TOOL, Fear Inoculum, Album Review
TOOL
Fear Inoculum
Album Review
Theres an age-old saying that each album of music is its own different experience, and this saying has never rung more truth when it comes to the discography of TOOL.
One of the flag-bearers of progressive metal, TOOL have blown the minds of listeners ever since they formed almost 30 years ago in 1990. But its only recently, that the band have made a bit of a splash after a nearly 13 year hiatus since their 2006 album 10,000 Days.
With the return of TOOL in 2019, came the entirety of their discography finally being streamable, and with streamers finally recognising the band, it would also be the perfect time to release a new album.
That album has finally come, in the form of their 5th full-length record; Fear Inoculum.
Ever since I started getting into metal, I have had a funny relationship with the band. I first discovered the band thanks to Guitar Hero World Tour of all sources. I then went on to look further into the band and fell in love with all of the surreal music videos the band had for their greatest hits. These videos also contributed greatly towards my love towards surrealism and surrealist art. Also thanks to the band not being streamable until recently, TOOL were also the main reason behind me getting a record player; just so I could listen to a (very expensive) copy of their 2001 masterpiece Lateralus.
That being said, I have TOOL to thank for a lot of things. However, this newest album is the very first that I have listened to upon its release. And after such a long time of waiting, the return of TOOL seems like a dream come true.
This album was first teased by a title track a few weeks back, and on its own, it seemed like a typical TOOL-esque track. Initially, I wasn't blown away by the track, but it still had buildup and atmosphere in spades.
My opinion towards this changed quite drastically once the full album was released. The almost 10 and a half minute monster of a track served as a perfect introduction to what would be a spiralling musical mind-massage.
This album is gargantuan when considering its runtimes (both overall, and in its tracks). If your listening to the album on the way to work, you might be lucky enough to get through two tracks on this thing. The album in total has a runtime of almost an hour and a half, so this album is essentially an entire football match in length. As for the songs, the very longest clocks in at almost 16 minutes. What I would consider to be the "interludes" on this track can range from 2 to 5 minutes.
One thing that absolutely baffles me about this album, is that despite being thirteen years in the making, it instantly fit into the TOOL discography like a glove. It shows almost every element of the classic TOOL style, aesthetic and atmosphere, and quite frankly, I may rank it as one of the best "return to form" albums I have listened to in a long time.
Not to say that this album is a complete copy-paste of the bands existing music however; I found this album to have a softer and more mature sound (especially vocally). It clearly chooses layering, atmosphere and all-round professional composition over feeling the need to include typically heavy metal elements.
Comparing this album to the likes of Slipknot's newest record We Are Not Your Kind, I'd say my biggest criticism of each would be the interludes. But while the interludes on Slipknot's album detracted quite a bit from the atmosphere they were going for, it does make a tonne more sense on Fear Inoculum. My favourite of the interludes found on TOOL's record is possibly "Chocolate Chip Trip", which shows of the insane skill of drummer Danny Carey, while my least favourite track on the album probably has to be "Litanie contre la Peur", which is essentially over 2 minutes of auto-tuned humming.
But lets be real here, what we all wanted to listen to on this album is of-course the over 10 minute masterpieces which, in TOOL context, are the "standard tracks".
New listeners and fans alike have expressed their love for tracks like "Pneuma" and "7empest", but I think a real unsung hero on this album is the gorgeous "Culling Voices". Starting off with a soft and melancholic guitar loop and stunning vocals from Maynard James Keenan, it eventually progresses into a badass headbanger essential with enough uniqueness and atmosphere to keep it deeply interesting.
It would be incredibly difficult to pin-point why I love each of the albums songs, because they are so extensive and so multi-layered that you wind up discovering something new each and every time you listen to them, and this is one of several things that allow TOOL to stand out as a truly talented band with a sixth sense for little details.
The last, and maybe most important point I wanted to address is that since TOOL's last album and this one, the trends and conventions in music have changed drastically. TOOL do indeed take advantage of the advancements, but refuse to succumb to trends and conventions, as so many other bands seem to have done. They have consistently remained themselves ever since 1990, and Fear Inoculum comes as solid proof of this.
This album was indeed an experience, and one of the best of 2019.
One thing that absolutely baffles me about this album, is that despite being thirteen years in the making, it instantly fit into the TOOL discography like a glove. It shows almost every element of the classic TOOL style, aesthetic and atmosphere, and quite frankly, I may rank it as one of the best "return to form" albums I have listened to in a long time.
Not to say that this album is a complete copy-paste of the bands existing music however; I found this album to have a softer and more mature sound (especially vocally). It clearly chooses layering, atmosphere and all-round professional composition over feeling the need to include typically heavy metal elements.
Comparing this album to the likes of Slipknot's newest record We Are Not Your Kind, I'd say my biggest criticism of each would be the interludes. But while the interludes on Slipknot's album detracted quite a bit from the atmosphere they were going for, it does make a tonne more sense on Fear Inoculum. My favourite of the interludes found on TOOL's record is possibly "Chocolate Chip Trip", which shows of the insane skill of drummer Danny Carey, while my least favourite track on the album probably has to be "Litanie contre la Peur", which is essentially over 2 minutes of auto-tuned humming.
But lets be real here, what we all wanted to listen to on this album is of-course the over 10 minute masterpieces which, in TOOL context, are the "standard tracks".
New listeners and fans alike have expressed their love for tracks like "Pneuma" and "7empest", but I think a real unsung hero on this album is the gorgeous "Culling Voices". Starting off with a soft and melancholic guitar loop and stunning vocals from Maynard James Keenan, it eventually progresses into a badass headbanger essential with enough uniqueness and atmosphere to keep it deeply interesting.
It would be incredibly difficult to pin-point why I love each of the albums songs, because they are so extensive and so multi-layered that you wind up discovering something new each and every time you listen to them, and this is one of several things that allow TOOL to stand out as a truly talented band with a sixth sense for little details.
The last, and maybe most important point I wanted to address is that since TOOL's last album and this one, the trends and conventions in music have changed drastically. TOOL do indeed take advantage of the advancements, but refuse to succumb to trends and conventions, as so many other bands seem to have done. They have consistently remained themselves ever since 1990, and Fear Inoculum comes as solid proof of this.
This album was indeed an experience, and one of the best of 2019.
Thank you for reading
Booth Boy
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