This is somewhat of a rewrite, so bear with me. Tool released 2 albums between a five year period that were considered by many the best 1-2 punch from any band. These two classics were
Aenima and
Lateralus. Lateralus is the CD I am reviewing, and this isn’t a short CD, as none of Tool’s CD’s are. This is about 4 seconds away from actually using up all of the disc space, but some people say that the disc doesn’t need to be long to be good (example: any of Sum 41’s albums), this CD proves that it can fill the disc space and still be a very dam good album.
Tool – Lateralus (2001)
Tool is:
Maynard James Keenan: Vocals
Adam Jones: Guitar
Justin Chancellor: Bass
Danny Carey: Drums
While each of Tool’s albums are good, each album in its own has a kind of feeling that separates it from the others. You noticed that [u]Undertow[/b] was more of a straight out hard rock album, and that
Aenima was more melodic and dark. The trend continues with this album, as it tends to lean toward the progressive and technical mechanics of music. While it isn’t as progressive as The Mars Volta or King Crimson, it can still make a stand saying it can be a defining album in the progressive genre.
There are many good things about this album, the first I would like to start off with is Danny Carey’s drumming. He may not be as fast as most drummers, but can sure stand on his own, being the defining part of Tool’s rhythm section. Maynard does his exceptional singing, and great screaming throughout the album, when it happens.
Ticks and Leeches is the song off the album that highlights Maynard’s voice, and kind of defines the overall album’s sound, as it progresses through each aspect of the album. Justin Chancellor proves again that he is a very talented bassist, and one of the more defining bassists in the rock music industry. This whole album is filled with intelligent bass lines, with the catchy and most soothing being on the song
Schism.The guitar is very technical throughout the album, hence the CD being progressive. There isn’t much bad to say about it, but there is nothing brilliant about it also. It is rather just necessary that they have him, though.
If there was a bad thing to say about this album, it would be minimal. The only thing that harms this album to me, is the filler. Yes, it does define Tool from other bands, but sometimes too much filler can kind of drag the album along (i.e.
Mantra, I don’t see what the point of that was). Also, there are one or two songs that aren’t good, or just don’t bring out the rocking sound that the rest of this album had. Yet it doesn’t hinder the overall sound of the album, because they rebound with such good songs, while keeping the overall sound of the album in tact.
All in all, I thought this was a brilliant album by Tool, and should be owned by all. It will give you a whole different view on music.
Recommended songs:
Schism
Parabol
Parabola
Ticks and Leeches
Disposition
Reflection
Triad
Good Try, I do agree with you overall about that album
