page: 
 title: TOOL - 'SALIVAL' (MUSIC FOR NATIONS)
author: Simon P Ward

Issued as a stop-gap to whet Tool fans' appetites again 
following the long gap between 1996's 'Aenima' and April's 
new 'Lateralus' set, 'Salival' is a CD and video/DVD package 
aimed at hardened followers of the dark metallers.

The visual side of the deal rounds up their promotional 
videos to date, including the disturbing animated clips 
for 'Prison Sex' and 'Sober'. The album, meanwhile, is a 
collection of out-takes and previously unreleased material.

Beginning with the juddering monstrosity that is the live 
version of 'Third Eye', there is no doubt that the band want to 
be judged as an epic attraction. It's unfortunate that they've 
chosen to lengthen some of the tracks to the point of 
monotony.

And without the sight of singer Maynard James Keenan 
stalking the stage while issuing that part-operatic, part-serial 
killer moan of his, there is no visual distraction from the 
lumpen instrumental passages.

Only the versions of 'Part Of Me' and the cover of bass player 
Justin Chancellor's former band Peach's track 'You Lied' are 
compelling. The former is a visceral blast of anger while the 
latter displays an eerie, controlled fury.

Of the studio tracks, 'Message To Harry Manback II' and 'L.A. 
Municipal Court' both contain telephone recordings. The 
former has an answering machine message featuring a 
menacing voice promising to perform various (no doubt 
unspeakable) acts in a mixture of broken English and what 
sounds like Italian over an orchestrated backing. The latter 
has a dirge-like guitar hammering over an automated 
answering service from the eponymous courthouse. This 
gradually spirals into madness as the guitars rise in volume 
and the person listening to the instructions begins manically 
pushing all the buttons on their telephone at once. Mildly 
humorous, but hardly essential listening.

Their cover of Led Zeppelin's 'No Quarter', on the other hand, 
is once again on the lengthy side of things but is interesting 
in its crawling, tension-ridden build-up. Ironically, the secret 
track (the chorus to which sounds like "Maynard's dick") is the 
most accessible track on the album, a throwback to their first, 
bile-soaked EP. That is, until it ends in a hail of burping and 
farting.

With Tool, nothing is as straightforward as it seems. Let's 
hope the new album isn't such hard work.


Posted to t.d.n: 04/21/02 18:39:57