I got my greedly little paws on the song this past Saturday and I believe it was released to the radio today. Stretching in at 7:09, it’s every bit Tool. I hear a hint of “Schism” and a decent amount of “Pushit” in it, which seems to agree with what I’ve found as the consensus opinion that the song would find an easy home on either Lateralus or Aenima. The song definitely kicks a bit of ass very thoroughly, but maybe in a way that seems too familiar. Still, it’s sooooo much better than the average piece of drivel that you typically hear on the “alt-rock” radio stations…
If, within the context of Tool’s last two albums, it doesn’t seem to break new ground, do we Tool fans have a right to complain about that, or should we just be happy that this song is consistent with our basic expectations?
As a sidenote, in the back of my mind I thought Danny Carey put the band on his shoulders and carried Lateralus for me…this first song sort of strengthens my impression that he is the band’s true frontman.
Tool is one of those bands that I’ve always wanted to hear more of. I mean, I’ve heard most of their albums, but I haven’t broken them down for close study. So I’ll address your question more generally, if that’s okay.
I felt the same way about Radiohead’s last album. It’s not bad, but it didn’t break any new ground, and I know I’d become accustomed to them doing that. So I felt in some cases that they were doing lesser versions of things they did before.
Do you have a right to complain about that? I think so, although a little perspective always helps - and you seem to have it. It’s obviously a major challenge for a band to keep changing; at some point almost all of them develop a signature sound and end up refining the sound more than redefining themselves.
It depends on what you want out of a band, ultimately. Some people want the bands they like to keep playing songs like the songs that made them listen in the first place. But you’re probably in that smaller group of fans that really want their bands to keep pushing themselves. We’re hard to please.
I’m not a raving fan of Tool, but I like 'em. This new song is so much a re-hash of the last couple albums that I can’t really give it any credit. It kinda sounds like they’re ripping themselves off, you know?
Just my music critic .02 - yes, it is fair to hold artists to standards that they set for themselves; when a band like Tool or Radiohead makes it a priority for each album to make the previous one “obsolete,” then suddenly takes a step backward or simply rehashes the previous record, it’s worth pointing fingers and complaining. Aphex Twin’s career followed a similar path; each new record of his was leaps and bounds beyond the previous one, until suddenly Drukqs was pure rehash, and the fans were vocal in this disappointment.
If Tool are rehashing themselves, then it’s certainly fair to call them out on it. I still think that they’re one of the better mainstream hard rock bands still recording, and Aenima is up there in the pantheon of “Really great hard rock records” with Black Sabbath’s Paranoid and the first Led Zeppelin record.
Unfortunately, they totally lost it on Lateralus; whereas songs like “Eulogy” from Aenima hinted at prog tendencies, the songs on Lateralus were bloated, pointless, overlong, and the songwriting was just absent. There’s not a song on that record that’s in the same zip code as “Stinkfist” or “H.”
If this is the song that I heard on the radio on the way home from work yesterday, then I’m really disappointed. It was a by the numbers “Tool Song”, not what I expect from what was once one of the most innovative bands in hard rock. Keenan’s voice sounded weak, and it wasn’t heavy enough to really rock.
I agree with VC03 regarding Lateralus being a bit of a disappointment. I am a fan of TOOL and Maynard. However, I think Maynard’s successes are almost cyclical. If you look at things like A Perfect Circle or other side projects (Replicants I think) he hits then misses. Seems to me, the misses are where he/they learn what not to do and is a part of them pushing into new areas. We are not going to love everything; but I believe they are a great band and we should continue to support them, because between the mediocre ones there are some really great ones.
I agree wholeheartedly with the comment about the new song being a retread. However, I’m going to disagree as to holding a band to a standard of constant innovation.
Take, for example, (as noted above) Hail to the Thief: Where some thought it was a step back for the band, I thought it was one of their best albums. It seemed to combine the great elements of OKCPU & KidA & Amnesiac into a cogent album idea. Gone was that sense of computerized perfection on Kid A, but the electronic elements they experimented with remained. I thought they did a fantastic job expanding on their earlier works, but with a sort of holistic approach. In contrast, I thought Lateralus was kind of dissapointing. It seemed like Tool was purposely trying to continue what they’d started on Aenima, but it felt forced and overly prog-y to me. As for the new record, I’ll be at the store on May 2nd—we’ll see from there.
Innovation is overrated. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a band taking a sound they’ve developed over the years and writing good material in that vein. Damn shame Lateralus wasn’t all that hot.
I wonder, though–would it have seemed so bad if there had been a release between Aenima and it? Or would it just have seemed a natural progression that we can’t see without that missing album?
That’s fair, and I did say he has a right to be disappointed. I like Radiohead in particular because they have challenged me in the past and don’t do what I expect. With Hail, they did integrate the electronics and weirdness of the past two albums, but their sound didn’t move forward. The result felt a little pale to me. There were a few great songs, but nothing with the ambiance or the sweep of their last couple of albums.
Yeah, I think a big part of the problem is that Tool takes four or five years between each record, so by the time there’s finally a new album, it’s “long-awaited” and has to be a “major statement,” etc. - also known as “The Trent Reznor Effect,” or “Why My Bloody Valentine and Portishead can never actually make their long-awaited followup albums.”
I’ve finally given this song some good listens and I agree that it’s more of the same, but at the same time it’s also a pretty good song. So overall I’m okay with it. I can’t wait to hear the full album, though.
Related note: What are people’s feelings on those weird, inbetween “songs” on Aemina? They sort of give me nightmares. But I like the one before Jimmy, that’s basically cheesy-organ Jimmy.
Intermission is awesome. Any time I make a mix for a party, I squeeze it in somewhere, 90% of the people don’t get it and the other 10% just shake their heads and smile.
Vicarious just sounds like an extra track off of Lateralus which isn’t a good thing in my opinion. When Lateralus came out, I loved it but it hasn’t aged well with time and Aenima blows it out of the water now. I was hoping to hear something new, something exciting. I heard Maynard had been listening to alot of Fantomas and was influenced by it. From what I have heard of Fantomas I didn’t like, too clicky for my tastes, but I don’t hear that in Viccarious at all. I was interested in listening to Maynard’s take on that. I don’t know, maybe the rest of the album will be a bit more out there and they just needed the most radio friendly song. We’ll see…
I won the new Tool CD today on the radio, and am listening to it right now. This is my second time through today and my first impressions are that it is pretty good. It is definitely better than Lateralus. At first blush there aren’t any songs with any real hooks to them (hook laden song isn’t typical Tool anyway).
The track list follows:
Vicarious (7:06)
Jambi (7:28)
Wings for Marie (Pt 1) (6:11)
10,000 days (Wings Pt 2) (11:13)
The Pot (6:21)
Lipan Conjuring (1:11)
Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann) (3:46)
Rosetta Stoned (11:11)
Intension (7:21)
Right in Two (8:55)
Viginti Tres (5:02) <–Mostly blank
I was going to see about maybe doing a Shoutcast of the album, but apparently there are restrictions about not playing more than 3 songs from the same album in a 2 hour period.
Bottom line: I recommend it, but then, I am a rabid fanboy.
OH, the packaging is awesome. There are some lenses on the cover and in the liner notes there are pictures in stereo pairs, so when you open it up and look through the lenses you see pictures in 3D. It is kind of like an old stereo-opticon. Which I am an absolute sucker for anything in 3d.
I’ve been listening to it pretty frequently for about a week now and I really like it, but it doesn’t seem as “meaty” as their previous albums. It seems like there is more filler this time around than before. “Lipan Conjuring”, “Lost Keys”, and “Viginti Tres” are all inbetween tracks that just set the mood - nothing too strange for a Tool album. “Rosetta Stoned” unfortunately doesn’t do anything for me, either, and “Intension” is a little ambient for them.
On the other hand, tracks 1 through 5 are fantastic. “Vicarious” gets better the more I listen to it and the one-two punch of “Wings”/“10,000 Days” is amazing. At the moment, my favorite track is “The Pot”, which is an awesome if a little odd. Let’s just say that the first time you hear it, you’re thinking “WTF?” and then the more you hear it, the more sense it makes.
I agree with interface2x tracks 1 and 5 are the best tracks so far. I also like track 2, with these two starting out the album, you start thinking to yourself, “this is going to be good.”
Vicarious is definitely growing on me. Has anyone else changed their opinion of Vicarious, now that they have heard it a few more times?
I kind of like Rosetta Stoned – if it weren’t so long though. You could throw away tracks 6, 7 and 11 (especially 11 – something spoken backwards in the middle, I’ll have to reinstall audacity to figure it out).
