Originally Posted by
Guntrip
I think part of it is also the fact that a lot of fans grew up with the band. They themselves changed rapidly during the increasingly large gaps between these later albums. I think expectations were not only tremendously high, but tremendously warped in many respects. Those who expected Tool to evolve with them like they did in their teenage years are disappointed to find that Tool is... well, pretty much still Tool, only older and less energetic. Their own tastes have changed, so they naturally expect that this band that meant the world to them in their youth is going to be mind blowing again, just like the progression from Undertow to Aenima to Lateralus was in the 90s / early 00s. I've always felt that Tool lives their art, and they did a great job keeping up with the growth of their fans, speaking to them with each album that resonated with their own conflicts: disillusionment, angst, the desire for spirituality, the hypocrisy of culture, etc. But this wait was so long that they kind of fell out of sync with their main audience.
Simply put, a lot of these guys have just... moved on. I want to like this album more than I do, but the reality is that my tastes have changed these past 13 years towards more obtuse and experimental music, and Tool just doesn't blow my mind anymore. As unreasonable as it sounds, my main source of disappointment is that they didn't change and grow with me, when it seemed (emphasis on seemed) like they used to. The difference between Undertow and Aenima was a massive evolution in sound, then Aenima to Lateralus was (and to my ears still remains) a great evolution that they've never matched since. Tool was, at one point, a band I was consistently surprised by, whereas now there's actually discussion about how "Tool sounds too much like Tool." It seems like such a strange talking point at first, but it makes sense. It's a point of contention for Tool fans who like the band because of their evolving sound, whereas it's a positive point for those who are satisfied with Tool's sound as it is and want more of the same. Neither camp is wrong, they're just coming at their expectations from very different angles.
Meanwhile, the band itself is left wedged between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, if they change too much, they suck. If they don't change enough, they suck. While Tool never changed so much that they could get away with drastic stuff a band like say, Ulver does, I think a sizable portion of the fanbase does (fairly) expect a distinct progression in their sound and philosophy. But compounding matters even more, even amongst the 'pro-evolution' fans, no one can agree on what direction the band should even evolve in anymore. I.E:
-Should they become more spiritual, like on Lateralus? But if that concept has already been done, it would be a step back, so...
-Should they focus on a raw sound? Well, they did that already, so...
-More dick jokes?
-Less dick jokes?
-More electronic aspects?
-Less electronic aspects?
-Soundscapes, King Crimson style? How many soundscapes? Trippy pleasant soundscapes or overwhelming dark ones?
-Different song writing structures? More jamming, less jamming, more over the top, less over the top, subdued, energetic, angry, sad? More screaming, less screaming?
-Cynic style math rock?
-More psychedelia?
-Less psychedelia?
-Full on Djent?
-Rap rock?
-Sudden Mekanik Destructiw Kommandoh?
-Fuckin' dubstep?
They can't win, and so, naturally, the fan base fractures into progressively smaller and smaller branches, each favoring a handful of elements, and each in opposition to the preferences of the rest. The evolvers or 'big picture' types don't want Tool to stay the same--they want them to deliver something beyond the beyond, something they can't even fathom that will blow their minds from one end of the universe to the other--while the satisfied types want them to stay exactly the same because they love their current sound and it's what they want and expect. Some are grappling with expectations that aren't even reasonable, others have so few expectations that they might as well not care either way. No wonder this album is driving Tool fans insane, myself included.
But more than anything, I'm just sad. Sad that I no longer resonate with these guys in the same way, sad that the past is gone and they may never resonate with me again. But in a glass is half full sense, I think that's a testament to how much they once meant to me. Only lost love can inspire so much grief.
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