Tool

Apparently we have already heard 'Chocolate Chip Trip'. It's been performed live, but most people have just wrote it off as a drum solo. One of the onstage setlists says 'CC-Trip' on it. I'm not holding out too much hope for that song personally. As of today Setlist FM says it's been performed 7 times. It is a weird fucking song. It's mostly just a drum solo with weird noises. Danny is just mainly fucking around.

In other news. NME gave the album 5 stars, and Loudwire says 'The album is a masterpiece for years to come.' I'm fucking excited.
 
I'm going to continue my Tool reviews up until the new album. @Diesel 11 Where's yours?

Also I'm not rating the interludes.

Ænima - 1996

1. Stinkfist - Weird drums to start, followed up by one of Tool's best riffs. Tool uses anal fisting as a metaphor. The breakdown in the middle is god tier. I'd like to point out that I have over 90 listens logged to this song according to my iTunes, I am still not tired of hearing this song. The same goes for the rest of the album. 10/10.

2. Eulogy - Tool taught me about Scientology with this song. A very slow build in the beginning with instruments that slowly start to chime in one after another. The riff on the chorus is brutal. This song never lets up. Maynard really shows his disdain for L. Ron Hubbard and religions that constrict personal development. 10/10

3. H. - Still don't know what this song is about. Nobody knows either. The first bit of this song is a nice break from all the chaos of the songs before. But kind of like Eulogy, this chorus is absolutely explosive. Definitely a highlight. 10/10

4. Forty Six & 2 - Justin Chancellor reveals himself as a deity from another world. Possibly the greatest bass riff of all time. The whole song is better than every that has come before it so far. No other band would ever write a song about the works of Carl Jung. The bass intro sets the tone for the song, but Tool takes it to 11 in the last minute. Like I said before.. God Tier. 10/10

5. Hooker With a Penis - This song is about an encounter with a fan who accused the band of selling out shortly after releasing the first album. Round of applause to Tool for giving us a break from the heavy material from the previous songs. Hilarious and energetic. All around an amazing song. 10/10

6. Jimmy - Definitely the weakest song of the album. It doesn't hit the same level as the rest of the songs musically. Lyrically the song is about a tragedy that Maynard faced at the age of 11. It's vague, but I think that's what he may have been going for. Still a good song though. 9/10

7. Pushit - Does the intro make anyone else think of bugs eating away at your brain? Anyways, this is one of Tool's greatest songs. The whole band is performing at their peak. Adam's solo in the middle is just so good!!! This is what you could call a Prog masterpiece. 10/10

8. Ænima - A song based on a sketch by comedian Bill Hicks. Possibly Adam's best riff is included here. The big "Fuck You" part in the middle is easily one of Tool's best moments. Indeed, Fuck L. Ron Hubbard. The ending is dramatic and another one of Tool's best moments. 10/10

9. Third Eye - The Magnum Opus. Starting with a snippet from Bill Hicks, this song just builds slowly and fucking erupts for that chorus. Oddly the audio snippets are a very distinct part of the song and definitely something that makes me think every time I listen to it. It is a song about drugs, regardless of your opinion on the subject Tool makes it interesting. Musically Tool is again at their peak and every riff is different from the last, but somehow similar. The ending is really the part of this song that shines. 10/10

Total: 98%
This is my second favorite album of all time behind Somewhere in Time. Tool really hits it out of the park with this album. Every song is great and apart from Jimmy, they really seem to get better as the album progresses. The interludes also enhance experience, but I think it's unfair to rate them on the same level as everything else. I've been listening to this album since I discovered Tool in around 2014, I still don't get tired of it. I don't know if I ever will either.
 
Collin said:
I'm going to continue my Tool reviews up until the new album. @Diesel 11 Where's yours?
Click to expand...

I also enjoy tons out of this album and found your review quite good. So I would like to point a few passages if you don't mind:

Stinkfist
Although it was a bit obvious it was a gross metaphor (and IMO it is indeed a bit too gross) back in the day (and even some years after) people would simple fail (or choose to fail) to acknowledge that and clinged to the "shock" side of the whole thing (the record came out the same time as Manson's ACSS). Sad that folks were merely concerned about the superficial when the true matter was something way deeper (errr... defenitly no pun intended).
And as brutal as the breakdown is the longer version played live somehow manages to be even better. The way that bridge explodes is out of this galaxy (that drum break before the last chorus is simply jaw breaking).

Eulogy
.... and the said chorus also really shows that even stronger than Maynard's disdain for Hubbard is the potency of his voice. Amazing.

H
Perhaps my least favorite but pretty cool song.

46 & 2
Althought it's an extremely well crafted one I don't consider it to be nearly the greatest bass line of all the time. But the simple fact Trent Reznor kind of borrowed it for the vocal line in The Great Below speaks tons about its quality. Plus once again great lyrical subject

Hooker With a Penis
IMO this is the only true metal song Tool ever recorded. Heavy as hell this immense fuck you to packaged fan elitism is simply delicious. "Shut up and buy my new record... BUY!". Always makes me smile that part.

Jimmy
Not only I disagree on the fact it is the weakest song on the album I would go further: it is the most underrated one. The way the cheesy intro transforms into that drone monster with little changes is something only possible to achieve when your composing skills and attention to detail is way above the average.

Pushit
Cool song but nowhere near the version featured in Salival (absolutely amazing). Yet another poop refference.

Ænima
And in another rectal metaphor Maynard gets a ride from Hicks' routine to once again spew a corrosive bag of diatribes to LA's superficiality and man... this song REALLY carries you. The mood swings and passages are as brutal as perfectly connected and the whole damn thing just drags you along like a feather.

Third Eye
A snippet of what was to come in Lateralus: a "Progiest" version of Tool's new sound approach. Although it dies a bit here and there it is a monster of a track and the audio samples work wonders on this one. And that end is indeed gorgeous.

So (to wrap it up) let's start with the few things I find less achieved and then go to many stelar aspects.
  • a) Even regarding Tool took a way more psychedelic, experimental and even "Progier" path here there are still a reasonable amount of Undertow's alternative metal bone structure present in this record. Fact that is understandable since an even further leap would probably alienate some fans.
  • b) Although being presented as metaphors the recurrent scatological references are a bit errr... smelly. But hey: I'll take a layer of shit that hides gold underneath to the opposite any day of the week.
  • c) Unlike the following album some of the interludes are a bit unnecessary.

Other than this, Aenima is simply top tier and features everything a classic album should have: it marked a turning point in Tool's soundscape, distanced the band from the rest of the 90's alternative rock pack and was the launching pod to what I consider to be one of Rock's best records ever made: Lateralus. The reason I say this is I clearly remember when Aenima came out. The first song I heard was Stinkfist and I went like "WOW! This is the new Tool? it sounds absolutely amazing!" (The very next day I bought the moving hologram multi covered CD - still have it since then)... On the other hand my reaction when I first heard Lateralus (didn't heard a single song in advance... bought the album and just let it roll) was quite different. It was simply silence and awe. That and hearing the whole damn thing repeatedly for a shitload of weeks.
Nevertheless Aenima is one hell of an album, that really aged well and became a crucial record in Tool and Rock history and I can't give it anything less than 8.5/10.
 
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I have a question regarding Fear Inoculum's physical formats. Is there a "regular" cd version or if you wish to own a physical copy you're forced to spend +- 79€/90$ on that screen and speaker thing?
 
The video was a fake by Adam Jones and his son. It was a prank to get Tool fans to start looking for a leak, when there was none.
 
I've been kind of slacking on music lately, but I just checked out Fear Inoculum. REALLY cool and awesome fucking song! And with most of the songs being on the quite long side, it looks like we're going to get nothing but very progressive stuff from Tool, more so than they've ever done which definitely makes this album VERY MUCH worth the wait!

Also, The Humbling River is one of the most amazing songs I've ever heard!
 
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