I have never heard Tool do anything remotely similar to something that would qualify as a riff, except maybe Parabola, and that's a very distinctive song.
And Urban, before you or someone else call Tool a technical wanky band like Dream Theater, it should be noted that Adam Jones and Justin Chancellor aren't very technical at all, they can play in odd time signatures and make creative use of their instruments, but they don't do fancy neo classical shredding kind of stuff or anything remotely close to that... In fact most of Tool's guitar and bass solos (when there are any, which is rare) are very brief and simple in comparison to the whole structure of the song, when Jones or Chancellor do solo, it almost always fits the song... And the only truly technical member of the group is their drummer, Danny Carey.
Tool's music is more about the intensity and build up than anything else, they do use complex structures, but so do Radiohead, and they are by no means virtuosos.... In short, complexity dosen't always equal amazing technical skill.
|