Publication: ICE
Date: May, 2001
Transcribed by
Alex Ovaitt (alexinchains0@hotmail.com)
Alex Ovaitt (alexinchains0@hotmail.com)
page: 6 title: Tool Rears Its Head Once Again author: Tool Rears Its Head Once Again 79-minute epic Lateralus defies length, structure Over the course of the last 10 years, Tool has scorched the alt-metal world with unsurpassed musical craftsmanship and artistic wizardry. The quartet finally break an extended hiatus on May 15 with their new volcano release, Lateralus. After a five-year wait, Tool fans--a remarkably massive, conventional conglomerate for such an unconventional act--will salivate over the new offering, as the band tries to penetrate the Billboard chart’s Top 5 (1996’s Aenima [sic] hit #2) and once again snatch another Grammy (Best Metal Performance, 1998). The cumulative product of infrequent recording sessions held over the past year-and-a-half, Lateralus was completed last February but marred by a pair of stalled release dates. The 79-minute saga will now follow last December’s eight-song box set of rarities, Salival, which held fans over until the new project could be completed. Despite the lengthy wait, production time for Lateralus added up to a mere four months, according to producer David Bottrill. The English resident paid periodic visits to the U.S. starting in early 2000, trekking with the band to Hollywood’s Cello Studios (the same location at which Aenima was solidified). Lateralus was, for the most part, recorded in sizable chunks, as evidenced by two of the album’s adjunct tracks in particular, “Parabol” and “Parabola.” The other noteworthy suite on the new disc is the album’s climactic 22-minute overture, featuring the sister songs “Disposition,” “Reflection” and “Triad.” The first two were recorded in the same breath, while the band chose to tack on the aptly titled latter track afterwards. Size is a central concern for the Bob Ludwig-mastered Lateralus. Maximizing the potential of a single disc to its fullest capacity, drummer Danny Carey explains to ICE that while Tool set out to create an album that would guide the listener through an engrossing aural journey, “We didn’t go out and say, ‘Let’s write eight- and nine-minute songs for the whole record.’” While he’s content with the final outcome, Carey admits, “It would’ve been nice if some of [the songs] had turned out shorter, just for variety. But once the songs are in the process of being written, they take on a life of their own and you just gotta be as true to it as you possibly can.” Carey reflects on the recording process as “more relaxed” than with past albums, though producer Bottrillreveals to ICE that impending manager- and label-related lawsuits added “turbulence” to the project. Carey asserts, however, that “On past albums, we felt imprisoned, although that’s a little bit strong of a word. We always wanted to be able to play everything live, just like we did on our records. “We kind of let go of that [on Lateralus]. Adam [Jones, guitarist] did more experimenting with his guitar tones and layering, and Maynard [James Keenan, vocalist] did the same . . . he put a lot more harmonies on here that he wouldn’t be able to pull off live. I was really happy that we broke out of that purist thing.” Bottrill views Lateralus as “a natural progression from Undertow. Things like ‘Sober’ invited you into the strange world of Tool, Aenima took it a step further and said, ‘Well, c’mon, you may as well journey with us.’ This [Lateralus] is another page along the way.” Bottrill does cite a conscious effort on the part of Tool to “break the mold. Without people like Tool and Radiohead to break the mold, we’re left with what’s on the radio.” Which, according to Bottrill, leaves much to be desired. He identifies a large aggregate of young adults and teens that have yet to experience alternate forms of rock music, and predicts that Lateralus will act as a startling eye-opener: “I think a lot of the older people that are their fans from before will get what they’re expecting. And people who are old Sabbath and Zeppelin fans will understand it. “But I think it’ll just wake up a lot of kids to what you can do musically and still have it work as a song. It doesn’t necessarily have to conform to the verse/chorus/verse format, that sort of thing. You can develop structure and mood without having to conform to length and classical structure.” Bottrill and believes that it’s Tool’s fierce emphasis on musicianship that separates them from today’s other hard rock and metal contenders. However, he recognizes that the band’s deep-seated attachment to musicianship could, if not corralled, lead to a progressive-rock sound. “The difference I find with Tool,” Bottrill says, “is that they’re not as esoteric as [prog-rock]. Their style is still powerful; it has mystery, but it still invites you [in]. Whereas [prog] is all about musicianship, it’s all about the esotericness of the piece. It pushes people away a bit more; you have to be studied to understand it. You don’t have to be studied to understand Tool.” As Tool fans know, the band’s album and song titles are frequently swapped at Tool’s discretion right up until the day of the album’s release. Lateralus, for example, was originally titled Systema Encephale [sic], while the title track itself, according to Bottrill, “was called ‘987’ because of the time signatures.” At press time, the track list for Lateralus read as follows: “The Grudge,” “Eon Blue Apocalypse,” “The Patient,” “Mantra,” “Schism” (the album’s first single/emphasis track, for which the video has been completed), “Parabol,” “Parabola,” “Ticks and Leeches,” “Lateralus,” “Disposition,” “Reflection,” “Triad” and “Saaip de Oiad” [sic]. Tool is primed for a European tour from May 25 to June 29, but will sneak in three U.S. shows beforehand: an appearance at the Riviera in Chicago on May 17, a stop at the State Theater in Dertroit on the 18th, and a Hammerstein Ballroom show in New York on the 20th. Carey also hints at the possibility of a surprise Los Angeles show preceding the mid-May dates. Then, in late August, the band will embark on a full-scale sweep of the States. As for the future, Carey is confident that fans won’t be left destitute for another five years. In fact, Tool already has an album’s worth of undeveloped material leftover from Lateralus. “I could see the next record coming in two or three years,” he says, “unless we take on something huge, like try to do the next Wall. Which is a possibility . . . I think we’re the ones to step up and do that.”
Posted to t.d.n: 04/29/01 00:49:51