page: 4
 title: Tool: The Return
author: 

Tool have played us five tracks from their as-yet-untitled third full-
length album, which is due for UK release on April 16. The band's 
first studio outing since 1996's 'Aenima', the album has been 
surrounded by confusion, due to the band deliberately leaking fake 
song and album titles through their own website. The previously 
announced album title 'Systema Enchephale', for instance, has been 
revealed as a mere smoke-screen. Some of the fake song titles 
revealed on the band's official website have incuded 'Poopy the 
Clown', 'Juggling Poop' and 'Alcawhorlick'.

The album was produced by David Bottrell (sic) and recorded over two 
months at Cello Studios in Ocean Way, California and at Larrabee 
studios in Universal City, Los Angeles. In America, it will be 
released a day later than the UK edition, on April 17, vocalist 
Maynard James Keenan's birthday.

Kerrang! is the only UK magazine to have heard the new Tool material. 
The songs are complex - most of them are over eight minutes long and 
feature numerous twists of mood which are unlike anything else in 
rock music at the moment. There are spacious and melodic moments, 
surprisingly aggressive elements and a real emphasis on rhythm, with 
an almost tribal, African flavour on certain tracks. As challenging 
and intricate as ever, the new Tool album looks likely to be a 
masterpiece.

The band themselves are extremely pleased with the new material - and 
in particular the way it defies traditional song structure.

Speaking exclusively to Kerrang! in Los Angeles, Maynard Keenan 
said: "I think the organic way we write, the organic way we put our 
music together, lends itself to these creative angles. The rock 
format is often pretty easy, pretty simple - riff, chorus, middle 
eight, see you later - but none of us fit into that format. It was 
just something that never interested us and I think the music 
stronger for that."

"It's important to remember that the music you hear is the result of 
four of us working together," says English-born bassist Justin 
Chancellor. "The sounds you hear come from all of us contrubuting 
material."

Drummer Danny Carey adds that the album sees Tool take on a whole new 
lease of life.

"The music we make is very natural for us. Maybe this time the music 
and the arrangements are a little more intense because Maynard was 
off doing his own thing (with A Perfect Circle). That meant that we 
worked on the music as musicians and strove very hard to get the 
songs complete before any words are even brought to the table. Maybe 
because of that the album is a little more driven. And when we hear 
the finished article it's a very gratifying thing."

The new Tool album, track by track...

'Schism': The most immediate track we hard. The tempo on this seven-
minute song is mid-paced but driving and powerful with searing, 
urgent vocals, a great guitar riff and a surprisingly catchy chorus.

'The Grudge': This eight-minute song features an almost machine-like 
vocal from Maynard Keenan which is rhythmic and staccato, threatening 
and oppressive. The song builds to a great climax and finishes off 
with a riveting guitar riff.

'Parabola': This nine-minute song begins with a luxuriant bass-run 
and melodic, floating vocals. A pulsating, driving beat comes 
crashing in, underpinning a mixture of riffs and lead guitar. Slows 
at the end to a huge, hulking riff.

'Lateralus': Another nine-minute epic, this song builds quickly into 
a big, spiralling power-chord riff with sublime whispers from Keenan. 
Softens to virtual silence in the middle, before slowly returning to 
volume.

'Patient': Opening with almost Egyptian-sounding guitars, this eight-
minute song drifts to a gorgeous, floating vocal, sung over gentle 
chords and a sparse, delicate drum-beat. Lulling the listener into a 
false sense of security, the band then bring things to the boil with 
double-bass drum rums and a piercing solo note riff from guitarist 
Adam Jones. Features fantastic mid-pace riffs and a compelling lead 
guitar part.

Posted to t.d.n: 02/03/01 07:12:40




Publication: Kerrang!
Date: February, 2001


Transcribed by
Papa Lazarou (adkni@hotmail.com)