Tool - Fear Inoculum - 8/30

[aith01]

Really? One man's art is another's trash.


And for this TOOL fan, the packaging is specifically designed to annoy and distract from the regression of their sound/ethos and the generally weaker set of tuneage on 10k Days.

YMMV but when the fucking thing adds no value to the contents therein (and that is NOT the case for aenima or lateralus) its excessive and useless for the aake of being excessive and useless.

Well I'm sorry you feel that way. Nice way to sidestep the question of art and practicality though.

[aith01]

Well, people can say that about any band that they either don't like, or have lost interest in, Chad. I thought that after Signals Rush kept making the same old, same old album, every time. You might disagree. And, of course, this is always the dilemma of a band. If they don't change enough, they aren't evolving, if they change a lot, but the older fans think it sucks, then they've sold out. Personally, I'm fine with a band doing variations on their basic sound, but still sounding recognizable, as long as the music is still good, which for me, Tool have continued to do.

neil

This is pretty much my feeling on it too, with all of it (except for Rush making the same album every time; I thought it was just almost every time ). I'm fine with Tool still sounding recognizable. And as I've said before, this is only one song. I'll wait until I hear the whole CD before I give it the "Best Album Ever" or "Worst Album Ever" award.

If you like what Tool is doing, all power to you. I personally don't hear much, if anything, new from them from what I heard from "10,000 Days" or their new single. I was hoping for some sort of evolution of their sound.

You can bring up Rush all you want. Like the later material or not, you can't say that "Grace Under Pressure" and "Clockwork Angels" sound anything alike.

A big difference with Rush is that none of the members had any side projects to speak of during their heyday. Rush was their only real output for music, so that is why there could be so much difference between "Grace Under Pressure" and "Clockwork Angels". Rush was also much more prolific than Tool has been, and they were also around a lot longer than Tool, so that argument doesn't really hold any water IMO.

With Tool, the members have had multiple other projects going on outside of the band (A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, Volta, and others) where they can do some different things. It's a difficult tightrope to walk for any band, being different enough but not too different.

[boilk]

If you like what Tool is doing, all power to you. I personally don't hear much, if anything, new from them from what I heard from "10,000 Days" or their new single. I was hoping for some sort of evolution of their sound.

You can bring up Rush all you want. Like the later material or not, you can't say that "Grace Under Pressure" and "Clockwork Angels" sound anything alike.

You have to understand, Chad. I was (and still am) a MASSIVE Rush fan, probably when you were still a very young lad. They were of gigantic importance to me. A Farewell to Kings was the first concert I ever went to, without parental accompaniment. So, I am the last person who will bash Rush. Having said that, to us that grew up on 2112, AFTK and Hemispheres, well, a lot of my friends and I didn't even like Moving Pictures when it came out! Of course it's a great album, but to us, at the time, that was selling out. So, despite adding more synths, then later taking them away, I just don't think they changed that much after that. So, for me, yes I can say that. Anyways, I'm not contending that Tool have radically altered their sound, they are just still working in a style that I like...kind of like if Rush had kept making variances on Permanent Waves, over the next bunch of albums.

neil

[Nearfest2]

A big difference with Rush is that none of the members had any side projects to speak of during their heyday. Rush was their only real output for music, so that is why there could be so much difference between "Grace Under Pressure" and "Clockwork Angels". Rush was also much more prolific than Tool has been, and they were also around a lot longer than Tool, so that argument doesn't really hold any water IMO.

So Tool sounds the same from album to album because the band members have side projects to outlet other creativity? Usually when band members have side projects, they come back to the main band re-energized and the music benefits from new influences, etc. Little water here. And the longevity argument is a sieve.

Anyways, I'm not contending that Tool have radically altered their sound, they are just still working in a style that I like

And that's great. I'm glad you like what they do. A lot of folks do. If I have to put "IMHO" on this thread then we are back to square one.

[aith01]

So Tool sounds the same from album to album because the band members have side projects to outlet other creativity? Usually when band members have side projects, they come back to the main band re-energized and the music benefits from new influences, etc. Little water here. And the longevity argument is a sieve.

No, my point is that it's apples and oranges. And I think you're overlooking what is more often the case with side projects, in that they act as an outlet for music that wouldn't fit within the confines of the main band's sound. Seldom do I hear a side project sound trickle back into the main project -- although some of what Maynard James Keenan was doing after Lateralus apparently had an influence on his singing style because he did some different things on 10,000 Days, so it's not unheard of.

And I don't think Tool "sounds the same" from one album to the next, but they still sound like themselves -- just like Rush always has sounded like Rush.

[sergio]

it's just down to if you like it or not... 10000 sounded pretty epic in places, not all of it. Dont like that "meandering" bits on Wings etc... just cut BS and give us more Pot, Jambi, Rosetta etc

[NeonKnight]

My first impression: Deja Vu......

This is what we've been waiting more then a decade for?

I need to listen more then twice, and I did like it a lot more the second time around. And I don't mind them maintaining their signature sound.

But if the rest of the album implies we might have heard these riffs before, major major letdown...but let's wait and see.

Really? One man's art is another's trash.


And for this TOOL fan, the packaging is specifically designed to annoy and distract from the regression of their sound/ethos and the generally weaker set of tuneage on 10k Days.

YMMV but when the fucking thing adds no value to the contents therein (and that is NOT the case for aenima or lateralus) its excessive and useless for the aake of being excessive and useless.

Nailed it. Artwork on the album is nice but not worth the extra 10K days it takes to release the album with the art designed to distract from the weak tunes.. Just get the music out there, I look at the album cover a few times but the music is the friggin point guys....

[progholio]

Tool's journey:

Opiate -> angry teenager disillusioned with organized religion rants about how shitty things are.
Undertow -> slightly older but still angry teenager disillusioned with himself rants about how shitty he is.
Aenima -> angry young adult disillusioned with culture rants about how shitty everyone is, but also discovers pot and magic mushrooms and starts to grow as a person.
Lateralus -> now an adult, our hero reconciles self with the world, finally learns to let go of past burdens, forgive, accept, and embrace personal spirituality in a moment of genuine cosmic clarity.
10,000 Days -> cosmic oneness only lasts as long as the acid does. Now our adult is left wondering 'now what?' and falls back on what he already knows. Vacillates between 'enlightenment' and 'everyone is stupid.' No growth occurs. Tries to hide relative lack of musical and spiritual progress with gimmicky 3D goggles installed in a cardboard box that falls apart in one week.
Fear Inoculum -> I'm too old for this shit but I'm still going to buy their 50$ "tri-fold Soft Pack Video Brochure," which includes a built-in, 4-inch HD screen so I can get high and look at edgy renderings of eyeballs for an hour because I'm a fucking tool.

Great single, tho.

Great summary, is this from the perspective of the listener or the artist?

I like Tool a lot, not an uberfan but i do own have enjoyed all of the studio releases. After listening to Fear Inoculum single it sounds like (i hate to say this) more of the same, like i've heard this somewhere before. I might be alright borrowing a copy.

Btw, i don't understand the Rush references.
And the King Crimson comparison? Other than they once toured together they are completely different.

[aith01]

[...] let's wait and see.

Good idea.

Nailed it. Artwork on the album is nice but not worth the extra 10K days it takes to release the album with the art designed to distract from the weak tunes.. Just get the music out there, I look at the album cover a few times but the music is the friggin point guys....

Well I, for one, appreciate that they do something different with the packaging than 99% of every other CD release. Do you seriously believe that it somehow negatively impacts the actual music-making process?

[boilk]

And I don't think Tool "sounds the same" from one album to the next, but they still sound like themselves -- just like Rush always has sounded like Rush.

Absolutely this.

neil

[NeonKnight]

Good idea.




Well I, for one, appreciate that they do something different with the packaging than 99% of every other CD release. Do you seriously believe that it somehow negatively impacts the actual music-making process?

I don't think anyone here is ready to write the whole new album off based on one song. Waiting is fine, but expectations are sky high. Based on the title track, it may indeed be time to dial our expectations back a bit.

Yes I appreciate different artwork, but 3D glasses? I think 99% of the buyers of 10K days used those ridiculous glasses a few time at most.

I know for a fact the art has negatively impacted the band because of the infamous lawsuit they are involved with, which led to massive delays in releasing their music. I also suspect the band and the fans would be better served with simple album artwork and more concentration on the music instead of the obvious focus on fancy art work nobody really looks at all that much....

[battema]

I don't think anyone here is ready to write the whole new album off based on one song. Waiting is fine, but expectations are sky high. Based on the title track, it may indeed be time to dial our expectations back a bit.

Yes I appreciate different artwork, but 3D glasses? I think 99% of the buyers of 10K days used those ridiculous glasses a few time at most.

I know for a fact the art has negatively impacted the band because of the infamous lawsuit they are involved with, which led to massive delays in releasing their music. I also suspect the band and the fans would be better served with simple album artwork and more concentration on the music instead of the obvious focus on fancy art work nobody really looks at all that much....

I broke out 10,000 Days just the other day and yes, I browsed the 3D booklet the whole time. I thought it was very clever, still do. Big fat *shrug* for different strokes...

[aith01]

Yes I appreciate different artwork, but 3D glasses? I think 99% of the buyers of 10K days used those ridiculous glasses a few time at most.

I know for a fact the art has negatively impacted the band because of the infamous lawsuit they are involved with, which led to massive delays in releasing their music. I also suspect the band and the fans would be better served with simple album artwork and more concentration on the music instead of the obvious focus on fancy art work nobody really looks at all that much....

I was talking about the different packaging negatively impacting the music, not about legal troubles affecting the band pertaining to the artwork used. Those are two different things.

[aith01]

I broke out 10,000 Days just the other day and yes, I browsed the 3D booklet the whole time. I thought it was very clever, still do. Big fat *shrug* for different strokes...

Glad to hear this.

And thought it was clever too. Like you said: *shrug*

Can't please everybody.

[sergio]

got shipping notification today... looks like it is coming indeed

[Tbone]

Listening to the new Tool cd now, Fear Inoculum! Very nice 😁

[gpeccary]

It feels like waiting thirteen years to be bored...

[dropforge]

[jlneudorf]

Tool can shove this you know where. $70 at a record store I just visited. No desire for the extras. Just the music. I'll pass.

[jlneudorf]

I dont often get irate but it kinda pisses me off.

[arturs]

Is there really no way to purchase Fear Inoculum at a somewhat normal CD price (< $20)?

[Guntrip]

"A warrior
Struggling
To remain
Consequential"

They weren't kidding. This is definitely an album about getting older.

I'm torn on this one. It's a slightly more somber and measured approach, but maybe too measured, and strangely devoid of energy and bravery. But in retrospect, maybe that was the whole thematic premise of the album. It is after all about getting older and (hopefully) wiser, and the guys are aware of that. Unfortunately, getting older for Tool also means 'becoming more predictable and rote,' and ultimately not much wiser at all. The whole thing is a striking self commentary on the artistic state of the band itself, a genuinely vulnerable reflection on the loss of their youth and the painful recognition of their own stagnation and failure to evolve past familiar patterns. Most of it is like a greatest riffs compilation, drawing heavily from past work to the point of being blatantly self-derivative, with Adam and Justin just riffing on familiar ideas we've heard before but adding the occasional embellishment in an attempt to make them appear new. "Hey guys, remember this riff? Well, I added an extra note to it! Isn't that cool?" MJK singing "fuck, here we go again" before delivering another angry tirade was like... fourth wall stuff, man. Then you've got the completely phoned in Pneuma, just to remind everyone (in case they forgot) that yes, we are all definitely one soul and totally cosmic sun children, didn't you know?

But again, that was kind of the point, wasn't it? An unevolving album about the failure to evolve, a dull edged album about the dulling of edges, a withering experience about withering away. Does that make this flaccid, sad thing a secret masterpiece? A self-aware and utterly transparent album about basically going 'round yet again with nothing new to say, but with all the wisdom and authenticity to admit it without fear or shame? To boldly declare "I have nothing new to say because I'm old and done?" I mean, I shed a tear during Invincible because I feel old and done, but does that really make this album great, or just a parody of its own mediocrity?

MJK was on the Joe Rogan Experience some time back. During the podcast, he talks briefly about how he thinks every artist is (more or less) doomed to stagnate. He talks about how a creator's early work is the most powerful reflection of themselves, a distillation of the entirety of their experiences up to that point into a single work of art, a declaration of who they are. As time wears on, however, their albums become creatively bankrupt because the artists themselves are no longer living a life worth reflecting on: the only life they know now is one spent on the road, going about the business of music, living the same day and repeating the same patterns over and over, and no longer drawing on substantial, diverse and meaningful experiences to infuse into their creations. Tool, as a band that lives their art, has done exactly this. But unlike more foolish musicians who attempt to clumsily play young again and make fools of themselves, Tool are self-aware enough to turn their own creative deflation into an art piece.

If that's not great prog, I don't know what is. This is the best boring album ever made.

[moecurlythanu]

This may be the response to the current situation re salable music. Or at least an experiment. Of course it will be available on the pirate sites about 4 seconds after release.

[moecurlythanu]

But again, that was kind of the point, wasn't it? An unevolving album about the failure to evolve, a dull edged album about the dulling of edges, a withering experience about withering away. Does that make this flaccid, sad thing a secret masterpiece? A self-aware and utterly transparent album about basically going 'round yet again with nothing new to say, but with all the wisdom and authenticity to admit it without fear or shame? To boldly declare "I have nothing new to say because I'm old and done?" I mean, I shed a tear during Invincible because I feel old and done, but does that really make this album great, or just a parody of its own mediocrity?

Well, there are show-ers and there are growers. I wouldn't be shocked if you post in 3 weeks about how this has opened itself to you over time and is the best thing since sliced brisket. Frankie says Relax.

[jlneudorf]

At the moment yes. Hopefully they will release it as a regular CD.