Tool

Picked up Lateralus on vinyl recently, hadn’t listened to it for a while, what a killer album, Their best IMO, in what is a killer field of releases!! 

BrainofBGA said:

Picked up Lateralus on vinyl recently, hadn’t listened to it for a while, what a killer album, Their best IMO, in what is a killer field of releases!! 

I rate Lateralus as the best rock album of the millennium so far. It's insanely good.

I liked 10,000 days more than Lateralus and I know I am in the minority.

#1) Aenima 
#1A) Lateralus
3) Undertow
4) Fear Inoculum
5) 10,000 Days

FI might be a better / more polished album than Undertow, but like w/ Aenima, the nostalgia of my first introduction to the band clouds my judgment.

10,000 days has some great stuff on it, but feels less like an album to me as it does a collection of songs. 

I also find Wings for Marie / 10,000 Days to be boring and anti climactic (Blasphemy, I know, it is what it is). 

tempo_n_groove said:

Merkin Baller said:

#1) Aenima 
#1A) Lateralus
3) Undertow
4) Fear Inoculum
5) 10,000 Days

FI might be a better / more polished album than Undertow, but like w/ Aenima, the nostalgia of my first introduction to the band clouds my judgment.

10,000 days has some great stuff on it, but feels less like an album to me as it does a collection of songs. 

I also find Wings for Marie / 10,000 Days to be boring and anti climactic (Blasphemy, I know, it is what it is). 

The song literally builds into a climax... A crescendo if you will.

No doubt, but I find that crescendo pretty underwhelming, when considering the buildup towards it (& the fact that it's the title track).

It's at the point where I skip those 2 songs when I listen to the album because when it hits that crescendo I feel like I wasted my time getting there .

It's my opinion that if not for the lyrical content, those two songs wouldn't be half as highly regarded as they are. 

hedonist said:

Merkin Baller said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Merkin Baller said:

#1) Aenima 
#1A) Lateralus
3) Undertow
4) Fear Inoculum
5) 10,000 Days

FI might be a better / more polished album than Undertow, but like w/ Aenima, the nostalgia of my first introduction to the band clouds my judgment.

10,000 days has some great stuff on it, but feels less like an album to me as it does a collection of songs. 

I also find Wings for Marie / 10,000 Days to be boring and anti climactic (Blasphemy, I know, it is what it is). 

The song literally builds into a climax... A crescendo if you will.

No doubt, but I find that crescendo pretty underwhelming, when considering the buildup towards it (& the fact that it's the title track).

It's at the point where I skip those 2 songs when I listen to the album because when it hits that crescendo I feel like I wasted my time getting there .

It's my opinion that if not for the lyrical content, those two songs wouldn't be half as highly regarded as they are. 

“Tell them their pillar of strength has ascended.” That whole set of lyrics…oh man, they just get me. 

Agreed, no knock on the lyrics, they're pretty fantastic, and obviously the subject matter is as personal to him as it gets (& a lot of people can relate to it through their own experiences - I'm INCREDIBLY fortunate 45 years into life that I haven't lost either of my parents, or anyone else close enough for me to relate to the song in that way... not that that's a prerequisite, but I've heard a lot of people relate those tunes to the loss of their own parent / someone close). 

Still in all, they're some of my least favorite Tool songs, enough so that I skip over them when listening to 10K Days. 

hedonist said:

Merkin Baller said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Merkin Baller said:

#1) Aenima 
#1A) Lateralus
3) Undertow
4) Fear Inoculum
5) 10,000 Days

FI might be a better / more polished album than Undertow, but like w/ Aenima, the nostalgia of my first introduction to the band clouds my judgment.

10,000 days has some great stuff on it, but feels less like an album to me as it does a collection of songs. 

I also find Wings for Marie / 10,000 Days to be boring and anti climactic (Blasphemy, I know, it is what it is). 

The song literally builds into a climax... A crescendo if you will.

No doubt, but I find that crescendo pretty underwhelming, when considering the buildup towards it (& the fact that it's the title track).

It's at the point where I skip those 2 songs when I listen to the album because when it hits that crescendo I feel like I wasted my time getting there .

It's my opinion that if not for the lyrical content, those two songs wouldn't be half as highly regarded as they are. 

“Tell them their pillar of strength has ascended.” That whole set of lyrics…oh man, they just get me. 

Exactly.  "It's time now, my time now, give me, give me my wings!"

Then that phat bass line kicks in!

tempo_n_groove said:

Aenima
10k
FI
Undertow
Lateralus
Opiate

Throw Salival in the middle for Maynard's P.

Not to mention No Quarter, or the live versions of Pushit & Third Eye. 

Those tracks are glorious. 


Lateralus as your least favorite studio album - not something you hear often... to each his own though, I respect the rankings. 

Merkin Baller said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Aenima
10k
FI
Undertow
Lateralus
Opiate

Throw Salival in the middle for Maynard's P.

Not to mention No Quarter, or the live versions of Pushit & Third Eye. 

Those tracks are glorious. 


Lateralus as your least favorite studio album - not something you hear often... to each his own though, I respect the rankings. 

It should be higher than Undertow, that was an error.

Of The Aggie said:

I have to go:

Lateralus
Aenima
Opiate
Undertow
10,000 Days
FI

Wings For Marie/10,000 Days is epic. I can't stand Lost Keys/Rosetta Stoned and I skip that every time - talk about boring (I know some love those tracks).

The tracks on FI are just too damn long and I lose interest after a while. 

I listened to Rosetta Stoned again recently, and while I don't dislike it, I do agree it's way over rated by many fans. It's kind of a mess. 

I love the crescendo, but the shit show it takes to get there... it's probably not even in my top 50%. 


Right in Two otoh... I was pretty psyched to hear that live earlier this year. That might be my favorite of 10K Days.