Tool - Undertow
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Free Music Notes for Undertow
Free Music Review: The album to end all albums.
Hit: 5 Stars
I really can't describe how much I love this album in words. Of all the music I listen to there is only one band i can classify as my favorite. I can't even quite make a top-10 bands without feeling like i've left someone out, but Tool has always remained in the #1 slot. This is definitely the album to start with if you're new to the Tool experience. I have listened to this album inside and out so many times I will go with a track by track review of this album. 1. Intolerance-Opens the cd perfectly, if this song doesn't hook you, you probably won't like Tool. Very, VERY melodic while still incredibly heavy (10/10 stars) 2. Prison Sex-Not one of my favorite Tool songs but it seems to be everyone elses favorite, along with Sober this was one of the songs that put them on the commercial map and got this album alot of recognition. It's a great song it just doesn't hook me like the rest of their music. (8/10 stars) 3. Sober-The other song that gained them national exposure, about an artist the band knows that is at his artistic best when he's wasted. It means alot more for other people but that's the direct meaning from Maynard. (9/10 stars) 4. Bottom-If I HAD to pick a favorite Tool song this would definitely be it, hooks you along the same way intolerance should have, heavier than the preceding tracks, my favorite part of this song is at the end of the Henry Rollins sample, when they break back into the chorus, really sounds awesome. (11/10) 5. Crawl Away-This was actually an older Tool song that they had recordings of before Opiate came out, remastered for this album it became a great great song. Shows you why Tool has been called "progressive metal" as it starts out really slow and slowly gets faster and faster, just to slow down again. (9/10) 6. Swamp Song-My other favorite on the album, I just flat out fell in love with this song from the first time I heard it. Has a really really great hook that should grab you and hold you for the entire 5:32 7. Undertow-The title track, not really one of my favorites. A live track that alot of other fans really love. I don't know why but if there is one i condsider this the low point of the album (7/10) 8. 4 Degrees-I could tell you what this song is about but my review wouldn't get posted :) I really love this song, Maynard's voice catches me as really trippy on this song. One of my favorites (10/10) 9. Flood-Not a whole lot of singing, but this song really shows you just how talented musically the band is, could almost be considered an instrumental as Maynard doesn't do a whole lot of singing. (8.5/10 10. Disgustipated-A satirical attack on Christianity. Really hilarious for an athiest and it really is a valid attack. The song itself is just maynard screaming the same line over and over again so it's not much of a song, listen to the crickets chirping for long enough and you will hear a little phone message that was left on one of the band members phones, chilling....(8/10) Overall I consider this one of the greatest albums of my 17 year life, I listen to Tool constantly and this album most often. If you want to see why all metal isn't screaming and yelling, this is your album.Free Music Review: A taste of things to come...
Hit: 5 Stars
Tool is one of the most talented and creative bands of the past ten years, and "Undertow", their first full-length release, was our first glimpse of their greatness. While still much more straight-forward than their subsequent releases, "Aenima" and "Lateralus", it was a gigantic step forward from their debut EP, "Opiate". It's much more intelligent, more sophisticated, more complex. Plus, the songwriting is just generally better overall. Basically, it's their first solid effort.Maynard's vocals are a bit rougher around the edges here than on the later stuff. This material is generally a bit more aggressive than most of what they've done since, so Maynard's smooth, hypnotizing vocal melodies are few and far between. Instead, he opts for more violent snarls and screams. Even the more laid-back vocals seem sinister and threatening. Combined with this, are guitarist Adam Jones's jagged riffage, and bassist Paul D'Amour's thunderous basslines, to create a dark, heavy, menacing atmosphere, which encompasses just about all of the album. And of course, the monstrous Danny Carey puts on a great performance, with some of his most intense and brutal drumwork to date.
My description of the album's uniformly dark and heavy feel may lead you to believe that the album is a bit repetitive. However, this is not so. There is plenty of diversity in the music, although it may take a few listens for some to distinguish some of the songs. From the dark, forlorn "Sober", to the chunky (but still moody) "Prison Sex", to the sludgy "Swamp Song", to the ferocious and complex title track, there are plenty of different shades and textures here. "Bottom" is kind of an epic track, with a really cool spoken word part from Henry Rollins, to make a nice contrast to Maynard's vicious vocals.
"Disgustipated" is probably the hardest thing for most to get into. After 60+ one-second tracks of silence, this odd 15-minute track creeps from the shadows. It begins with some odd, noisy instrumentation, some cryptic soundclips (some sort of demented sermon, with farm animal noises in the background), and a few lines of vocals, spat out in kind of a primeval chant. This is followed by about 10 minutes of cricket noises, and finally another odd spoken word thing at the end. Other than sitting through the cricket noises (I usually just fast-forward after a minute or so), it's a pretty interesting way to end the album, and a foreshadowing of the weirdness to come.
So anyway, this is quite an excellent album. They would go on to make material that quite simply blows this out of the water, but hey, they had to start somewhere, and in that respect, this is great stuff. Oh, and in response to the fellow who claimed that the musicianship here is subpar, and can't see how anyone can prefer this to "Reign in Blood", etc., well, obviously, you were looking for the wrong thing. Despite the lack of thrashy riffs (well, except maybe for "Crawl Away") and shredding solos, this is really rhythmically complex stuff, and as much as I love Slayer and the like, it's apples and oranges. At any rate, everyone should give this a try. Challenging? Yes. Worth passing up? No way!
Free Music Review: It Definitely Sucked Me Under
Hit: 5 Stars
Tool's first full length LP, Undertow hits us with a hard and unpredictable, very solid album. Following their first release, Opiate, which was very lyrical in its nature, Undertow shows us the maturing side of Tool that is getting more into the instrumental and "musical" part of the spectrum. Undertow is the favorite CD of many Tool fans simply because its so raw and true to their sound, and I may agree with this... but let's break it down."Interolance" is the opening track, with 4 minutes of pure hard rock and unique lyrics. "You lie, cheat, and steal... you lie, cheat, and steal." is the repeating chorus which immediately gets into your head. Following that song is an even better song and one of my favorites on the CD. "Prison Sex" instantly comes off with some awesome guitar riffs and has some interesting lyrics that are sure to make you think. After Prison, comes "Sober" which is basically their single for the album. This one of the songs they made a video for, and it definitely deserves it. Rock at its finest with, "Why can't we not be sober? I just want to start this over...". At this point we are seeing a little longer songs and more instrumental: "Bottom" hits us with a long medium paced song that most Tool fans go crazy over. Good cut... Then track 5, "Crawl Away" is a bit harder but an overall good song.
The second half of the CD is longer, and some consider that parts of it may be filler material. I still think it's quality rock though. Track 6 is "Swamp Song", and I love the lyrics in this one. "I hope it sucks you down, Fu****!". The title track, "Undertow" is next, and it's pretty worthy of this title although not my favorite on the album. It goes from hard to somewhat-soft parts, and overall is good. But the biggest hit on this portion of the cd is the next track, "4*". 4 Degrees is simply awesome. With an egyptian-type guitar riff at the beginning, this song kicks you into gear with some amazing instrumental work as a whole. The lyrics are flawless by Maynard and I won't ever stop listening to this one. "Flood" follows, and is a step in a really different direction. It weighs in at almost 8 minutes and for the first half of the song is nothing but instrumental. Maynard's great vocals come into play during the 2nd half and this is where it really heats up. Good song. The final track, "Disgustipated", is a solid 15 mins and 47 seconds and it's very psychedelic and spaced out in nature. It stops at about 4:20 and there is about 10 mins of nothing, then a man starts talking softly, pretty creepy sounding.
Overall this CD is pretty flawless. I think it's probably the most unique sounding of the Tool CD's, as it is unpredictable and erratic in nature. I would definitely say this album is a giant leap ahead of Opiate in terms of overall production and theme. Most Tool fans swear by this CD just as much as the others, so if you're looking for a good hard rock album, pick up Undertow.
Overall Rating: 9.6 / 10
Free Music Review: The REAL Soundtrack to Your Escape
Hit: 5 Stars
No other band can match the feeling you get when listening to Tool. The hollow yet full feeling (a paradox yes... but it's truly what I feel when I hear listen to this and other Tool albums) is something that no other band duplicate. Their lyrics, their sounds, and their rhythms all add to one collective atmosphere. This CD above any of their others truly represents the atmosphere they strive for. It can be argued that possibly Aenima, Lateralus, or Opiate are better CD's (Maybe I'm wrong, everybody has a different favorite), but this is the CD that solidified the "Tool sound."
This CD pushes randomness to the perfect point where you are actually a little creeped out by some of the things they tell you. A perfect example is the last song Disgustipated, with lines such as:
"And the angel of the lord came unto me, snatching me up from my place of slumber. And took me on high, and higher still until we moved to the spaces betwixt the air itself. And he brought me into a vast farmlands of our own midwest. And as we descended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil. One thousand, nay a million voices full of fear. And terror possesed me then. And I begged, "Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?" And the angel said unto me, "These are the cries of the carrots, the cries of the carrots! You see, Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day and to them it is the holocaust." And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat like the tears of one million terrified brothers and roared, "Hear me now, I have seen the light! They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen? Can I get a hallelujah? Thank you Jesus.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........"
Not only are their lyrics unique and imaginative, they can also outplay most bands with their amazing rhythm section. Tool's bass and drum combination is one of the best in the business. The guitars take a backseat in most songs to the amazing rhythms. Never have I heard a band that constantly features bass the way Tool does. I absolutely love it.
Undertow features a very grungy, dirty feel to it, unlike Lateralus, which feels much more clean. Both albums are amazing, but in different ways. This is by far the more doomy, depressing album of the two, and as such is best listened to when you're in the right mood.
Another amazing thing about this CD is that it is only Tool's second studio album ever. Many bands will never reach the caliber of this album throughout their whole career, let alone their second album, when they are still working on perfecting a sound. (There are exceptions of course)
If you are interested in getting this album, recommended tracks include Intolerance, Sober, and Prison Sex.
Recommended \m/
Free Music Review: Tool's Gateway to Perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
Undertow was my second Tool CD. I bought it in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I threw it into my CD player and started listening. It was a bit different than what I initially expected, but good none the less. Now, a little over a year later, it's become one of my favorite albums of all time. And now I have a year's experience with all the songs. Maybe my tastes will change again, but these are what the songs mean to me.
Intolerance - About Maynard's days in the army, Intolerance kicks off the CD with gut wrenching time signatures and very cool bass and guitar lines. The drumming is a tad less than I think what Carey can really do, but Tool's evolution came after this CD. It's very metal, but with a unique voice. 8/10
Prison Sex - Easily my favorite song on the CD. The opening guitar part is so simple, but when combined with the drum and bass part a few seconds later, it becomes a real classic with Tool's style nowadays. The incredible lyrics are some of Maynard's best, and his take on child abuse makes it feel like you're getting abused. It's an astounding song with an astounding video. 10/10
Sober - I really liked this song at first, then I started to drift away from it, but now, I'm starting to get back into it. Everything is so simple, but so carefully combined, that it's like really being drunk on Christianity. I love when Maynard takes the chorus up an octave. "Trust me!" 9/10
Bottom - This song has really cool lyrics and very fast, cool guitar. The lyrics that Maynard throws in are amazing, and then when the song slows down, it really picks up. The spoken words combine well with the intensity later on in the song. Wonderful. 8/10
Crawl Away - Though not as musically inclined as Tool may be most of time, this song still has really really amazing guitar and vocal parts. My favorite part is when the double pedal kicks in and Maynard yells "Savior!" It's an incredible song. 9/10
Swamp Song - This song has cool lyrics and a very cool guitar part, but other than that, it's not much of a song for Tool. 7/10
Undertow - My second favorite song on the album. I can't think of any way to describe it. 10/10
4 Degrees - This song is a real change of pace for this CD. It's much slower and even a little acoustic. It has very cool lyrics combined with very very cool bass and drum parts. 8/10
Flood - Sort of a crappy build-up. After four minutes, it gets a little better. 7/10
Disgustipated - Funny lyrics to begin with. Kind of an African drum beat combined with weird haunting lyrics. 8/10
It may seem to you that I gave this kind of a shabby review, but if you buy the CD it's worth every single penny.