Released: 2001
Tracks: The Grudge; Eon Blue Apocalypse; The Patient; Mantra; Schism; Parabol; Parabola; Ticks & Leeches; Lateralus; Disposition; Reflection; Triad; Faaip De Oiad
Best track: Parabola I guess
Tracks to skip: Faaip De Oiad, Triad & Mantra
Tool was one of those bands that I never really got into when I was younger. To me, still, Sober (from 1993’s Undertow) is not that amazing of a song. I thought it was kinda dumb when it came out, and while my opinion of it has grown more favorable over the years…it’s still just an “eh” song. All that said, when Lateralus came out I certainly wasn’t jumping at the chance to buy it. I remember random people talking to me about this album when it came out. There was a guy at a Subway who just wouldn’t stop talking about it while I was waiting for my food. Tool was pretty popular then so it really didn’t surprise me that people were talking about it, but what made me listen a bit more was the randomness of all the people mentioning it. I finally borrowed the album from a friend, and holy crap, I really liked it. I was actually extremely impressed of how good it was. Of course soon after that I went out and bought it for myself and appreciated it even more.
One of the things that’s really impressed me with this album has always been how utterly non-traditional it is. From the packaging and the booklet to the lyrics and song structures, Lateralus is a really unpredictable album. It made me really happy for once to think about the state of music when this was new. I mean, this completely unconventional album was extremely popular and actually debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. Insane. Lateralus being as popular as it was gave me hope (for a while) that popular music might actually change something. Of course, I think most people who were influenced by Tool took the wrong things from the music (chunky guitars and mellow/screamy vocals), but you certainly can’t blame Tool for that.
In listening to this album tonight there were many times where I was just blown away by everything…and then there were times (esp. the end of the album) where I was kinda bored. In a sense, I’ve thought about it that way for a few years now. The first hour of the disc (it totals almost 79 minutes) is pretty much awesome. The only skipper in that first hour is Mantra. It paints a nice mood, but it doesn’t really go anywhere and its 1 minute in length doesn’t really serve a purpose. Besides that small bit, yeah, that first hour is incredible. It’s heavy as hell, progressive and complex, rhythmically jaw-dropping and compositionally so utterly unpredictable. I totally love it and incredibly inspiring music to me. As for that last 20 minutes…uhhhh, not so much. I mean, it’s not “bad” necessarily, but they kind of abandoned composition and just have long jammy bits that don’t do much. These 3 tracks are Reflection, Triad & Faaip De Oiad. I don’t know, I mean, Reflection and Triad aren’t bad on their own, but together they’re just kind of boring. Faaip De Oiad is the obligatory and EXTREMELY played-out “hidden track” after 2 minutes of silence at the end of Triad. I guess they were trying to be “freaky” with it, but it’s so lame. The band plays a lot of weird noises behind a caller from Art Bell’s radio show in which he hysterically goes on and on about aliens and the government’s involvement. Boring! And not creepy or trippy at all. After fast-forwarding through the silence and listening to the stupid last track (not really hidden since it’s listed on the cover) you really get the sense that nothing happened for the last 20 minutes of the album. The transition from Disposition to Reflection is quite perfect, but the track then doesn’t do much for its 11 minutes. I really think they should have cut off about 20 minutes and structured the last bit of the album better.
I’ve already mentioned about the compositional unexpectedness and the artwork and all that, but the thing I really want to say about this is I am just astounded at the talent of the drummer, Danny Carey. Holy freakin’ crap he is an *amazing* drummer. He’s certainly the glue of this band and for my listening pleasure the most important part. Yeah, the other guys are all really good and exceptionally creative musicians, but Danny Carey is phenomenal. Everything on this album hinges on his drumming. As a bassist, THAT’S the type I guy I want to play with. As a listener too, that’s what I want to hear drummers do – I want to hear them push the instrument in such a way that they absolutely rule the music. It’s not really in a “show off” kind of way, it’s just a BAD ASS kind of way. Before hearing this album I had no idea he was that good.
So even with the boredom of the last 20 minutes, I am still going to give this a good grade. An hour’s worth of excellent music will get that from me. On the whole a great album and one that certainly inspires me.
Rating: 95
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