melikeconan

I have listened to Tool before but never got into them but I want to give them a good listen to. So I need to know whcih Tool album would you recommend?

BMFMonoxide

Best overall- Undertow

great smoking album- Aenima

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peon1313

There are different ways to look at it. Undertow and Aenima are Tool at their popular zenith. Opiate is a good a place as any to start...the beginning. But my personal favorite is without a doubt Lateralus. Critics deride it for its less angry feel, but musically and message-wise as far as I'm concerned, its the top of the heap. The music has matured right along with the message.

The problem is that its hard to tell someone where to start because the band is on such an arc...one you don't usually see from most bands. Part of me screams for you to start with Lateralus. Another part says start at the beginning and take the whole journey, which is what Tool is all about. But there is some wisdom in BFMonoxide's suggestion. It was Undertow way back in high school that introduced me to Tool. Those two albums are pretty accessible and that's good for a person who hasn't had a lot of experience with the band. They contain the songs that most people have heard.

The point is, start anywhere...try samples from all the albums on for size via toolband.com or via your favorite filesharing prog. You won't be disappointed.

You won't be disappointed.

jc

edit: and yes Aenima is a great smoking album. I have good luck smoking with all of them except Opiate. Aemima and Lateralus go great with pot though.

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BMFMonoxide

I recommend "Pushit" especially. That middle breakdown part makes you feel so good when you're blazing.

__________________
What do ya mean I don't believe in God? I talk to him everyday. What do ya mean I don't support your system? I go to court when I have to. What do ya mean I can't get to work on time? I've got nothing better to do. What do ya mean I don't pay my bills? Why do you think I'm broke? HUH?!?! If there's a new way, I'll be the first in line but it better work this time.

BenitoMussolini

there all pretty good, but if you get a chance to see them in concert take the opportunity, they are the shit.

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Frodo

Despite my oft-repeated hatred of Tool, that statement intrigues me to the point where I think I'm going to have to get Lateralus.

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Big-A

As said... "Undertow" then "Aenima"

sm0ke42o

Well said, my sentiments exactly...
However my answer would be to get all of them...
All of Tool's records are fucking amazing!

Pitfall

get every cd man. any of them is a good start. but imo lateralus is their best work. that or aenima. but my taste make this: 1 lateralus 2 aenima 3 undertow 4 opiate. it's kind of sad how it looks like they got better with each cd, but yeah. actually 1 lateralus/aenima 2 undertow/opiate opiate is very good, but it's an ep, it only has 6 songs. oh well 7 if you include that secret thing. undertow flows incredibly good, but yeah, i get the most out of the first 2 i said. raretoker - is that what lateralus is about? coz i though that's what aenima was primarily about.
lord frodo - hatred of tool? you're nuts. i thought you were meant to be some huge fan?? live shows cant be missed! i agree with what peon said, it would be great to "go on the journey with them", so to speak. for me lateralus is one of the best releases ever. it has been my favourite cd since a few months after its release. i listen to lateralus songs pretty much everyday and on every shroom trip if i'm lucky. imo aenima works best on acid and lateralus is best matched with shrooms. i'm not saying that tool is only good on drugs, i'm just recommending these specific cds for people that take psychadelics.

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Of contradictions infinite the slave. --Wordsworth.

melikeconan

I have seen them live before. Great show for the ear and visually.

cndn_gtr_guy

Opiate, then Undertow. Can't go wrong there.

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"To walk through the world
By ones self, you can't be protected...
Your trust is in whiskey and weed and Black Sabbath
It's Goddamn Electric"

"Face it, the world is fucked, that's at least a decent reason to stay loaded all day"
Zoltron

thembones

all of it is great. opiate, undertow, aenima, and lateralus ar my favorites. but then of course im obsessed with anything by them. check out a perfect circle as well, same singer different type of outlet. apc's new one is especially good, 13th step. they've got a cd of covers coming out soon too that I know will be a delight.

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"Today a young man on acid realised that all mater is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves."
- Bill Hicks

"Time that you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted at all."
- John Lennon

Pitfall

amen. and experiencing tool live is sort of like seeing god, at least for me. and when i saw them i wasnt even a big fan.

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Of contradictions infinite the slave. --Wordsworth.

Pitfall

i could argue with someone that reflection is the best tool song. but i cant be fucked, coz i dont think there is a best tool song. it's all sweet and it's all different. terry, why not recommend lateralus because the whole cd is great?

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Of contradictions infinite the slave. --Wordsworth.

visualerror

How come no one's pitched Salival yet? That's one of the best live albums ever made! It also includes a version of No Quarter (the Led Zep classic) which outstrips the original by far.

Also comes with a DVD/video w. some o their vids, so that's an added bonus.

Amongst the other albums, I agree with what's been said so far. Aenima is, musically, my favourite by far, with Lateralus coming in a very close second. Lyrically/message-wise, I agree that lateralus is the most mature album - Maynard seems to be quite into the esoteric/occult religiosity stuff, inc. Gnosticism, (the comments on flase reality above are bang on...!) which is right up my street, so I'm a bit biased there...

Side note: check alex grey, Lateralus's cover artist - the guy's stuff is amazing!

S

Pitfall

salival fucking rules. i guess nobody pitched it because it's not really an official album. neither is opiate. opiate is an ep, but people treat it like an album because its so fucking good. so yeah, get salival if you can. i still like the idea of starting at opiate and working your way up though. alex grey does rule have you seen any footage of tool's last tour? at some gigs they had big alex grey pieces that would change colour with the music etc. salival also has a different version of pushit on it. i like this version more than the album version, but they both rule. it also has my third eye, part of me and yeah no quarter. is there any others?? i havent bought salival, ive just downloaded a few songs off it.
i like tool's version of no quarter more aswell. i think it's more atmospheric and heavy. my third eye has a very chunk guitar sound to it and some like it better than the album version. it has some great tim leary quotes at the start of it. i like the live version of part of me better than the original aswell. oh wait, salival also has maynards dick, lamc etc doesnt it. theyre all cool, but i just felt like talking about the best.
so yeah, someone should have pitched salival, but this thread isnt really that big yet. and it's not really an official album. it's just a live project thing with different songs off of different albums. and it's not very long. aenima etc are things that are meant to be listened to all the way through at least once, while salival doesn't really have that flow, imo. peace.

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Of contradictions infinite the slave. --Wordsworth.

Pitfall

Fucking oath raretoker. Maynard loves bill hicks, and I can see the connections throughout aenima. But I don’t think eulogy is about bill hicks. Danny has said that “my third eye” is like a summary of the whole cd. I don’t think this song is purely about the use of psychedelics. I think it’s kind of like a summary of life in the western world. How confusing it all is, how we lose our lateral mind, our awareness, and get it back and lose it again etc. I listen to their albums all the way through most of the time. But I love some of their songs so much that I will crank them by themselves a lot to.
Try this new track order for lateralus I found. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 (if you wish, though I usually don't), 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12. I haven’t heard it this way yet, but it’s meant to be the best. I like the idea of having lateralus right after parabola. It took me a fair while to truly dig and understand tool. I don’t know if there’s a legitimate reason for HATING them. I just think these HATERS are wrong  Do you agree that lateralus is like 20 years ahead of its time?

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Of contradictions infinite the slave. --Wordsworth.

Pitfall

tool do take awhile to make albums, but that's the way it should be i think. 5 years is a long wait, but as long as the albums are as good as lateralus, i dont give a shit. artists can take 20 years doing one painting etc, as long as its genuine and everything, i can wait. look at eminem etc, doesnt he make like 3 cds a year? well they're all the same imo. and pretty damn shit to. you cant just create a 10 album on the spot. the right elements have to come together, and this can take years. i do wish tool only took a couple of years though, but whatever has them making the best tunes ya know. and i wish they would tour every year, but that's just a ludicrous thing to ask of them

raretoker - yeah, maybe it is just timeless. but it does feel like an album that is so much more evolved than alot of new stuff out these days. i do know about the new album. danny has talked about it. he says that it's some of the best stuff they've ever done and that it's alot heavier than lateralus. i think it was meshuggah they did some concerts with, this kind of music really kicked them in the teeth. they have 12 (i think) potential songs at the moment. but theyre not completing anything yet, they're still waiting for maynard to join the party.

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Of contradictions infinite the slave. --Wordsworth.