Not the title track the whole album. Anyone who has a background in music theory and a little bit of instruction can learn odd time signatures, but even great musicians generally use them to delineate between different movements within a song. Tool is really impressive for their ability to meld the changes into each other in a way that sustains a single part and sounds totally integrated. It creates a really cool effect of frustrating the listener’s expectation of down beats and measure breaks. It’s like an aural representation of prime Chris Paul stutter-stepping the shit out of you.
Yes, they do an amazing job of making odd time signatures sound normal on the surface, but as soon as you start trying to bob your head to the beat, you realize it's a lot harder than you thought.
Not one person in this thread has Undertow in their top 2? I really feel like y'all are missing something. Lateralus and 10k Days did not stack up to it lyrically
I'm a big fan of 4 Degrees and Bottom. The ending part of Bottom when MJK is screaming "dead inside" is savage.
Aenima is definitely my favorite, but that's when I became a fan. I love all the other albums too. They are all so different from one another.
Full disclosure: I routinely trolled my friends that happened to be huge Tool fans, merely because of their obnoxiousness over the band. When they finally put their music on a readily and easily accessible platform (aka I didn’t need to buy their damn album in order to listen, in the year of our lord 2019) I decided to finally put in an effort and see what it was all about. Figured I’d start at the beginning, but I admittedly gave up on Undertow about halfway through. So I jumped to Lateralus, since I feel like that’s the most talked about album (could be wrong on this; anyone can feel free to correct me). The poster that couldn’t get into NIN (forget which of you it was) floored me a bit. Can someone give me some direction? I honestly don’t see what the fuss is about. But I want to try and understand.
I was the one that couldn't get into NIN, but I admittedly hadn't heard much. I still need to listen to that EP TC recommended. As far as Tool goes, give Aenima a try. It's a pretty starkly different sound from Lateralus. In particular, I'd say songs like Hooker With a Penis and Aenema might draw some interest if you weren't into the more melodic sound of Lateralus.
Listening to Lateralus brings me back my youth of playing finally fantasy 7 and playing schism on repeat Too young to really understand all the weird stuff Tool does but enjoyed the music
I listened to deftones and rage during ff7. My big tool association is super Metroid and aenima. I explored that whole planet while listening to that cassette
Track list released 1. Fear Inoculum 2. Pneuma 3. Litanie contre la Peur (segue) 4. Invincible 5. Legion Inoculant (segue) 6. Descending 7. Culling Voices 8. Chocolate Chip Trip (instrumental/Danny's solo) 9. 7empest 10. Mockingbeat (segue)
It should be noted that the interludes on track 3, 5 and 10 will not be on the physical CD and will only be listenable on the digital version of the album.
Revolver got an early listen of the album https://www.revolvermag.com/music/review-tools-fear-inoculum-masterpiece-be-dissected-years-come Spoiler: Article REVIEW: TOOL'S 'FEAR INOCULUM' IS A MASTERPIECE TO BE DISSECTED FOR YEARS TO COME In 2019, Tool are much less interested in reaching the masses than in creating something massive "Here we go again!" Maynard James Keenan waited a long time to sing those weary, sneering words on "7empest," a fiery, noisy tune on Tool's first new album in 13 years. The glacier pace between Tool recordings apparently can't be helped. Writing, experimenting, tearing things apart: Time is an uncertain concept in this quartet, but the meticulous, muscular result speaks for itself. Fear Inoculum is an epic novel of an album, a winding path through sounds mysterious and confrontational, uplifting and filled with darkness. Its 85 minutes unfurl like a brutal symphony in 7/4 time, mastering both the organic and the industrial, completely controlled but still capable of chaos. The words sung by Keenan confront the passage of time and life lessons learned, expressed with genuine warmth at times, or by simply going nuclear. It's an album that rises to a new peak of something only hinted at by their Nineties hits. In 2019, Tool are much less interested in reaching the masses than in creating something massive. Tool first emerged in a (mostly) pre-digital, pre-internet world to bring a new generation of alt-metal to the mainstream. The multiplatinum breakthrough was Ænima in 1996. That MTV-era album was full of hits ("Stinkfist," "Forty Six & 2," etc.), and sounds almost pop by comparison to Tool's later work, with radio-friendly tunes short enough to fit between the commercial breaks. But rather than stick to formula, Tool chooses to stretch out and dig deeper, leaving the old schematics behind. Tool's last album, 2005's 10,000 Days, seemed strangely unfinished in parts – not technically, but conceptually, as if the band's usual wealth of ideas hadn't been fully explored or perfected. Not this time. Now, Tool has seemingly abandoned commercial considerations completely, following the band's concepts to their ultimate ends. No deadlines were met, no market shares considered. This is what you get when you spend years composing and recording, without concern for anything but the final result. It's what Tom Morello gushed about on Instagram after he got an early listen to the tracks in progress even as Keenan kept seeding doubts that the album was anywhere near done. Fear Inoculum will be a disappointment to no one who has been following along. From the opening title track, the album already sounds like a leap forward, coming into focus amid plucked strings and tabla accents, unspooling a circular melody on guitar and Justin Chancellor's low end on bass. It's the first of several tracks above 10 minutes, and just as it seems to be coming in for a landing, another musical passage begins with a hammering riff or vocal to shift direction once more. "Descending" begins with the sound of waves hitting the shore, interrupted by a skull-crushing riff to accompany a Keenan vocal tapping into something ancient and present tense, shifting from a purr to a raging: "One drive to stay alive!" Its 13 minutes are filled with effortless shifts in tone and volume, never a clumsy moment, everything in balance. Aside from epic tracks, the album includes much shorter "segues," adding pacing and playful experimentation. One interlude is "Legion Inoculant," a three-minute soundscape that begins with the Fifties sci-fi hum of alien arrival (a quasi-sequel to the whacked out UFO paranoia of "Faaip De Oiad" from 2001's Lateralus). "Pneuma" is all tension and release, guitars stately and crushing amid a mountain of beats, as Keenan wails: "Wake up! Remember: One breath! One word! One spark!" "Chocolate Chip Trip" has the album's only throwaway title, more jam band than prog masterwork. But if that momentarily breaks the spell, the music quickly rights itself as drummer Danny Carey takes charge with accelerating beats, chimes and electronics. There are crashing cymbals, obsessed taps and slams on drums, and squirrelly synth teases that suggest a computer not OK. At nearly 16 minutes, "7empest" is the album's final major track and its angriest, as Keenan wails to an unseen villain: "Acting all surprised when you're caught in a lie/We know better ... We know your nature!" The rest of Tool also brings the hammer down, going wild and sweeping against a militant beat. The song contains Jones's most crazed soloing, but the guitarist also regains control for more ocean-sized gestures. The album's modest coda is the two-minute "Mockingbeat," as electronics and drumbeats interact with bird chirps, segueing listeners into the next decade-plus wait between projects. The countdown to that album has now begun, but Tool is in no hurry. They've just delivered an album of fire and meaning to keep us listening, studying, debating for years more.
Now that the embargo is over there are multiple reviews out now and they're all very positive. FWIW everyone seems to be gushing over 7empest and more than one called it "Jones' best work ever".
Really hoping “7empest” takes its place in the pantheon of epic album closers alongside “Flood” and “Third Eye”
It will be "Dissected for years to come" because just like all of their other albums, people will be listening trying to figure out what all the fuss is about.
Old head here. Undertow introduced me to Tool. For me this was when they were on a heavy rotation on MTV/Headbangers Ball and so on. The visuals with music was what got me. This was also when Grunge, Alternative and Gangsta Rap was life. Tool was cool because they didn't fit that mold. I think once Maynard broke off to A Perfect Circle is where Tool started to suffer. I really wanted to enjoy Lateralus and these days I do a little more but for me they haven't blown me away since Aenima. This album basically has to be Aenima Pt 2 but I'm expecting 3-4 good tracks but nothing memorable.
ive definitely listened to 10k days the most since streaming started (which is honestly only 3-4 times). undertow and aenima are good for a few minutes of nostalgia, but they don't really do much for me anymore. im lowkey excited for the new record to continue down the 10k days sound/production path. i also consider lateralus to be the 'masterpiece' album. its hashtag hot take thursday up in here.
Video of the "Collector's Edition" being opened. The artwork, booklet/photos, lyrics, screen etc are all detailed so avoid if you don't want to be spoiled. Spoiler https://www.dropbox.com/s/2tmmkrfj3xov5wq/TOOL Fear Inoculum Unboxing Deluxe CD Opening.mp4?dl=0
Spoiler Pneuma has a very heavy Schism vibe and puts one in mind of how big of a cunt Joe Pesci is. Kind of surprised this wasn't the single
Spoiler Liking Invincible a lot better than the live versions. The vocals during the verses of Descending are so clear and simple that it's almost surprising and boardline beautiful. I am however thrown that it's "wanton" and not "walking" slumber.
Spoiler Kind of underwhelmed on the whole tbh. I'm all for slow builds leading to a pay off, but the journey to get there still needs to hold me and a lot of it just felt like dragging for the sake of dragging. Descending was definitely a bright spot though, with 7empest being the show stealer. We'll see how it grows on me since I did enjoy the title track more after not listening to it for a bit.
Spoiler The wandering 12 minute format isn't my thing either, and at times it did seem to be a bit "jam bandy" but it flowed/was cohesive enough for me for the most part. More positives than negatives for me after the first listen.