Tool

The whole damn thing is impressive. With the exception of the madness that is Chocolate Chip Trip it's simply 1h15 mins of top notch quality. Nevertheless Descending, 7empest and especially the title track and Pneuma are simply breath taking.

P.S. : but no... thre's no way I'll pay 80€ for it. Get a lower price version.
 
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I liked the title track more on subsequent listens, but I still got the feeling it would be one of the weaker tracks. Will be buying the MP3 ('cause I'm cheap) tomorrow. Quite exciting, first time I've been able to buy a new Tool album.
 
I'm in the process of writing a full review, but I'll just take this moment to say that Pneuma, Invincible, and Descending are just god tier songs.
 
So Tool don't release an album for 13 years and you guys can't even wait a few more days to listen to it? Come on guys, don't kill the music industry because you can't control your impulses.

You all must know why concert tickets and merchandise are so expensive nowadays. If you keep on jumping the gun we won't have a music industry and nobody will bother making new music. The album will be on streaming services in a matter of hours but you all had to be the first to listen. Support the band guys, don't let music die.
 
Black Wizard said:
So Tool don't release an album for 13 years and you guys can't even wait a few more days to listen to it? Come on guys, don't kill the music industry because you can't control your impulses.

You all must know why concert tickets and merchandise are so expensive nowadays. If you keep on jumping the gun we won't have a music industry and nobody will bother making new music. The album will be on streaming services in a matter of hours but you all had to be the first to listen. Support the band guys, don't let music die.
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Since you’re so concerned, I’m buying the CD, Vinyl and will be attending a show. They’ll get their money.
 
Fantastic album. It is like they took all of the best parts from Lateralus and 10,000 and put them in a blender. Nice Tool smoothy.

They need to do three plus hour shows to fit in most of the songs from Fear Inoculum with the past favs.

I paid for the download from Qobuz just for clarification.
 
Collin said:
Since you’re so concerned, I’m buying the CD, Vinyl and will be attending a show. They’ll get their money.
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That makes 2 of us (I will buy the vinyl when it comes out... there's no way I'll give 80€ for the box) as I did with all their previous albums. I'll much rather download free files in advance of an album I'm sure I'll buy than support legal streaming platforms that are gutting artists.
 
On first listen, Pneuma and 7empest are the strongest to me. Descending is also solid, followed by Invincible. The title track is pretty average, and Culling Voices didn’t do much for me. The instrumental is clear filler.
 
Or not on the tour. Literally starts during the busy season of work for me. LA is the closest, but it won’t work for me unfortunately.
 
Tool - Fear Inoculum 2019
I'm a few listens in so I'm not jumping to conclusions nor is this an initial review.

1. Fear Inoculum - No idea what sound that is at the beginning. My main complaint with this song is that it's a weird way to start the album. It's very slow. Not as slow as 'Intension' but my point is pretty clear. There isn't a big climax either, the closest we get is at 3:58 with the chorus. The ending of the song is really where it really begins to shine. Excellent riffs. There's a lot to take in and I still don't know that it's quite clicked with me yet. I may seem like I'm complaining a bit here, but I like the song. 9/10

2. Pneuma - This is the exact type of song I was hoping to hear on this album. It's like a hybrid of 'Eulogy' and 'The Patient'. I think there's some xylophone in the intro, I'm not really a percussion expert though. The bass that kicks in at around 1:30 is so fucking cool. Not really sure what this song is about but it's so good! The riff at 3:20 is massive!!! The middle breakdown is beautiful! I love how this song is structured. There are no negatives here. 10/10

3. Invincible - This is one of the tracks they played live earlier this year. The studio version destroys all those shitty bootlegs. The build on this song is really the shining bit. Justin's bassline at 2:12 is ground shaking. Adam has so many nice riffs in here! Another keyboard solo near the end and it's very welcoming. The ending is perfect too. This song is clearly about the bands struggle to remain relevant because no new material had been released in 13 years. This is top ten stuff here. 10/10

4. Descending - Bass intro is already one of the coolest tool basslines. This is easily one of the most layered and atmospheric songs Tool has ever done. Another clever build similar to 'Invincible'. Adam has a beautiful solo in the middle that almost reminds me Led Zeppelin. The last 5 minutes are just some of the most brilliant instrumentals I've ever heard. More top ten material here. 10/10

5. Culling Voices - Slowest track on the album. Has the feel of a modern rock song sort of, obviously much longer though. The added bass at around 5 minutes brings so many cool layers to the song. Very nice riffing towards the end, very climatic! There's a very depressing and sad vibe with this song, it's unlike anything I've ever heard before. 9/10

6. Chocolate Chip Trip - Essentially a drum solo. Danny is unleashed. I think he's really an octopus reincarnated as a human. Some of the finest drumming I've ever heard. It's a weird track because of the digital part that repeats throughout the song. It's hard to compare a drum solo with the rest of the songs but it's a very cool track and enjoyable listen. I even can kind of see how it fits in. 8/10

7. 7empest - Probably should have just called it Tempest but whatever. Not sure what this song is about, I can't quite figure it out. Epic guitar riff that kind of calls back to 'Forty Six & Two'. It really calls back to the Aenema album. This song is really just Adam Jones at his career peak. So many good solos and every riff manages to top the next. A very exciting listen! Is it the best on the album? No. It's still very good. It just lacks that extra punch that some of the other songs do. Maybe it just hasn't quite clicked yet. 9/10

Final - 92% It's a very good album! I like it a lot. The interludes which I didn't touch on are all pretty weird, and I'll have to do some more listens to see how they exactly fit in. It's worth the 13 year wait.

How does it compare? I think it will grow more, but I don't see it ever topping Lateralus or Aenema.
Undertow - 85%
Aenema - 99%
Lateralus - 97%
10,000 Days - 94%
Fear Inoculum - 92%

Lateralus - 97%
The Grudge - 10
The Patient - 9
Schism - 10
Parabol/Parabola - 10
Ticks and Leeches - 9
Lateralus -10
Disposition/Reflection/Triad - 10

10,000 Days - 94%
Vicarious - 10
Jambi - 10
Wings/10,000 Days - 10
The Pot - 10
Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)/Rosetta Stoned - 8
Intension - 9
Right in Two - 9
 
Collin said:
Since you’re so concerned, I’m buying the CD, Vinyl and will be attending a show. They’ll get their money.
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karljant said:
That makes 2 of us (I will buy the vinyl when it comes out... there's no way I'll give 80€ for the box) as I did with all their previous albums. I'll much rather download free files in advance of an album I'm sure I'll buy than support legal streaming platforms that are gutting artists.
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So why bother downloading it in the first place then? You know you'll have the album in a matter of days and you can copy it onto your computer. When you download the leaks you're encouraging the people (criminals) who leak the music. It's as bad as ticket scalpers.
 
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