Tool ( www.toolband.com )
Lateralus
Volcano
Rating: 5 Flaming Goat Heads
Tool has long been heralded for their musicianship, technicality and rare ability to make songs about human suffering and torture seem pleasing as well as punishing. Maynard Keenan's orchestral whisper-to-a-scream vocals beautifully contrast the densely percussive whirlstorm his mates conjure up behind him. The result is an incredibly expressive form of rock music, unparalleled in terms of complexity and boundlessness. The new record delivers on all fronts. Hell, the first track, "The Grudge," is worth fourteen or fifteen dollars. It starts in mid-swing, yanks you inside and shakes you around for a good couple of minutes before Maynard shows up, growling/chanting about negativity, calculations, and what not. Then it happens: 10 huge hits courtesy of drummer Danny Carey (the hardest working drummer in show business) and then silence. The bass returns quietly as do the hand drums, and all is peacefully restored until a slowly building crescendo leads the listener to the first verse. That's right, the first verse, which by this point has been completely forgotten about. Who needs verse, chorus and structure? The ultimate goal is to create a mood, a believable and viable work of art. Modern metal has become severely limited by its familiarities: there must be a ripping guitar solo, there must be 4/4 standard boomboom rhythms (those being the easiest to bang one's head to), and there must be an angry over-testosteroned singer with a cookie monster voice. Tool is the exception. Tool is capable of producing those fundamentally metal stereotypes, but chooses instead to create their own sound, one in which all elements contribute equally to the whole. Their work is well conceived, extremely well performed and overwhelmingly powerful.--Andrew Watson
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Lateralus
