"In possesion of a self-righteous indignation so infectious that it once
prompted no less than John Popper to say that their music made him want to
strike a small man, Tool have always played second fiddle to Rage Against The
Machine in the Cranky and Primal Political Band sweepstakes. A brittle
mixture of rock, metal, and industrial, the band's second album, Aenima is
vaguely less human and more mechanized than 1993's Undertow. But there's
nothing here as immediate as "Sober", the one hit Tool can lay claim to, it's
an oddly approachable collection anyway. Numbers such as "Useful Idiot" are
even, well, catchy, though it exemplifies Tool's habit of taking a good idea
and bludgeoning it into submission, often at great length ("Useful Idiot"
clocks in at 6:03, which for Tool is positively brisk). Sublety has never
been one of their better virtues. One look at the song titles ("Hooker With A
Penis"?) will tell you that, as will the wavering German accent of lead
singer Maynard James Keenan that doubtlessly speaks less of the band's
origins (they're from LA), than it does of an unfortunate fascination with
Einsturzende Neubauten."

     I actually Emailed a reply to this horrible review:

Dear huH,
     I was disappointed after reading Allison Stewart's review of "Aenima"
in your November issue (#27). Not only does Stewart miss the point of
Tool's music, grouping them with Rage Against The Machine in the "Cranky
And Primal Political Band sweepstakes", she also seems to have a bad copy
of the disc, because on my CD, "Useful Idiot" is only about 40 seconds
long. And as for her try at sarcasm concerning "the band's unfortunate
fascination with Einst=B8rzende Neubauten" and Keenan's "wavering German
accent", the only German spoken on the album is on "Die Eier Von Satan"
(translation: The Eggs Of Satan), a little ditty which gives you a recipe
for cookies without eggs! 
     The only unfortunate things here are that Allison Stewart was allowed to
review this album (of which she knows nothing about, other than what she
gathered on her "one look at the song titles"), and that you chose to print
it.
     Allison, please take a word of advice from our good buddy Maynard James
Keenan and "try and read between the lines"... instead of just reading the
track listing.

     If you want a real idea of who the band is, and what their music is,
check out the unofficial Tool website @ http://toolshed.down.net. (it's
better than the official one)

Yours truly,
Adam Blackburn
A74dart@aol.com