author: Robyn Doreian


Tool
Aenima
Zoo Entertainment
4/5

Back in 1992, American four-piece Tool released one of the
most exciting records of the year. Their EP, 'Opiate',
presented a whole new angle on the twisted riff. Their unique
sound combined the unease of nervously jagged guitar melodies
coupled with injections of thunderous riffs. Imagine Rage
Against The Machine on quaaludes and you get the vibe of
Tool.
Hugely hyped via stints on the road with the Rollins Band, a
slot on the 1993 Lollapalooza and their debut album
'Undertow' acheiving sales in excess of one million copies in
the USA, Tool were hotter than Satan's sauna.
Then it all went quiet. Original bass guitarist Paul D'Amour
left and was replaced by Justin Chancellor from UK band
Peach. They did a couple more tours and, three and a half
years later, still no second album. Aside from the USA, the
remainder of the planet had forgotten about the disturbingly
heavy Tool.
But Maynard James Keenan and Co. have got their shit
seriously together with 'Aenima'. More mature than the
earlier erratic ferocity of 'Opiate', their second album has
its songs on a more even, but equally heavy, keel.
Gloriously thunderous, diverse and unsettling, Tool have
returned with an album of fresh dementia. Brutal and at times
ugly, 'Aenima' will put Tool back on the throne of
alternative music before the self-coined genre disappeared up
its own arse. And deservedly so; after all, they were one of
the first ones there.
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