Think back to five years\u20261996.<\/p>\n
Limp Bizkit was packing the clubs, it would not be uncommon to
\nhear the phrase, “Who the fuck is N*Sync?” and hearing the
\nwords “OK Computer” would probably describe a two-year-old
\n486 model. It was also the year that
\nAenima<\/i>came out from Tool..<\/p>\n
The album was a sprawling tour de force about the need for a
\ncatastrophic breakdown of the human condition in order to
\nbreak
\nthrough with a new level of enlightenment. “Break Stuff,” and
\n“American Badass,” this shit was not. Tool’s astounding
\nmusicianship is only matched by lyrical ambition. And now
\nthey
\ncontinue the trend with
\nLateralus<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Though the band has been absent an album for more than five
\nyears, it is not entirely their fault: legal troubles,
\nambitious side
\nprojects and a staunch belief in waiting until inspiration
\nstrikes
\nwere all factors in this huge wait. But no matter. After
\ndigesting<\/p>\n
Lateralus<\/i>,it is safe to say that it may take five more years
\njust
\nto let the album sink in. Running close to 80 minutes,
\nLateralus<\/i>
\nis a hard album to sit through. But like
\nAenima<\/i>,it is an album
\nthat almost requires you to sit through it, front to back, to
\nfully
\nappreciate it.<\/p>\n
After the first spin, the listener feels gorged. You can compare
\nit
\nto those challenges that those Texas steakhouses give to
\ndiners:
\neat the entire 44 ounces of rib eye\u2026and the meal is
\nfree. With<\/p>\n
Lateralus<\/i>, you must endure pulverizing beats, off-kilter
\nexperiments and jazzy experimentation, sometimes within the
\nsame song. Some of the songs, if you can even call them that,
\nrun
\nin excess of seven minutes. If you thought their epic “Third
\nEye”
\nwas overkill, be cautious: there’s about five songs that are
\njust as
\nbaffling.<\/p>\n
But Tool’s rabid fan base would want nothing less. Maynard
\nJames Keenan delivers his ghostly creepy uber-metal-rock-god
\nvocals with an intensity that is chilling and breathtaking.
\nAdam
\nJones is also in top form, able to withstand the dynamic
\nchanges
\nfrom thrashing intensity to eerie mood music. Justin
\nChancellor’s
\nbass work is also key in establishing Tool’s presence. Few
\nbassists have the ability to create a staple sound of a band
\nwith
\nonly a couple of chords.<\/p>\n
However, drummer Danny Carey may get the MVP honors on this
\nouting. Always an amazing asset, this time, Carey explodes
\nwith
\nan intensity that has been building since the
\nOpiate<\/i>days. His
\nplaying on the songs “The Grudge” and “Reflection” rival
\nRush’s
\ndrummer Neil Peart in terms of sheer complexity.<\/p>\n
When it comes to sheer power, Tool’s aggression is noticeably
\ntoned down. Still, songs like “Ticks And Leeches” and
\n“Parabol”
\nhave enough sonic force to keep those who have been hoping
\nfor
\nanother “Intolerance” and “Hooker With A Penis” satisfied. As
\nfor the rest of the album, well, there’s a bit of everything
\nin each
\ntrack. The album leads off perfectly with “The Grudge,” a
\ntrack
\nthat darts from straightforward rocking to arty
\nexperimentation to
\nan odd jazzy free-styling. That is also repeated with the
\ntitle
\ntrack and “Reflection.”<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this can be a bit daunting at times. Lyrically,
\nhell,
\nfind a web site and find out for yourself. But from what I’ve
\nbeen
\nable to piece together so far, it’s about trying to reopen
\nyourself
\nup to human contact again. I would like to subscribe to their
\nnew
\nphilosophy, but I’m going to lose a lot of human contact if I
\ntry to
\nlisten to this album repeatedly, trying to familiarize myself
\nwith
\nthe material.<\/p>\n
Rumors abound that this may be Tool’s last album. Take it with a
\ngrain of salt: Their last tour was supposed to be their last
\ntour.
\nBut
\nLateralus<\/i> would be a fitting end to one of the saviors of
\nheavy music in the 1990s. While
\nAenima<\/i> may have strayed
\nfrom the traditional song structures of
\nUndertow<\/i>,
\nLateralus<\/i>
\nall but abandons your typical verse-chorus-verse structure.
\nWhile this may pass as elitism in some circles, Tool inject
\nenough humanity and give the listener enough surprises to
\nkeep
\ncoming back for more.<\/p>\n
\nLateralus<\/i> could have benefited from an editor. But so could
\nnovels like “Underworld.” But Tool’s resilient risk-taking
\npays
\noff. Listeners will want an album that will not get old after
\nthe
\nfirst three listens. After all, this may be the final album
\nreleased
\nby this band. If you’re looking for a smoother ride, no doubt
\nA
\nPerfect Circle may be a better choice. But, with a brave ear
\nand
\na whole lot of time,
\nLateralus<\/i> will likely seep in and take you
\nover.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":28138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5654],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-39533","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-tool","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39533"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39533"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}