Tool - Undertow
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Free Music Notes for Undertow
Free Music Review: Pulls you under and drowns you in darkness
Hit: 5 Stars
"Undertow" is an incredible album by an extremely talented band. Maynard Keenan is never afraid to push a screwdriver into the most sensitive places in the human psyche, and this album does precisely that.Tool's blend of amazing lyrics, musical talent and Maynard's vocals creates a sound that is somber and wicked, disturbing and powerful. The first single, "Sober", hooked a lot of people who were turned off by or intimidated by the rest of the album. The rest of us were drawn like moths to a flame, because every song on this record is compelling and thought-provoking. "Prison Sex" is as disturbing as the title suggests, calling up very dark images that made for a chilling video (even though they didn't deal directly with the title act). "Sober," actually, was not my favorite song on the album. It's a great song, but lacks the buildup and emotional crescendo of "Flood", nor is it equal to the dark brooding on "Bottom" (guest vocal by Henry Rollins).
"Intolerance" is an excellent opening shot, with Maynard spitting angrily at lying, greed and hipocrisy, while "Undertow" resonates with vocal beauty and lyrical artistry. "Disgustipated" is an amazing allegory on human suffering and the horrors man visits upon his brethren. This song inspired me to do an art project with my girlfriend.
I don't get all the comparisons to Korn. I like Korn a lot, but I think they bring a more visceral punch, while Tool will lull you to sleep at the same time they give you nightmares. Undertow is full of originality and depth... do not pass it by.
Free Music Review: My favorite tool album
Hit: 5 Stars
I have to say that "undertow" by tool is by far one of the best albums they have done todate! I got their ep "opiate", and tool's albums , "aenima" , and "lateralus" along with their salival box set which i enjoy to this day and all the videos on the box set are just too good and i always zone out and turn the lights off while watching those amazing videos and listining to songs like "part of me" which was my personal favorite.Now, with this album "undertow" we see a darker tool with a more progressive sound then in "opiate" which was heavier, i might add. Tool's debut "undertow" changed the face of "alternative music"in 1993 because i remenber how kids changed their views in music as soon as tool realesed "undertow"... It was an uneasy feeling of things changing so at first i was like tool ? what the ? because i seen these guys in lolapolooza and i wasn very impressed but as i lsiting to "undertow" more and more i started to enjoy the music and understand it as well as getting obsses with it... As for tool's ep "opiate" i didnt even like none of those songs at first but i started to understand them and again getting obsses with them... I quess if tool can do something is change your mind!! I got some personal favorites on "undertow" and they are "prison sex" , " sober" , and , "crawl away" because i can realy see why tool is so respected with each sound and liryc of those 3 songs i named its out of this world... Basically if "lateralus" is the only tool album you got then you missing of some good substance that tool once had and still do but not like they had on their "undertow" days! Laters !!
Free Music Review: "I just want to start things over..."
Hit: 5 Stars
What can be said about Tool's music that hasn't been said already? Dark, mysterious, beautiful, intellegent, complex, great. (And I can assure you, this is NOT sarcasm.) If you ask me, NOBODY does it like Maynard James Keenan and company. NOBODY. This was Tool's first full-length LP, and it is probably the heaviest. (It's not extremely heavy, like Pantera, but it's still solid rock.) I'll just touch on a few favorite tracks of mine:
"Intolerance"...great opening song. Especially with that sound in the beginning...creepy.
"Prison Sex" is a solid rocker about child abuse, with some disturbing lyrics.
"Sober"...here it is, the album's swan song. "Why can't we not be sober/I just want to start this over"...this song is so beautiful, it's not funny. (I'm dead serious.) Another thing that Tool and only a few others do: combine beauty and heaviness in the same song. Bravo, Tool, bravo. This was a huge single for a reason.
"Crawl Away"...possibly the hardest on the album. I love it.
"Swamp Song"...probably the angriest. "I hope it sucks you, [if-I-write-the-word-I-get-deported], I hope it sucks you down!!" Pretty easy to relate to it.
"Disgustipated"...I don't really consider it a song, but it's just so fun to listen to. It starts on Track 69, and you just hear sheep baaing. Then, in comes some preacher going on about the "cries of the carrots". Funny stuff. Then, Maynard repeats over and over, "This is necessary/Life feeds on life feeds on". I think it's about the hypocrisy of organized religion.
Anyway, I definitely recommend this one, provided you already have Aenima.
Free Music Review: More Chilling, Bass Driven Riffage From Maynard And Company
Hit: 5 Stars
Tool are definitely a very creepy band, as you may tell from the liner notes on this one. Twisted and sick at first glance, Tool may seem uninteresting, but after a while, you may get into the music and see exactly what the message is they're trying to get across. There is a lot of bass in this one, and that is basically what drives the songs, as well as Maynard James Keenan's wailing vocals. The guitar work isn't really very well noticed, but still comes into play occasionally during the huge, epic choruses. Danny is an excellent drummer, who really can go as fast or slow as he wants and this almost controls the whole band. Henry Rollins guests on the song "Bottom" which is one of the standouts on Undertow. This is a record you could fall asleep to (that's a good thing) and also headbang to. It is stunningly beautiful and very dark and ugly at the same time. In the liner notes, there is a picture of an obese woman lying naked under a normal sized naked guy. I think the point of this is not to be really weird and sick, but to have a shock affect on the people who look at it, kind of like an "she's not ugly because she's fat" attitude. I think it is kind of like the whole interracial relationships idea. They can do what they want, and it is not wrong to love someone that's overweight. I don't love obese people inparticualar, and I'm not overweight at all, this is just my perspective. Anyway, I think the songs "Sober", "Prison Sex", "Bottom", and "Swamp Song" are the best. ...Free Music Review: My reluctant favorite of the quartet.
Hit: 5 Stars
As a long-time fan of the band, I've chosen to spotlight this album in an Amazon review. I've seen Tool seven times live, once at Lollapalooza, once at Ozzfest and the rest at their own shows. Undertow is undoubtedly the most powerful, thought-provoking album these guys have assembled, but I would also prescribe any other of their masterpieces. Maynard's voice is an instrument, a vehicle, that takes the listener to dark places. He is the tragic king of his own world, and he makes you feel like he's been through something the rest of us only have nightmares about. The lyrics make you dig into yourself, introspect, realize what's there and what isn't and should be. Danny Carey's percussion lines provide powerful punctuation to Adam Jones' amazing guitar riffs and Paul D'amour's (now replaced by Justin Chancellor's) bass beats. The bass, in this album and Aenima particularly, is the engine of the music. The pure genius of Adam Jones, the brain child of this band, is recognizeable in any of their videos or songs. Rarely does one find a band that speaks to listeners like Tool. One of their most powerful messages is that through introspection, you realize your true potential in what you do and who you are-- so don't be a sheep. Don't follow the crowd, or take things for granted. No one told you to come. This is necessary; life feeds on life. If you can't get the messages, can't appreciate the music for what it is, don't get this album or any of their others. If you are open-minded and you can read between the lines, listen to Tool.