Tool - Opiate
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Free Music Notes for Opiate
Free Music Review: Tool's Debut
Hit: 5 Stars
Unlike many of the reviewers of this album, I am not a huge fan of later Tool albums. I liked Undertow a lot but I couldn't quite get past the in my opinon, excessive song interludes.
As a result, of my tastes, Opiate is really right up my alley. All the songs are concise and to the point unlike Tool's later somewhat meandering material. There are six great songs.
This album, being a debut, sounds like Tool getting itself together. The musicians are very tight and technically proficient. The riffs sound like Tool except a little heavier. The bass is also similar to those in later albums even if the band did change their bassists. However, the bass is less prominent than in later post Undertow material. Danny Carrey's drums however, are in full force and dominate the music with very musical yet technical beats and fills. His double bass work, particularly, permeates the soundscape layed down by the other band members.Maynard James Keenan's vocals are as always, very powerful. He lays down some great vocals for this album. The vocals are very forceful and fit the angry tone of the album.
Of course, the album would be worthless without the songs. All six are top notch and even catchy at times. The first song Sweat, is a great opener. Very interesting. The chorus is really
great. The next song is Hush. It is seemingly about censorship. The lyrics are interesting and are very angry. The bass line in the begginging is pretty cool, funky even. It really grows on you after a while. The next few songs, Part of Me, Cold and Ugly and Jerk Off are all live tracks. The recording of them is really good. I really like Cold and Ugly and Jerk Off. Jerk Off has particularly interesting lyrics about morality. The final and title track is my favorite. The chorus is very powerful. The lyrics seemingly deal with religion. The title is a take on Karl Marx's quote "Religion is the opiate of the masses. There is a pretty silly hidden track called the Gaping Lotus Experience at the tail end of Opiate. Its not really much of a song.
Overall, this album is a great buy and shows Tool was still really tight in its begginings. Highly recommended.
Free Music Review: Shame. He Doesn't get it, does he?
Hit: 5 Stars
Firstly, anyone sad enough to come to a review about a band that they just want to shoot down is exactly that ... SAD. So to you, "Torny", I'd say that you probably have deeper issues than being overweight. In any case, who are you to shoot down the opinions of every fan of Tool or judge them and generalise and jump to your obviously confused conclusions? I'm not overweight, if it means anything, and I know that tool make good music. I don't care if you don't like it. I'm not going to base my likes and dislikes on what you think. And, just because you can use big words doesn't mean you are somewhere above "pseudo-intellectual".
Torny, you might or might not have noticed that Mayanard is not the only member of Tool. Tool features respected drummer Danney Carey, award-winning guitarist Adam Jones, and an unmistakably brilliant bassist, Justin Chancellor. Tool uses complex rhythms and time signatures such as 5/4 and 7/8. This is not an easy thing to do, and I speak from experience, being a drummer, guitarist and vocalist. Yet, I suppose that to the common music listener it all sounds the same.
As for the fact that us "ugly suburban losers" haven't experienced any hardship ... who the hell are you to say? Maybe you feel that you have had a hard time of life, but if you were perhaps even close to "pseudo-intellectual", you would be able to understand that Mayanard's lyrics reflect serious issues which he experienced.
Since you brought up the topic of angst, I think you should take a look at yourself before you continue. You clearly wrote your review either to let out some frustrations, obviously due to your unbearable issues, or to get the attention you've been deprived of for most of your life.
So, to anyone who knows what good music is, and anyone that appreciates this music, go get it. If you enjoy Kayo Dot, and I do not doubt that it is good music, get that too. Just be open minded, and bear other people's opinions in mind before you publicly embarass yourself.
Free Music Review: short and sweet
Hit: 5 Stars
I like Tool becuase of their raw emotion, almost similar to Nirvana's emotion (nothing beats nirvana though). Anyway, Opiate is an all around good album. The cover has a priest on the front and the title is a drug reference, hmmmmm. If you aren't open minded to religiously controversial lyrics, than this cd might not be for you. Sure, it's got great music but the lyrics make up this album and you shouldn't get this if lyrics that are anti religion disturb you. The first track "Sweat" has a great ensemble guitar line and the drums pound hard and Maynard hits all the right keys. A good song but not my favorite. "Hush", one of my favorites from this album, is 2 minutes long yet it still leaves an undescribable impact on me. Very hard music and raw lyrics make a great blend. "Part Of Me" is an ok song but it's not exactly the best one on the cd. It's mediocre compared to other Tool songs. "Cold and Ugly" is kind of annoying, i don't like it that much. "Jerk-Off" rules, I love that song. It's really hard and has great vocal textures and excellent guitar melody. That and "Cold and Ugly" were recorded live but you wouldn't know it if they didn't have stage banter in the beginning of the songs. Ah, the grand finale. "opiate" has a great melody, one of the best i've heard in a while. It's lyrics are so anti religious it's not even funny. But it's such a good song you'd forget what it was about. I love this and recommend this album to you merely for the sake of getting the song "opiate". Oh yeah, "The Gaping Lotus Experience" is the stupid extra track where maynard sounds drunk and moans "Satan, Satan" and talks about drugs and stuff. Anyway, it's a great album. I think that it would be easier to just download the good songs and scrap the rest but that's just me. Buy this ep and you will most likely be satisfied. But make sure you are hardcore into this type of music or you may not be.Free Music Review: lovely audible growing pains
Hit: 5 Stars
There are several reasons why 'Opiate' is an excellent EP. The key reason is the material in general. While lengthy, progressive tracks on 'AEnima' and 'Lateralus' seem to define the band's obvious (and somewhat underrated) genius for texture and reflection, 'Opiate' reminds us all that Tool CAN write a taut, muscular rock song that runs under 6 minutes. That's not to say that the tracks on this EP are stupid or simple. You need a brain to operate to this one, and there is plenty to chew over. There's a real disillusion towards humanity in a lot of the album's lyrics. There's just something about Maynard singing about anger and disgust that make them seem profound even in their simplicity. That's the definition of charisma. Maynard could sing the phone book and people would come in droves. He makes you want to listen. In retrospect, you can see the shape of the band begin to take form in tracks suck as 'Sweat,' and 'Opiate.' 'Hush' is a charming little ditty about censorship, with helpful suggestions from Maynard(...). While the band might not have hit their full creative stride until AEnima, the audible growing pains of their first release promised more in the future. And Tool delivered.A second reason is the length. There is no filler on this EP. Six tracks and out (well, seven if you count 'The Gaping Lotus Experience,' which is the hidden track at the end of 'Opiate'). You can literally listen to the whole thing in a short car ride to the city or...wherever. I actually prefer the live tracks in most cases, mostly for the small background noises. Maynard's intro to 'Cold and Ugly,' (...) was a tongue-in-cheek reference to drummer Danny Carey's sometime band Green Jelly.
Every track on this EP delivers the goods. If you know who Tool are, then you have no excuse not to own this. If you're new, this may be a comfortable introduction to their music. Either way, it would be in your best interest to purchase.
Free Music Review: From the Simplest Beginnings....
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the first Tool album I've reviewed. Why? Well, it's not my favorite. In fact I like all of their subsequent albums better. However, it is the only album of theirs that is simple enought that I think I have a full grasp of it. I think I'm coming close with Aenima and Undertow as well, but Lateralus....
Anyways, back to the review. Opiate marks the debut of the phenomenon known as tool. It features their original, grungey-metal style. Featuring almost none of the amazing progressive feats of their future albums, songs are simple, short and for the most part to-the-point. It deals with a number of issues, but the central ones are religion and censorship. (Heavily linked, you know?) The title/title track refers to the role of christian religion as a comfort-supplying drug.... made up of lies. Hush is a censorship oriented piece, and Jerk-Off is about one of the great flaws of the justice system:"It's only wrong if you get caught." As a whole the lyrics are intricate and well thought out.
The songs are extremely well written, thought not particularly innovative. They follow the pop-song format, but are superior to 99% of other songs that follow this pattern. Danney Carey proves himself to be an excellent drummer even this early in his development, Maynard's vocal delivery is beautiful, but not as etheral and otherworldly as they later would become. Adam Jones is a great guitarist, but he has progressed a lot since this cd: Nevertheless, his riffs are very well-written and memorable.
Overall, this CD is an excellent beginning to what has become one of the premier bands in the world. Well worth your money, and if you are intimidated by complexity, a great starting point for your Tool listening experience. If you enjoy complexity get their latest: Lateralus. It's deeper than almost anything you've ever heard.