Tool - Opiate
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Free Music Notes for Opiate
Free Music Review: Watch Out Motley Crue: there's a new "Crew" in town
Hit: 1 Stars
This is the first release by Tool and not even Tool fans like it. And they're bound to think that fart jokes Maynard makes on stage are the height of musical genius. So this is telling.
There's a reason Tool fans hate it; this is among the worst albums ever recorded by a major label band. Big surprise; Tool is one of the worst bands to ever be on a major label. But this album is something special in the world of awfulness.
You like two chord riffs played ultra slow? Does that constitute a melody for you? If so, enjoy this. Adam Jones shows over and over why he's among the worst guitarists in hard rock; can he seriously NOT think of chord progressions with more than two, three chords? And do those chords have to be barre chords two frets from each other? And why is their drummer in this band?! I swear, he's the reason Tool fans like them so much; his fall down on the ground amazing drumming makes their dull, uninteresting songs SEEM like their doing about two dozen things, when really he's just doing all he can to make up for their stupidity.
The lyrics? I wrote better poetry when I was 9. Hey buy it any ways; it's full price, and there's half an hour of music on it! Yay for rip offs, yay I say!
Free Music Review: First example of the madness
Hit: 5 Stars
This is Tool's first albumeven though its half studio and half live but it still rocks. Tool is possibly my favotite band, and thats saying something about me. Just cant wait for the new record coming this spring. Til then I'll stick to the first four albums. Free Music Review: Short but sweet
Hit: 4 Stars
With song titles like "J - rk Off" and "Cold And Ugly," one could guess that this C.D.--Tool's debut EP--is very pissed off and full of testosterone. That would be a safe and accurate assumption, because frontman Maynard James Keenan rages throughout pretty much every song on here.
"Opiate" isn't as complex as Tool's later works. It is actually more of a real, straightforward metal album than a math metal one.
The album opener, "Sweat," ties fast drumming with Maynard's catchy, staccato vocals. "Hush" has several big, very Maynard-esque yells of "F - ck you!" Maynard later murmurs things like "go f - ck yourself" and "piece of sh - t." "Part Of Me," opens with the type of prog-ish sounding guitar noodling that Tool would later become famous for. Track four, "Cold And Ugly," is the first of two live songs on here, and its fast riffs, pounding drums, and very aggressive vocals make it a personal favorite of mine. The other live track, "J - rk Off," is highlighted by a couple of tempo changes. I also enjoy how Maynard builds to a big, violent yell, here. Lastly, the title track kind of sounds like a "Lateralus" b-side. And, with lyrics like "Jesus Christ, come save my life," and an extended yell of "we both want to rape you," this song is clearly the first (out of many Tool songs to come) to deal with religion and hypocrisy.
The only problem with this EP is that it is quite short. There are only six songs on it--two of them are live recordings--and the songs' lengths are generally shorter than Tool's later works, too. But it's still a very good, promising debut with flashes of brilliance, and it also showcases Maynard at his angriest. Essential for all Tool collections.
Free Music Review: MJK's lyrics seem misguided , ignorant and self-serving."Opiate's" music suffers as well.
Hit: 2 Stars
One primary thing I have learned from MJK from interviews and topics he discusses is that he is uniformly as ignorant as the "mindless sheep" he bashes.He constitutes and alludes that astrology and magik are the primal truths in the universe and explain the nature of everything in perfect absolutes.Doesn't it take a marked degree of faith to believe that eternal truths are spelled out in the stars above?Is he one of the mindless herds who are brainwashed into believeing that Alestier Crowley, alchemy and necromancy have the awnsers for mankind's questions?Could it be possible that he has pigenoholed and restricted his perception of truth as well?It takes a strong ammount of personal assent any way to believe that magik and witchcraft are redemptive wellsprings for illuminating the pathways of the universe.The music on this CD is equally as muddled and uncertain.MJK's bandmates show some considerable skill but don't come close to the effective and affecting powerhouse of "Lateralus" or even "aENIMA".Ideologically,while those discs invite direct confrontations with God through their misguided and one dimensional bitter and overt blasphemy and point towards magik as the ideal truism,the music is still more in the forfront, particuarly "Lateralus", so that the lyrical agenda doesn't suffocate the musical means.MJK's personal fallout with Christians I find a bit hypocritical, especially for a lead singer who thinks religion is for fools.Isn't magik a type of religion and doesn't MJK support that wholeheartedly?The songs on here are pretty narrow minded lyrically and musically fall short.I was impressed by "Lateralus" as their definitive musical statement and by and by that CD is less a Christ/God bashing soapbox and more an enigmatic sonic journey.The expression of the latter might be this band's redeeming strength.They should let the music and not MJK's hateful rhetoric do more of the talkin'.Free Music Review: Tool starts off with a bang
Hit: 5 Stars
The first Tool song I heard was 'Sober' and even though it is probably Tool's biggest single I didn't really care for it. After listening to all of Undertow I started to like the band more and then with their third release I started to love them. Once I founf out they had the EP Opiate (their pre-Undertow) disc I wanted to check it out. Many years later I'm here writing this review and I still think Tool's Opiate is the best EP ever made. If your a fan of Tool or good old rock music in general give it a listen or two and see how it all started many years ago.