I've been meaning to post this for a week. It's a short (and thus 
somewhat constrained) review of �nima I did for my school paper, Cadence 
(Brookline High School, Mass.) - and yes, I do mean MY school paper, for 
I am Chief Editor. The review was written on the Friday after the album 
came out - so I had had it for three full days - and the paper was 
distributed on the following Monday. Anyway, here goes...

TOOL - �NIMA (Zoo)

TOOL's follow-up to 1993's outstanding Undertow uses the bands talents in 
songwriting and expression to their fullest, while intentionally straying 
somewhat from their previous album and song's formulas so as to make the 
disc quite different. TOOL's strengths lie in the power and dynamic 
versatility of singer Maynard James Keenan's voice, as well as in writing 
lengthy songs while retaining musical urgency and employing unexpected 
twists so that the listener is never bored. Here, all these talents are 
exploited to their fullest in the nine songs, which range from 
four-and-a-half to just under fourteen minutes. On Undertow, every track 
was a standout; here, certain songs do noticeably stand out over others. 
"Stinkfist" continues to explore TOOL's pet theme of sexuality and power, 
though the images of sodomy are not quite as graphic as on Undertow 
single "Prison Sex." "Eulogy" tells of a self-appointed would-be martyr, 
while "Hooker With A Penis" is a very sarcastic tirade against the kind 
of music fan who thinks that everyone else in the world is a poseur 
except him. Closing song "Third Eye" discusses awareness, and has a 
jagged ending passage that sounds exactly like Ministry. On the 
experimental side, the disc includes numerous short segue tracks ranging 
from a baby crying to a cheesy organ piece (called "Intermission") to a 
full industrial onslaught with lyrics in German. 
These segues seem to ruin the intensity that would be built in a one- 
song-after-another format, as they appear every other track between 
tracks 4 and 14, and one wonders if they are just trying to set apart the 
disappointingly undistinguished mid-album songs. Don't get me wrong, 
though. The album is, overall, just as incredible as its predecessor and 
could easily be the best album of the year. And the "animated" artwork is 
nifty too.