page: 77
 title: The Spin Top 40 (Only Bands that Matter)
author: Ryan Rayhil

Complex, haunting, and deathly dark.  Tool kept the world 
confounded this past year with the monolithic puzzlebox 
Lateralus, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's pop albums 
chart with no marketable, or even decipherable, single in 
sight.  If possible, the album was even more brooding and 
challenging then 1996's Aenima, which at least had bits of 
routines form comedian Bill Hicks scattered as clues.  The 
only thing for certain about the band is that they are good.  
Unnaturally good.  Walking a fine line between Rush and 
Black Sabbath while sidestepping rock's anti-intellectual 
climate, Tool sound only like themselves.  They've created a 
staggering, hermetic world whose influence may not be 
realized for years to come.
Posted to t.d.n: 03/05/02 19:09:28