title: Tool Could Use Some Retooling
author: Mark "I'm Biased as Hell" Jenkins


Heavy metal has taken many forms since the demise of the "hair bands" 
that dominated the genre in the '80s, but Tool's fundamental approach is
relatively pure.  The Los Angeles quartet might well appeal to fans of
Foetus, Nirvana or Ministry, yet its music isn't especially arty, punky or
industrial.  The holographic cover of the band's new "Aenima" offers an
illusion of depth, but the experience inside is not profound. 
        Like most post-hardcore metal bands, Tool does understand the
dramatic potential of tempo changes and dynamic shifts; such songs as
"Stinkfist," "Eulogy" and "Pushit" contrast their bludgeoning crescendos
with atmospheric passages.  But while the album features numerous audio
asides, from the sound of a needle scraping a record's inner groove on
"Useful Idiot" to a German rant on "Die Eier von Satan," it rarely
integrates these sound effects into the assault.  Indeed, when guitarist
Adam Jones or vocalist Maynard James Keenan reach for a big moment, they
seldom grab anything that Bon Jovi didn't have a hold on a decade ago. 

[Does this qualify as the worst review of Aenima so far?  Focusing on the
album cover and the segues without looking at one single song in depth?! 
Bon Jovi?]