Whatever you imagine will doubtlessly be more intriguing than the truth...
Whatever you imagine will doubtlessly be more intriguing than the truth...
Member since:09.11.2003
Reviews:87
Members who trust:27
TOOL are not the kind of band I would normally listen to. Opiate is OK, I’ve only ever heard Undertow once and can’t remember much about it. Aenima starts well but gets bombastic and rather repetitive – though never generic. Lateralus is something entirely different and new.
I was given the album to listen to by a friend at work. All well and good. He seemed to have a canny knack for knowing what I’d like, which is odd as I usually dislike anything my friends listen to, and vice versa. So I slipped the CD into the drive and put on my headphones.
I can’t quite describe what I felt the first time around. I think I was somewhat in shock. I had expected to feel a bit, well, under whelmed, disinterested, even dismissive. What I felt – what I feel now – is the complete reverse. Lateralus is a fantastic album. Different people seem to put it into a different musical genre. To me this is superfluous, you can call it soul metal, heavy
rock, progressive metal, whatever, it’s all pretty meaningless compared to the actual results: to the music.
Lateralus to my mind is a huge musical leap for TOOL from anything they had done previously. It is a more mature work; it is not as bombastic as some of their earlier albums. I realise most TOOL fans probably won’t agree with this assertion but the album feels to me to be something greater than the sum of its parts. Something fresher, newer and altogether original. It is as if TOOL are finding their own place away from either the mainstream or the sidelines. They have created their own sonic space in Lateralus, and have populated it with their own unique sound.
It is difficult to pin down what that sound is. There is a definite soulfulness to the music – though not in the sense of “soul music”. Many have said that Maynard James Keenan’s voice hints at an emotion sensitivity. Personally I think his voice is amazing. He has the talent to use his voice like an instrument, a skill few vocalists genuinely possess. There is sensitivity, also vulnerability. He is also expressive and I believe quite eloquent, even when angry or screeching his lyrics. When he screams Keenan’s voice seems to tear your ears apart. When he whispers as on Disposition you find yourself straining to hear the sounds and they seem to emanate from the centre of his soul. It is quite staggering.
The music though has energy to it. It’s not just loud – and some of it is very loud. Even when the music is so soft as to be barely audible it has the same tension that I associate with baroque music. Witness tracks like Parabol and Parabola which run into one another. The former track starts off quietly, almost ponderously (and is beautiful), then CRASH, suddenly Parabola hits you, the guitar smashing you right in the face. It’s brilliant.
There is a sense of continuity like a 70s progressive concept album but without any pointless noddling or pretentiousness. Disposition, Reflection and Triad (almost the last three tracks on the album) can be listened to separately but run on together to make a whole – 20 minutes of music excellence that just seems to flow.
I think the album is epitomised by two tracks: Lateralus and The Grudge, both of which travel between tense, soulful vulnerability to loud, rocking guitars and Keenan’s screaming voice.
Though I have forgotten the drumming. For there is some absolutely stunning drumming on this album. A friend of mine cannot even listen to Lateralus at work for the time signatures mess with her head and she can’t concentrate on her work. For me that’s the mark of a great album.
I do have one gripe though. Ticks and Leeches. This track starts off fantastically, with some genuinely great drumming. Guitar kicks in, still excellent… then Keenan’s screeches and… I just find it get’s too much, it sounds a little like it should have come from an earlier album. I find it unsubtle compared to the erudition of the rest of the album.
But don’t let it spoil it for me.
I find this album wonderfully relaxing. When I’m tense I don’t want a chillout CD, I want something that’s tense and emotive. Lateralus is that, and more!
All I can suggest is try it. Look at me, I thought, gawd, please, no – I don’t want to listen to this. The only reason I consented was that TOOL had toured with King Crimson, who I love. So…
And, like the man said (though does anyone know who that man was?): the rest is history
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I love the CD, but I do think that towards the second half it drops in oomph, there's only 1, maybe 2 tracks that stand out as much as Parabola, The Grudge et al, well reviewed though dude
The epic scope of Tool's excellent third album, Lateralus, could well spell a whole new ... more
era for metal. To many casual rock fans, frontman Maynard James Keenan is probably better known as the vocalist in the more MTV-friendly A Perfect Circle but it's i...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The epic scope of Tool's excellent third album,Lateralus, could well spell a whole new era ... more
for metal. To many casual rock fans, frontman Maynard James Keenan is probably better known as the vocalist in the more MTV-friendly A Perfect Circle but it's in...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The epic scope of Tool's excellent third album,Lateralus, could well spell a whole new era ... more
for metal. To many casual rock fans, frontman Maynard James Keenan is probably better known as the vocalist in the more MTV-friendly A Perfect Circle but it's in...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Very alternative time changes, original, dark and innovative Disadvantages: Very alternative time changes, songs can be too long for average listeners
Cubert 31.07.2004 (31.07.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Tool - Lateralus
Advantages: Very alternative time changes, original, dark and innovative Disadvantages: Very alternative time changes, songs can be too long for average listeners
Cubert 31.07.2004 (31.07.2004)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Tool - Lateralus
Nov 22nd, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
![Meteora [Digipak] [ECD] - Linkin Park](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/745/prod_small-5332745.jpg)
![Poison, The [ECD] - Bullet For My Valentine](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/771/prod_small-6344771.jpg)
