The Official Tool Thread

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Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

My favorite from that album is Parabol//Parabola

"this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that I am not alone and this body, this body holding me, be my reminder here that all this pain is an illusion."

Lateralus though comes after many years (5?) of many different things happening. I have to give them credit - I don't know how many bands would have survived.

Edit: Hey, having said that I went back and listened to some Undertow. What do you think of his voice now? I sort of miss whats here on Undertow/Aenima.

When I first discovered Lateralus, the first song I would always skip to was "Parabol". I've survived a lot of **** because of "The Patient" and Danny Carey's performance in "Schism" always catches me off guard, but "Parabol" is a musical womb. Albeit the similarity in lyrics in "Parabol" and "Parabola", "Parabol" delivers a tone more definitive, more personal. Periodically, it feels like the chant-like tone of Maynard's voice and the echoing guitar is abruptly interrupted by "Parabola". Perhaps it symbolizes some sort of awakening, but to me, it's an abrasive mask over such moving lyrics.

I love Undertow and Aenima for the rawness and anger. The expressions and emotions are in-you-face. There are hints of that in later albums (Lateralus and 10,000 Days), but it's subtle. The vocals are a huge factor in this. I enjoy the different vocal ranges Maynard explores. He definitely has a distinct sound, but like someone said in an earlier post, he writes his lyrics based on vocals. The fact that most of their lyrics are ****ing brilliant is testament to how talented he is, but also how lyrically limiting this might have been. I enjoy his growth and range as a vocalist, but I do prefer the rougher side when it comes to sound.

EDIT: Lateralus, I know exactly what you're talking about in Pushit. I remember noticing it for the first time while I was running, and I just stopped moving for a bit. I can't tell you how many times I listened to the song that day.