What do you think of his voice now? I sort of miss whats here on Undertow/Aenima.

When I first discovered Lateralus, the first song I would always skip to was "Parabol". I've survived a lot of **** because of "The Patient" and Danny Carey's performance in "Schism" always catches me off guard, but "Parabol" is a musical womb. Albeit the similarity in lyrics in "Parabol" and "Parabola", "Parabol" delivers a tone more definitive, more personal. Periodically, it feels like the chant-like tone of Maynard's voice and the echoing guitar is abruptly interrupted by "Parabola". Perhaps it symbolizes some sort of awakening, but to me, it's an abrasive mask over such moving lyrics.

I love Undertow and Aenima for the rawness and anger. The expressions and emotions are in-you-face. There are hints of that in later albums (Lateralus and 10,000 Days), but it's subtle. The vocals are a huge factor in this. I enjoy the different vocal ranges Maynard explores. He definitely has a distinct sound, but like someone said in an earlier post, he writes his lyrics based on vocals. The fact that most of their lyrics are ****ing brilliant is testament to how talented he is, but also how lyrically limiting this might have been. I enjoy his growth and range as a vocalist, but I do prefer the rougher side when it comes to sound.

EDIT: Lateralus, I know exactly what you're talking about in Pushit. I remember noticing it for the first time while I was running, and I just stopped moving for a bit. I can't tell you how many times I listened to the song that day.

Seltzer · 05-24-2010, 02:41 AM

I just LOVE how Parabol segues into Parabola! That solo is godly... in fact the whole thing is godly. It sort of has its own momentum if you know what I mean - it's as if you're riding on a wave while listening to it. P/P is the best thing Tool have ever done IMO and that's saying a lot... I guess I'm still a fanboy

Meanwhile, the prospect of this excites me. I feel that Adam Jones is one of the few modern guitarists who really *gets* the Frippian anti-solo concept so this could end up being quite interesting. In fact, I think it was MJK who said that King Crimson is pretty much the band they'd been ripping off over the years.

duga · 05-24-2010, 07:21 AM

^

That sounds great...I really wonder what they could come up with. King Crimson was always better when they were exercising their heavier side, so throwing in Adam Jones in the mix sounds like it could lead to nothing but pure gold.

333 · 05-24-2010, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seltzer

I just LOVE how Parabol segues into Parabola! That solo is godly... in fact the whole thing is godly. It sort of has its own momentum if you know what I mean - it's as if you're riding on a wave while listening to it. P/P is the best thing Tool have ever done IMO and that's saying a lot... I guess I'm still a fanboy

Meanwhile, the prospect of this excites me. I feel that Adam Jones is one of the few modern guitarists who really *gets* the Frippian anti-solo concept so this could end up being quite interesting. In fact, I think it was MJK who said that King Crimson is pretty much the band they'd been ripping off over the years.

Nice! I love KC, and can't wait for this! Adam Jones has always been my favorite Tool member, and I'd love to see him work outside of the band.

TheBig3 · 05-24-2010, 09:43 AM

Tool has, for me, always been something of an anomoly. Because while every other **** band out there was writing the same old things with the same distoredted power chords, TOOL was out on Mars.

The topics might have been bumper sticker politics, but the lyrics were such a massive diversion from the same stupid "i'm going to be politically active by yelling angrily as a name-less 'you'." lets take Stinkfist for example:

Every band was warning us about oversaturation, about letting the television tell us what to do, how we're all just becoming whatever, and then Tool, who takes that conceept and marries it with an even more meathead topic, anal sex, makes a masterpiece by never really mentioning either.

I'm not going to call MJK a poet because I don't think thats what he does on albums (he may be privately, who knows) but he's got a poets eye for the world. This device that he uses in Stinkfist, take a character doing activity X and basically talking about Y (and X i guess) at the same time is exactly what Adrienne Rich and Sylvia Plath were doing while writing poetry.

Beyond this, while other bands were out there following a formula well treaded by everyone else, TOOL was trailblazing through uncharted territory, making music that was more identifiable by its erractic "mistakes" than its solos or riffs. Who doesn't always remember Sober's feedback at the begining, or Eulogys highhat work around the end of the song (mintue 5 maybe?).

TOOL was strange as an entity back in 1996. The bridged the gap between Distrubed and Soundgarden, between Korn and Primus, Between Ozzfest and Lollapalooza and the art gallery opening down the street. TOOL's most major and underated accomplisment to me was that the showed everyone what was really possible if you just did what you loved. Loved enough to really learn it, and put effort into it.

They followed no trend, and while they weren't an end point (I wouldn't say TOOL is the final stop on anyones muscial progression) they certainly were a boarding pass to deswtinations previously seen as well beyond the reach of many young nu-metal heads. To leave them out of the best of the 90's is inexcusable and ignorant. its not a question of whether or not you like them, its a question of whether or not we need them, and if any act was the rope throw to a man drowning in a well of fecal matter, TOOL is that rope.

05-23-2010, 01:45 PM	#301 (permalink)
sidewinder Engorged Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,536	Wings For Marie (pt2) is definitely up there too, but falls second place for me. __________________ last.fm \| my collection on RYM \| vinyl instagram @allthatyouseeandhear I'd love to see your signature/links too, but the huge and obnoxious ones have caused me to block all signatures.

05-23-2010, 06:39 PM	#303 (permalink)
TheBig3 killedmyraindog Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 11,172	My favorite from that album is Parabol//Parabola "this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that I am not alone and this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that all this pain is an illusion." Lateralus though comes after many years (5?) of many different things happening. I have to give them credit - I don't know how many bands would have survived. Edit: Hey, having said that I went back and listened to some Undertow. What do you think of his voice now? I sort of miss whats here on Undertow/Aenima. __________________ I've moved to a new address Last edited by TheBig3; 05-23-2010 at 06:54 PM.

05-24-2010, 02:41 AM	#307 (permalink)
Seltzer Fish in the percolator! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Hobbit Land NZ Posts: 2,870	I just LOVE how Parabol segues into Parabola! That solo is godly... in fact the whole thing is godly. It sort of has its own momentum if you know what I mean - it's as if you're riding on a wave while listening to it. P/P is the best thing Tool have ever done IMO and that's saying a lot... I guess I'm still a fanboy Meanwhile, the prospect of this excites me. I feel that Adam Jones is one of the few modern guitarists who really gets the Frippian anti-solo concept so this could end up being quite interesting. In fact, I think it was MJK who said that King Crimson is pretty much the band they'd been ripping off over the years. __________________ In the Court of King Crimson \| Last.fm \| RYM

05-24-2010, 07:21 AM	#308 (permalink)
duga MB quadrant's JM Vincent Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3,762	^ That sounds great...I really wonder what they could come up with. King Crimson was always better when they were exercising their heavier side, so throwing in Adam Jones in the mix sounds like it could lead to nothing but pure gold. __________________ Confusion will be my epitaph...

05-24-2010, 09:43 AM	#310 (permalink)
TheBig3 killedmyraindog Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 11,172	Tool has, for me, always been something of an anomoly. Because while every other **** band out there was writing the same old things with the same distoredted power chords, TOOL was out on Mars. The topics might have been bumper sticker politics, but the lyrics were such a massive diversion from the same stupid "i'm going to be politically active by yelling angrily as a name-less 'you'." lets take Stinkfist for example: Every band was warning us about oversaturation, about letting the television tell us what to do, how we're all just becoming whatever, and then Tool, who takes that conceept and marries it with an even more meathead topic, anal sex, makes a masterpiece by never really mentioning either. I'm not going to call MJK a poet because I don't think thats what he does on albums (he may be privately, who knows) but he's got a poets eye for the world. This device that he uses in Stinkfist, take a character doing activity X and basically talking about Y (and X i guess) at the same time is exactly what Adrienne Rich and Sylvia Plath were doing while writing poetry. Beyond this, while other bands were out there following a formula well treaded by everyone else, TOOL was trailblazing through uncharted territory, making music that was more identifiable by its erractic "mistakes" than its solos or riffs. Who doesn't always remember Sober's feedback at the begining, or Eulogys highhat work around the end of the song (mintue 5 maybe?). TOOL was strange as an entity back in 1996. The bridged the gap between Distrubed and Soundgarden, between Korn and Primus, Between Ozzfest and Lollapalooza and the art gallery opening down the street. TOOL's most major and underated accomplisment to me was that the showed everyone what was really possible if you just did what you loved. Loved enough to really learn it, and put effort into it. They followed no trend, and while they weren't an end point (I wouldn't say TOOL is the final stop on anyones muscial progression) they certainly were a boarding pass to deswtinations previously seen as well beyond the reach of many young nu-metal heads. To leave them out of the best of the 90's is inexcusable and ignorant. its not a question of whether or not you like them, its a question of whether or not we need them, and if any act was the rope throw to a man drowning in a well of fecal matter, TOOL is that rope. __________________ I've moved to a new address

05-23-2010, 02:58 PM	#302 (permalink)
333 Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 965	I love those lyrics, Big3. Some of my favorite Tool lines, too, but my top album has got to be Lateralus. I perceive it as more of a transitional album for them and I can relate to it more. The lyrics and theme of the album always blows me away. What a great album for personal and spiritual growth. "I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human."