I have a good friend who LOVES them. Constantly makes fun of me for not thinking they are amazing, hates any music I listen to.

I have yet to see the big deal about Tool. Sure, some of their riffs are kinda cool, but in the primary sense no. His lyrics are just beyond awful and his voice annoys me. Even though some enjoy the production of their records I don't at all.

~Jeremy~

you lie! :)



is one of the greatest metal albums of all time with some of the most profound lyrics in american music. It is like an existential trip through Saint Origen the Theologian's notebooks while taking mushrooms..

tool is the best band to come out of contemporary metal in the US. no one is like them, their math rock combined with startlingly poignant lyrics regarding the spirituality of existence (The Patient, The Grudge, Lateralus, Parabola, Reflection..) I wish I could go see them at this festival in two weeks here near LA, but I do not have that kind of $$$, like my nigga said, if you aint got the doh-rei-me..

Meh. I like some stuff they do. And yeah, some of their fans are fucking pricks.

agreed. I am engulfed by the Dead's music but avoid deadheads like the plague.. but you can only judge art on its own merits, not the after-effects.

i once had to sit through atool dvd with someone who was telling me they were the greatest band on earth. i felt horrible.

I think I'd have to say the same

This thread is turning exactly into the "i hate tool" thread. Always a wonder why everyone enjoys repeating themself..

I think they're o.k. and really liked some of Lateralus. Saw the guitar player with the Melvins and he held his own. Sometimes the singer is annoying though.

"is one of the greatest metal albums of all time with some of the most profound lyrics in american music. It is like an existential trip through Saint Origen the Theologian's notebooks while taking mushrooms.."

this sounds like someone making fun of tool fans

They really are brilliant songwriters, though.

"pushit" is amazing. I challenge any band to write a song that emotionally, structurally complex and make it not sound like a complete fucking mess.

estranged by guns n roses....only half joking

Lateralus blows.

away all other bands

Actually, chairman, Estranged is amazing. That's always been one of my favorite songs.......... Anyway... See, the brilliance of Tool, and they're obviously not the only band that does this.. but let me reference "Pushit" again.. or "Eulogy"... they have a lot of songs that never repeat. The songs flow, organically, from one section to another, to another, to another, to another... now, obviously, bands have been doing this since music existed, it's not some mindblowing, new technique that Tool invented. But few bands do it so well. THeir songs, literally, tell a story. And they never have ugly, throwaway parts in their music (not until 10,000 Days at least). All the songs flow so naturally. They really are brilliant musicians.

Also, Lateralus is absolutely amazing. It's extremely soft compared to all their other stuff ('cept for Ticks and Leeches) but it has their most powerful compositions on it. That minute-long scream in "The Grudge" is unbelievable, as is the guitar part that comes in directly after the quiet part in "Ticks and Leeches". The 11-minute "Triad" encompasses everything that makes Tool awesome. The album is a bit too long (79:59.9999! The fuck?! I played the disc on my computer once and it read the album as 80:01!) but eh. When so much of it is amazing, who cares? Honestly, it's not my favorite album by them, but it is probably their best. They removed all the filler (the "Filler" here is still musical), and it has their best songwriting, ever.

Their only real misstep is 10,000 Days. It has a few good songs, a few GREAT songs (love the opening track, with the dual guitar lines), but ... most of it is chunky, throwaway riffing. Sounds like a parody of Tool. Actually, no, it sounds like a band who maybe wanted to return to their "early" sound but were still in the Lateralus mindset so they made these long, epic songs without any thought put into the actual process of songwriting. You know what I said in the first paragraph about Tool's brilliant, organic, natural, flowing songwriting? Yeah. Almost none of that on 10,000 Days.

In all seriousness, Tool does blow away 99.9% of other bands out there. They're just too great. They're easily one of the best bands ever.

But I only really listen to 'em like once every 3 years.

Tool. meh, no thanks.

What about Right In Two?

it's a bong ripper sure

I'm actually rather embarrassed to admit this, but I am not at all familiar with Tool, like AT ALL. I mean, I know the name and that they're rather popular and I can even picture their emblem in my head... I am just not at all familiar with their music.

If a Tool song came on the radio I would not recognize it as a Tool song. If I have heard them, I didn't realize it was them at the time.

Where's a good place for someone to start? I usually start at the beginning... but any other ideas?

Aenima is their most popular.

Undertow is their first full length, but it has some "metal" types of moments atypical of most of their work (i.e. the thrashy burst in the middle of Crawl Away-but it's cool for that song).

Lateralus and 10,000 Days are awesome too, but they might be a bit difficult for a beginner.

So, I say Aenima.

That sounds more like a shortcut to insanity.