Sorry you had a bad experience. There is constant bickering on the reddit sub regarding standing in the seated sections which has even more prevalence now that in the US even the floor is 'seated'. I am of the opinion that if people want to stand let 'em stand. If someone has to sit due to health reasons they should look at accessible seating and if you just want to sit then shoot for the upper level or an aisle/front row seat so as to lesson the likelihood of someone blocking your view. We always stand and 'dance' (lol) as do generally everyone around. I have yet to have someone ask us to sit but would consider it or trade seats with them if it did arise. Last time we saw them we did have a dude who was spiraling out a little too hard and had that been the only time we were able to catch a show it would have been a horrible experience, dude was fucking nuts. Hope he got home safe heh, some people can't handle their buzz very well. Never understood getting
that fucked up but I can't say much, I usually get pretty lit.
I agree that TOOL has been labeled a drug band, and for good reason. They have been known to encourage psychedelic use and collaborate frequently with Alex Grey, a known advocate of psychedelics. I do think fans can misinterpret this and take it too far though. I will say TOOL on LSD and shrooms is pretty fucking amazing
But yes, Maynard's overall message can be interpreted as motivational and learning to deal with your demons and calling out bullshit. I've never really seen them as a hateful or 'angry' band but instead using anger to work through demons. There's clips out there with Maynard saying basically be angry, use that anger to work through things but that hate is bad.
I find Opiate the least polished (with the exception of the demo ep for obvious reasons) but, along with Undertow, their 'hardest' albums. As a result they are my least favorite albums but in no way do I dislike them, rather quite the opposite. Personally I feel Undertow to be a well recorded album with some fantastic songs and I think Silvia Massey did a great job capturing the raw energy of the band at that point of their career. Bottom in particular is absolutely amazing and the fact that there are videos of the recording sessions like Henry Rollins' take on Bottom is a fan's dream come true.
Aenima is the album that made me a fan. Like most my age I first heard Prison Sex and Sober and saw the vids but it was Aenima that I connected with, Pushit, Eulogy and Jimmy were my fucking jams in high school. Even 20+ years on I still absolutely adore this album and probably always will.
Salival is fucking awesome. The live songs are ace, esp Pushit and Third Eye (I
may like it better than the album version) and the covers are some of their best work. I definitely prefer TOOL's No Quarter to Zepplin's, I find most covers pretty rote.
Lateralus as most agree (except
Pitchfork lol) is a masterpiece. I remember my roommate making fun of my buddy and me having our first listen release day. Fuckhead
Not much to say that hasn't already been said, usually better than I can, many, many times.
10,000 Days. I didn't listen to it right away. That was a strange time in my life- I was a new father and kind of detached from a lot of things. I stopped going to shows and wasn't really connected to much. I heard the singles and liked them well enough but I wasn't in a TOOL phase. When I did get around to it I
liked it but didn't love it. Now I do. I do agree with many that the ordering is a bit strange, I think Wings/10,000 Days feel weird in their placement but I love all the songs. Pretentious? Ofc! But when hasn't TOOL been, esp Maynard?! It's a bit sarcastic, melodramatic, funny, heart wrenching, thought provoking and damn does it rock. I'm kinda sad I will never get to see Rosetta Stoned live, shit the bed I reckon
I do find it to be the worst album regarding dynamic range, it breaks up at too loud of volume but overall (like all their albums) it's well produced and mixed. Just wish the mastering wasn't so heavy handed imo.
I can see that. It's always interesting to check out people's view on art. I kind of look at the album as a way of growing older, learning to weather storms and to not let fear rule your life. Things happen and you have to work through them, accept that that you cannot change the past and everything you experience should be used as the armor you need to survive.
TOOL's lyrics
are vague enough to come to your own interpretation. I never really cared for artists who smugly state "This song is about...", I find it often comes across fairly insincere. I like that the band has never really done that and have actively promoted finding your own meaning and using the music as a tool to get you through whatever you need to get through.
I've always felt Animals was about politicians and those who pull the strings, perhaps a bit Orwellian...
I'm fairly certain there is NO input from the band regarding Maynard's lyrics. He no longer takes part in the writing of the songs save his input as he finds the band takes too long to get the songs where they need to be. He discusses this on the Rogan podcast. He hears the music and writes to it so whatever he's feeling at the time is what he writes about. I get the feeling that when the band is not touring Maynard doesn't 'hang' with the guys much where as I can see Adam, Danny and Justin always working on material together and it seems Danny and Justin are really close.
Maynard also titles all the songs and albums and the setlists are his decision (as long as they are all confident they can perform the song to their standards- see: 7empest and how long it took to bring it out).
Perhaps the logical evolution there of...
Personally I could not imagine the song to have different lyrics. While I love Maynard's contribution the instruments are the stars of the song. It does feel very reminiscent of past work but entirely it's own thing, like they are borrowing from their own catalog. Most (all?) musical artists have their groove they stay in and only make minor adjustments throughout their output. I find this criticism the most perplexing, even when an artist 'reinvents' themselves there is still that thing that marks that artist's
feel. I do get the shoehorn feeling though, I feel Maynard probably didn't spend much time writing (or recording because he's a fucking pro like that) but even at his worst he's still pretty damn great. Except that damnable Cookies and Cream line...
Those gotdamn drums though, especially that tribal section in the middle, the build up, then Adam's little riffy solo into that smashbang... whew!
That's an interesting take. I kind of float between a literal interpretation of, say, a Viking coming to grips with growing older or a more introspective look... The aging rockstar who has settled down but still has that drive, that fire but maybe their body is failing. Maynard loves his double entendres for sure...
How dare you compare Maymay to that dirty hippie scum! Maynard is definitely a curious fellow but I feel very genuine. Dude just wants to sing his songs and make his wine, he's never really liked the rockstar part of the job. Lennon I feel relished that part.
After Third Eye I feel the band moved toward a more art rock style so this criticism at this stage confuses me. It is, ofc, totally valid to prefer the earlier style of music TOOL created.
Still, I find FI to absolutely fucking shred, I always wonder how people quantify 'heavy' unless people really mean angry. What do they have to be angry about? It can come off as insincere (see: Eminem) when forced. I will say that some of the riffage has a kind of classic rock feel but I love it all the more as a result.
