Tool

Mosh said:
Tool is definitely more King Crimson than Pink Floyd. I feel like anyone calling them a Metal Pink Floyd isn't really all that familiar with one or both of the two groups. The relationship between King Crimson and Tool is so close that I'm surprised there isn't more crossover. They pretty much took the torch from KC, who were slowing down in the 90s. Same emphasis on polyrhythms, experimental rock jams, angular riffing. Pink Floyd is much more mellow, psychedelic, and spacey. There are very few similarities.

You could maybe make the comparison between Floyd and APC but even that doesn't seem quite right. BTW I find APC to be much more interesting than Tool.
Click to expand...

More like, in relative terms, isn’t exactly like. APC to Floyd is a very loose comparison, but APC is stylistically a bit closer to Floyd than Tool is.

Adam Jones cites 3 of King Crimson’s guitarists (Fripp, Belew, and Gunn) as his top influences and the linkage went as far as Tool and King Crimson playing shows together.
 
Yup... They're a heavier version of King Crimson. Of course things like Triad resemble some tracks out of Pink Floyd's first two records with a way heavier guitar but in general their prog like elements are much more in the fashion of KC.
 
Why does Tool skip so many major U.S. markets on their tours?

I caught them in Quincey, WA a few years ago. That was a long drive to the middle of nowhere, yet the show was worth it.

This time around, I’m debating whether Salt Lake City, Detroit, or Indianapolis would be the least inconvenient place for me to fly out to see them. I guess I have until Friday morning when tickets go in sale to figure that one out.
 
Collin said:
I was there! The Gorge Amphitheater is quite the venue.
Click to expand...

It was a brilliant show! I was in row 4 on Justin Chancellor’s side of the stage. If I remember correctly, they played a portion of “Descending” without really announcing what it was.

The Gorge has excellent acoustics — even the soundcheck sounded badass — but, after the show, I felt like a refugee trekking with the crowd out of the venue.
 
Nodding Donkey said:
It was a brilliant show! I was in row 4 on Justin Chancellor’s side of the stage. If I remember correctly, they played a portion of “Descending” without really announcing what it was.

The Gorge has excellent acoustics — even the soundcheck sounded badass — but, after the show, I felt like a refugee trekking with the crowd out of the venue.
Click to expand...
I was very far back. And yes they did play a portion of Descending. That venue has just an amazing sound. It might actually be the best sounding show I've ever been to. The scenery was also fitting for a Tool concert.
 
I remember when my friends first got into Tool in the late ‘90s and all they’d play was their first album (and possibly the EP) and Ænima. I liked a few songs from the latter (mostly Forty-Six & 2) but I could never get into most of the album or the two that came before it. A lot of it just sounded like slightly better nu-metal, which is a genre I’ve always despised.

However, when Lateralus came out I was hooked. I had never heard anything like the heavy hitters on that album... Grudge, Patient, Schism, Parabola... even Ticks & Leeches. 10,000 days had some great tunes, too (I mostly liked Vicarious, Pot, and occasionally Wings pt. 2), but I thought it was a step back from Lateralus.

This new album is honestly just as great as Lateralus is to my ears. Gone are the immature attention-seeking lyrics of their early years, replaced with emotive croons and expressive prog. Listening to this album is an exercise, there’s no doubt - but the more I hear it there’s less and less I dislike. The slow build on most of these songs is worth it!
 
Detective Beauregard said:
However, when Lateralus came out I was hooked. I had never heard anything like the heavy hitters on that album... Grudge, Patient, Schism, Parabola... even Ticks & Leeches. 10,000 days had some great tunes, too (I mostly liked Vicarious, Pot, and occasionally Wings pt. 2), but I thought it was a step back from Lateralus.

This new album is honestly just as great as Lateralus is to my ears. Gone are the immature attention-seeking lyrics of their early years, replaced with emotive croons and expressive prog. Listening to this album is an exercise, there’s no doubt - but the more I hear it there’s less and less I dislike. The slow build on most of these songs is worth it!
Click to expand...
Agreed 10000%
 
Last edited:
So, to put this into the "correct" thread:

Anyway, I never heard anything by Tool except for one instance about 7 years ago when I put on Undertow and stopped it halfway. Thought that the new album is as good an opportunity as any, so I decided to give it a try. So I'm not a Tool virgin anymore.

And - I'm sorry, but does anyone else feel they sound as if Dream Theater decided to put both Mastodon (the type of riffs? I guess, the processed vocals, the stonedness) and Neurosis (the song structures, the general atmosphere) in their inspiration corner? I'm only half kidding.
I read the description "stoner prog" somewhere and gee, so far it really fits.

That is not really a diss, though it might sound like that - I mean, I like it a lot (actually, I'm always searching for something like "stoner prog"), but FFS I think I finally found the most overrated band in the history of ever. And I don't mean they aren't good, because they pretty obviously are, but their reputation is obscene and the fandom they get kinda creeps me out.

I expect this to grow on me, but so far the only track I actively want to return to is Pneuma - loved that one. Otherwise it's pretty samey. Oh, also enjoyed the second part of Culling Voices, IIRC.
 
JudasMyGuide said:
So, to put this into the "correct" thread:

Anyway, I never heard anything by Tool except for one instance about 7 years ago when I put on Undertow and stopped it halfway. Thought that the new album is as good an opportunity as any, so I decided to give it a try. So I'm not a Tool virgin anymore.

And - I'm sorry, but does anyone else feel they sound as if Dream Theater decided to put both Mastodon (the type of riffs? I guess, the processed vocals, the stonedness) and Neurosis (the song structures, the general atmosphere) in their inspiration corner? I'm only half kidding.
I read the description "stoner prog" somewhere and gee, so far it really fits.

That is not really a diss, though it might sound like that - I mean, I like it a lot (actually, I'm always searching for something like "stoner prog"), but FFS I think I finally found the most overrated band in the history of ever. And I don't mean they aren't good, because they pretty obviously are, but their reputation is obscene and the fandom they get kinda creeps me out.

I expect this to grow on me, but so far the only track I actively want to return to is Pneuma - loved that one. Otherwise it's pretty samey. Oh, also enjoyed the second part of Culling Voices, IIRC.
Click to expand...

I love Tool, but I too have no idea how they’re so popular. It has never made sense to me, as their songs are long and feature multiple odd time signatures (this new album features a ton of 7/8, but past albums have a lot of 5/4). I think their popularity might be in part due to their social reclusion and Maynard’s (singer) overall weirdness. They also blend a ton of styles together, as they’re not really all that “metal.”

On Fear Inoculum, Pneuma was the first song to hit me, too. It’s the most accessible at first listen, probably because it keeps a beat most of the way through. The closing track, 7empest, is 15 minutes of riffage without a lot of Tool-ish quiet parts. Descending is also amazing; particularly the ending. Give the album another spin; Tool’s songs rarely hit you on first listen. It’s a lot like much of Opeth’s material.

I highly recommend you check out the album Lateralus. I think that many here will agree that their strongest material is on that one.
 
Last edited:
JudasMyGuide said:
but does anyone else feel they sound as if Dream Theater decided to put both Mastodon (the type of riffs?
Click to expand...
I think it's not the best of analogies.
DT's prog metal is more in the vein of what Fates Warning paved mixed with some early prog influences (Rush comes almost immediatly to my mind). of course unusual time signatures in rock are a trait in both in Tool and DT. But while DT are more into shredding/virtuoso and workshop like compositions where structures get lose into a myriad of solos and bridges just to converge again in a unissunous build, Tool are way tighter. Normally the structure remains way more static with a crapload of details and variations being added until finnaly the passage hits its zenith (a la Ravel's Bolero) and only then they move on.
As for Mastodon it's not that long of a stretch but the only blatant connection I see is Crack The Skye, where the guys (unfortunatelly IMO) changed a tad bit their sound from their first 3 albums (remain my favorites by far) to a lighter ssound and a more psychadelic /prog like structure. Those traits were kinda dropped in the following albums (with the exception of the more accessible sound)
Now Neurosis has that Ravel's Bolero like effect, but that's where simmilarities stops. While the majority of Tool's compositions always have at least a light at the end of the tunnel Neurosis is claustrophobic and neurotic (duh) as hell. There's no air to breathe and the ever growing repetitions instead of pulling you up are a spiral of adding layers to intoxicate you more and more. Besides that the time signatures are way more conventional. Neurosis adopted the Sludge genre created by bands such as Crowbar and EyeHateGod who had a Hard Core side into it (notice that the first two Neurosis albums are also hard core) and, in Souls At Zero, stripped it of that element, slowed down the tempo considerably and composed a sound even more oppressive, opening the doors of what many people call Post-Metal (don't like the label but it is what it is) and bands such as Cult Of Luna, Rosetta or Year Of No Light.

So here are the main bands/pivotal albums the band stated that influenced their sound. And if you mix it up together I think it's a fair portrait:
King Crimson (check Red)
Black Sabbath (but then again didn't these guys influenced everything that has heavy guitars?)
Faith No More (Blatant! That alterno-metal vibe... just check Angel Dust)
The Melvins (Although not being Sludge - way lighter - these guys paved the way to acts like Crowbar. If you want to trace a comparisson between The Melvins and Neurosis it's kinda like what the song Black Sabbath is to Cathedral's Forest Of Equilibrium in Doom Metal. Buzz is a massive influence to Adam).
Frederik Thornendal (time signatures and that stacatto touch Lateralus onwards)
Nine Inch Nails (Song crafting and ambiance)
Aphex Twin (Effects and shock factor)

And some state that the more psychadelic vein of early Pink Floyd also played a part (I can see a lot of interstellar Overdrive , Set The Controls To The Heart Of The Sun, Careful With That Axe Eugene, Astronomy Domine and Echoes among others on their compositions)
 
Last edited:
Detective Beauregard said:
(...) their songs are long and feature multiple odd time signatures (this new album features a ton of 7/8, but past albums have a lot of 5/4) (...)
(...) They also blend a ton of styles together (...)
(...) they’re not really all that “metal.” (...)
(...) Tool’s songs rarely hit you on first listen. It’s a lot like much of Opeth’s material.
(...) I highly recommend you check out the album Lateralus.
Click to expand...
100% correct, sir :okok:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top