Tool - Undertow
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Free Music Notes for Undertow
Free Music Review: More than 'Sober', my friends . . .
Hit: 5 Stars
Not that this album is in dire need of additional scrutinization or anything, but I've now decided to add my two `sense' here into this huge Amazonian mix. So here we
The major thing I need to say about Tool is that you CANNOT take their music at face value, not for a single danged second because once you fall for the brilliant facade, you've basically fallen into the chasm you think you're avoiding by listening to Tool in the first place (more on this later). There are multiple layers of meaning, multiple layers to those meanings, and even layers to how these meanings interact with other meanings. If you look at Tool from only one perspective, then you will completely miss the point of what Tool (or at least Maynard) is trying to show us.
Alright, so why do you listen to Tool? With this album and the "Opiate" EP that preceded it, it had a whole lot to do with a defiant theme of `questioning authority'. I mean sure, the music on "Undertow" is utterly sweet in every musical aspect, laying the foundation for modern nu-metal. But it was the messages of anger and depression and the manipulation of religion that so seemed to torment Maynard that really got attention. This is what got the freethinkers and atheists into Tool, because they, like Tool, `questioned authority'.
Questioning authority is good. Really, it isn't the greatest idea to just submit to anyone and everyone that seems to hold authoritive influence or power of some sort. However, it's one thing to truly search for truth and truly find it, and something else entirely to ignore the truth simply because you don't like it. This album is the story of someone who searches for truth, but somehow prefers desperation. This album is a HUGE slap in the face to those who hear Tool and `question authority', and yet fail miserably in that very regard by not even thinking to question the authority that TELLS them to in the first place! This album, "Undertow", is the beginning of the longest and most complex rock opera ever recorded (more, even, than "American Idiot":-). If you're still reading, pay attention.
Questioning authority truly IS the friggin point, people. Once you question Tool's true motives behind their music, then you will begin to understand what Tool's is actually saying. "Undertow" is the story of someone who questions authority and arrives to the WRONG conclusion, which is that there IS no conclusion. Humanity just blows. He just wants to sleep through this (`why can't we not be sober?'). Depression depression depression. It is patently clear to this character that religion cannot be the answer to anything he's looking for. He questioned that authority, and decided that it doesn't make sense to follow God. But throughout the album there are snippets of this guy looking back, and thinking "maybe I left the answer back there" with religion. "Digustipated", the album's closer, seems to be this guy reminding himself that he doesn't believe in God, that religion is a tool used for greed and manipulation. He's trying to run away from his doubts.
If I had the patience, I would go track by track and explain the obvious meanings of the track, the not-so-obvious meanings, and how each falls into the story perfectly. Unfortunately this can't be done right now, but try looking at it like this: "Undertow" runs seamlessly into the following album "Aenima", which follows the same thematic thread but has the character realize that he has to look beyond himself, beyond his eyes for the answers. At the closing, `Third Eye' is a determination to look for spiritual guidance, and "Lateralus" is the eye wide open and the truth understood. Ever notice all those eyes in the "Lateralus" artwork? Anyway, that was an incredibly inadequate summary, but I'll need to continue with those on their own reviews.
In people's great respect for Tool and their belief in `questioning authority', people are losing Tool's greater meaning by not questioning what Tool is trying to say. If you look at it from multiple viewpoints, it makes more sense than any other musical work I have ever heard. I know a lot of folks will disagree simply because they can't believe Tool could get any more complex then they already thought, but this is what it is. I'll write my other Tool reviews A.S.A.P. and tie it all together, but until then, yours truly can't wait `til Tool album 2005!!!!!
Free Music Review: Music Good
Hit: 5 Stars
This was my first Tool album, and I'd like to say to right off that if you don't own any Tool, you should probably buy this one first, not so much because it is more accessible, more that it is simply a bit less complex musically than the later ones, so hearing it after them might be a bit of a disappointment. This is especially bad, since it really is an excellent album by itself, even if it doesn't stand up next to Aenima at all, and is probably worse than Lateralus. But anyway, on to the review.As good as this album is, I think people tend to look at it as being more innovative and progressive than it is, since their later stuff really is. Though the songs are pretty long, feature a pretty good variety of texture and tones, and stray from pop structures quite a bit, this is still a fairly straight forward alt-metal album (which their later 2 albums really weren't). However, it distinguishes itself from others simply buy being superior to pretty much any other straight forward alt-metal album in every way. Maynard is my favorite vocalist, for any band in any style, bar none. Adam Jones may not be terribly technical, but he is more so than most alt-metal guitarist, and is a lot more inventive and distinctive than most of them. D'Amour bass guitar really stands out, particularly in the interplay between him and Jones. One thing that makes this album different and more enjoyable is the extreme prominence of the bass. The bass is given the greater focus on this album than any other that I've heard, except possibly some Rage stuff. The bass guitar takes the lead with ambient guitar supporting it as much as it adds power to the heavier, more metallic parts of the album. Carrey's drumming is solid, though not nearly as interesting as on the later albums, but he still gets the job done. The lyrics are generally pretty good, extremely dark, but well written for the most part. They generally displays a strong distaste for other people, which is fine, because I don't like people either.
Track listing aside, this album really has only 9 songs, and one, bizzare, concept piece. The 9 songs are all strong, though with out a too much variety. The opener, "Intolerance" is one of the faster, more straight forward songs, with some great bass work. It's followed by "Prison Sex", the less popular of the two singles. Lyrically it is somewhat unpleasant, unsurprisingly, but it's musically strong. Interestingly enough, this song is arguably the least dark sounding song on the album, though still very dark. "Sober" follows, which is of course the best known song on the album. I've gotten a bit tired of it, over the thousands of times I've heard it on the radio, but it still is a good song, overplayed or not. It's got a very nice bass line as well. "Bottom" is the heaviest song on the album, at least at the beginning and end. It's got particularly bleak lyrics and includes a weird, spoken word bridge, which works surprisingly well. "Crawl Away" has got a great main riff, though it is a bit repetitive. "Swamp Song" follows, as one of the slower, moodier pieces, with a great flowing bass line, once again. "Undertow" is the most complex shifting piece on the album, with some particularly well written lyrics as well. "4 degrees" is one of the weirder, vaguely eastern sounding songs. It's arguably the weakest on the album, though it' still quite good. The lyrics are a bit unpleasant as well. "Flood" is the last real song, and is one of the best. It feature a great, crushingly powerful 4 1/2 minute instrumental introduction, and some very good vocals when they actually start. "Disgustipated" is just weird. No real point in trying to describe it, but it's still pretty fun. It also features the one attempt at humor on the album, and actually is kind of funny, in a weird way.
The only real potential flaw of any note is the extreme bleakness of this album makes it so that I'm not always in much of a mood to listen to it. This is easily the darkest album I own, in a collection that is predominantly heavy metal, and it is genuinely and believably dark, and never forced or theatrical like many other bands. So if you don't like dark, angry music, this definitely isn't for you.
So, all in all, Tool rules, go buy all of Tool's stuff.
Free Music Review: This "Undertow" is very strong
Hit: 5 Stars
This band did something that you won't often find with heavy metal bands: they went platinum after one full length release. Tool's second album (not counting their earlier six-track EP) broke them into the mainstream and went on to sell a million plus copies.
Many Tool fans would argue "Undertow" is also their best album. Even though I disagree with this (I think Tool get better with each album), I can certainly see why someone would think that."Undertow" just pulls you in and doesn't let go; it delivers 69 minutes of the good stuff: brilliant songwriting, good musicianship, dark, moody atmospheres/moods, clear production, and lyrics which are adventurous, daring, angry, and depressing. And, even though singer Maynard's vocal pitch doesn't alternate much, he sure sings with much conviction when he's angry or sad.
Musically, "Undertow" is kind of like Tool's third album, 1996's "Aenima," but it's more subtle because this album's guitar riffs don't roar or explode as much. Lyrically, subjects such as sex, loss of innocence, and (of course) religion are covered. It's my opinion that "Prison Sex" is about Jesus having sex with his disciples (according to Maynard), and "Sober" seems to be saying that Jesus was a lying party animal who drank too much.
"Intolerance" begins with a humming riff which sort of foreshadows a later Tool hit song, "Aenima." Maynard starts this song sounding almost poppy, and he builds to an aggressive yell.
"Prison Sex" begins with choppy, stop-start riffs. With soaring guitars and buzzing, rumbling bass guitar riffs, this song's music is actually pretty peaceful and melodic. This is ironic in a way, because Maynard is singing lines "I have blood and cum stains on my hands."
"Sober" has more prog-ish, stop-start riffs. This song starts out in low gear, but it builds and explodes for the choruses.
"Bottom" starts with guitarist Adam Jones playing trippy guitar strings, which are so fast, they kind of sound like helicopter blades. The middle of the song slows way down, though, for a spoken word passage.
"Crawl Away" ends with a big, extended yell from Maynard. But this song is a highlight because it has good guitar work throughout; the guitars stop, start, beep, crunch, grumble, soar, and wind/bend.
"Swamp Song" seems like a very low key song at first, but the guitars speed up the tempo. I enjoy how this song's chorus is a stop-start beat with staccato vocals.
"Undertow" has more catchy, beeping guitar noise (which kind of sounds like something off of "Aenima").
"4 Degrees" begins with almost twangy strumming. The power chords kick in and play chunky riffs, and part of this song is almost a bobbing beat (with the drums pounding simultaneously as the guitars). Meanwhile Maynard is singing calmly throughout the song.
"Flood" is almost completely instrumental. The first four minutes and forty-five seconds are very depressing and ominous, with thumping, atmospheric drums.
Then, we have to sit through 59 tracks of mysterious silence. Luckily, this time goes by rather quickly, as each of the tracks are very short.
Finally, we hear the voice of a televangelist making a sermon, and the last song, "Disgustipated," has begun. This preacher is saying that carrots are living things and that harvest day is the Holocaust for them. Then Maynard comes aboard and whispers (increasingly loud) "This is necessary. Life feeds on life, feeds on life, feeds on life, feeds on...this is necessary" over a drum beat and some crazy guitar sound effects.
Since I don't believe this is Tool's best work, I wouldn't recommend it to you if you're new to them. But the bottom line is this C.D. is essential listening for everybody else (especially for prog rock or alt metal fans), because this album may be quite strange in spots (i.e. the last track), but one thing is for certain: this "Undertow" is very strong.
Free Music Review: A more better kind of metal
Hit: 5 Stars
Even though I can speak from personal experience that fans of Tool can get uber-defensive to the point where it's kind of creepy, for the most part they at least have reason to have much praise. In many ways similar to Rush, each band member offers an element worthy of being in the band without having dispensable members. Before they hit a bigger plateau with their next release "Aenima", Undertow was the best Tool record and for some it still is. While for me, it's arguably Lateralus, it's still hard to throw anything negative towards Undertow, their first full-length (with the EP Opiate coming out first).
Intolerance: One of my favorite songs from the album. From its heavy opening riff to the smooth tempo changes to it's catchy "lie cheat and steal" hook that is so fun to belt out, it's one of the better Tool songs around. 9/10
Prison Sex: If there's one word to describe this one, it's kind of "fun". It just has a great groove that you can almost dance to (some atypical dance of course). Controversial lyrics and video, it's another one of the more popular songs and worth a listen. 9/10
Sober: If it wasn't for Schism, this would probably be the de facto signature Tool song although probably people consider it to be. Structure-wise it's pretty simple which is strange with Maynard's vocals getting progressively more emotive in the chorus. 9/10
Bottom: Man they're on a roll. Another homerun with heavy riffs and a great vocals and end scream by Maynard. My only complaint is the really quiet section. Spoken by Henry Rollins, While it does set up the climax, it takes a bit too long to get to. 8.5/10
Crawl Away: To be honest, I'm not completely fond of this one. The riffs are there, vocals and musicianship but there's just something that doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's having 4 great songs in a row and while it's a listenable track, it wasn't as immediate as others. 7.5/10
Swamp Song: One of the more underrated songs on the album. One thing that's quite surprising about it is how hooky it is. A guitar riff you can hum all day to a sing-along section (if you want) when Maynard sings "I hope it sucks, I hope it sucks you, ****er, I hope it sucks you down". 9/10
Undertow: Right from the start, it's very upbeat and chockful of riffs with many tempo changes that just feels right (it's rare to find most bands who are that comfortable with jumping all over the place). Even though it's not that big a favorite, it's still an album highlight. 8/10
Four Degrees: A sitar riff opens the song with a main catchy riff you'll hear throughout the song. Like many Tool songs, there's usually an element that brings you into the songs and makes it worth remembering, unlike most bands who play for 10 minutes and you can't remember a thing. 8/10
Flood: To be honest, I'm not a big fan of this. There's nothing inherently wrong with it, it just doesn't hook me the way it should. It's not like I need poppy melodies or radio-friendly lengths but I at least need something to make the song memorable and this one took awhile. Probably a grower. 7.5/10
I'll forego trying to review Disgustipated since it's just so...weird. But besides that, this is a very consistent record and while it doesn't have the acclaim and success Aenima or Lateralus had, it's still a very worthy addition to the band's catalogue.
Free Music Review: Definitive Tool
Hit: 5 Stars
THE BAND: Maynard James Keenan (vocals), Adam Jones (guitars), Paul d'Amour (bass), Danny Carey (drums & percussion). Guest artist - Henry Rollins (vocals on "Bottom"). Band origin - Los Angeles, CA.
THE DISC: (1993) 9 tracks clocking in at approximately 53 minutes - plus an additional 60 track selections - 59 of these at 1 (silent) second each, plus one 'hidden' last track lasting just under 16 minutes. Included with the disc is a 5-page foldout containing song titles/credits, 'odd' photos (some including band members, as well as the pig & fork back cover photo again), and thank you's. Recorded at Grand Master Studios, Hollywood, CA. This is the band's 2nd release (and 1st full length album, after the '92 EP, "Opiate"). Label - Zoo / BMG.
COMMENTS: This "Undertow" was my introduction to California's band, Tool. It didn't hit me at first, but decades later I hear the brilliance in it. First and foremost this is a heavy metal album. Secondly, it's a progressive album. The music is heavy, dark, grinding and complex. Having played drums myself, listening to Carey's mastery behind the kit is a near religious experience for me. No tom-tom is safe and I bet he's cracked even the best Paiste cymbals. I put Carey up on my top tier of drummers - next to the likes of Neil Peart (Rush), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Ian Paice (Deep Purple), and Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree). d'Amour hammers his bass guitar with style - like no one I've heard before. Keenan's vocals are unique. The emotional anger/lust/disgust fit the songs perfectly. Adam Jones' guitar technique is brilliant. I really admire a musician that brings his own style/sound to the table. Need an example? Try to channel out the other instruments and tune in to Jones' guitar work on "Sober", "Intolerance" and "Bottom". Also check out "Swamp Song" (dancing in quicksand - "I hope it sucks you down") and the slower "4 degrees". For me, Tool's sound is so uncommonly different than anything else out there (not including the imitators that came after the fact)... and that still holds true today. The songs "Sober" (#13) and "Prison Sex" (#32) were well received - both made the mainstream rock charts. "Undertow" peaked at #50 on Billboard's best albums of 1993. Several publications ("Pause & Play", Classic Rock", "Raw", etc) rate this release among the best albums of the entire 1990's. The album cover - Jone's rib cage sculpture - is my favorite Tool cover. The only thing negative about the disc are the blank tracks after song 9 ("Flood"), as well as the hidden last track 69... 5-minutes of tribal chants/drums/percussion followed by 10 minutes of electronic crickets. I guess I've missed the (inside) joke or the statement here for years and I just find it bothersome (eject!). Tracks 10-69 should not take away from the album experience though. As "Opiate" found the band in raw form with a ton of promise, "Undertow" showed them perfecting their craft. Albums after "Undertow" have come close to matching the intensity of this one, but with a little less wow-factor. For me, you found out how remarkable and mighty the band was on "Undertow"... so you came to expect it on future releases. Brilliant album - start your Tool collection here (5 stars).