Tool - Lateralus
By Logan Legacy
It has been five years since the reluctant metal gurus, Tool have released an album. Whether it was legal battles with their record label or Maynard James Keenan going off and working with his side band, A Perfect Circle, Tool just couldn’t find any time or effort to release a follow-up to Ænema. But that changed in May of 2001, when the band released their fifth piece, Lateralus. This album’s release was a wake up call for the musical world. Tool is back. Tool’s return to the rock world was much that of the prodigal son returning to his father. Lateralus, like all of Tool’s other albums, has its own unique sound. This time around the boys created a mathematician’s “wet dream”. Many of the songs have math-related titles such as Parabola, Paradigm, and Triad. Each song spotlights a particular band member. The vocals are just as important as the instruments. Tool is definitely a band and not a one-man show. This album radiates the teamwork behind Tool. This album is one grand piece. Furthermore, this album doesn’t blend itself very well to radio play. In previous Tool albums, one could pick out the radio hits. It is much more difficult to do this with Lateralus. Schism, the first single, is the only tune that has a stand alone single quality. In a musical world populated with mere radio hits, Tool may come up short. Bands such as Limp Bizkit, Staind, Creed, and Blink 182 all understand the power of radio singles and are dominating the air waves and album sales. This is making Tool’s crusade to create “kick ass” music a losing campaign. Lateralus is a great album for any passionate music fan but the lack of singles will perhaps be its downfall. Tool fans rejoice their baaaaack!! This album deserves a rating of 8.5 out of 10.
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