Review Summary: Salivating (dehydrated) fans: Tool delivers.
With Volcano records erupting and Tool faced with the usual rigmarole of drawn out legal disputes with its label, Salival’s release was the culmination of that and other turbulent events, offered to remind dogged fans that 1996’s
Ænima wasn’t the final cut. Salival’s bulk lies in its varied array of live performances -- songs which are well known by fans, but altered via clever improvisation for stimulus. Failing with in-house jokes such as the drunken-jam
“L.A.M.C (Maynard’s Dick)” (perhaps a ‘revelation’ of sorts), the flamboyantly packaged CD and DVD (or CD/VHS if your either lucky or fanatical) succeeds by owning material you’re more than unlikely to find in just any Tool touring concert. With gifts like
“Pu***’s” refreshing variance and vocal duet between Maynard James Keenan and
Tori Amos the release easily would have quenched some of the poor souls not coping with the desert of no audio material.
Even being somewhat of the filler type, the message portrayed still retains potency;
“No Quarter”, a dark melodious illustration
Led Zeppelin classic granulates the need for genuine hard falsetto-rock for more subdued territories. Certainly traditionalists won’t liken to this version of Zeppelin as it’s too bleak to be enthusiastically enjoyed, but for fans of the band’s more expansive sonic palettes, this is possibly a song to be treasured during the right, passing moment. Example setter
“Third Eye” gives momentum early on for the album’s longer durations, such as the punchy cover of
Peach’s
“You Lied”, which easily makes itself out to be reminiscent of
Undertow’s heavy procession. With these eggs in the basket, the complementary DVD itself has the band’s stop motion videos up until 1996 (Stinkfist/Sober/etc.), along with a complementary stills booklet that will certainly have fans revelling in the rare and unseen imagery that only seems to find its way into such Tool packaging.
Some also may be interested as to how Tool sound as per this -- truth be told their power live is readily evident, if not behind some façade Keenan is putting up through his sometimes uncertain vocal train. Musicians Danny Carey, Adam and Chancellor however seem as efficient as ever, with Carey showing heightened expertise during the featured drum solo
“Merkaba” -- it’s a shame such a track couldn’t have made it to the DVD in some way. While this feeling itself lingers briefly, the long-term meat of the matter is that Salival doesn’t carry weight like other Tool album’s. Not because the audio content is less thereof, or because the live performances don’t showcase the band’s abilities (they of course do); but because it’s a release that’s been built out of uncertainties and desertion, and therefore not likely to be a necessity for every passerby.
