Tool - Opiate Review

Opiate is an EP by Tool. Released in 1992, it followed two years of playing together after their formation in 1990. It is named after a quote by Karl Marx: “Religion is the opium of the masses”. Unlike their later releases, Opiate does not incorporate the progressive aspect of later recordings. Opiate does, however, immediately display the band’s technical prowess. Much of the album uses problems of society as a focal point. Topics range from extreme censorship, ethical choices, and religion as a form of control.

In retrospect, Opiate seems a little haphazard, but it’s possible to hear the seeds of Tool’s oppressively bleak, cerebral metal in such cuts as “Sweat” and “Opiate.” The two live tracks, “Cold and Ugly” and “Jerk-Off,” don’t sound out of place, since they share the same churning riffs, black noise, and doom that characterize Tool’s sound. This is not as developed as either Undertow or Ænima, but it’s possible to hear the roots of those albums all over this EP.

Track List:
1. “Sweat” – 3:46
2. “Hush” – 2:48
3. “Part of Me” – 3:17
4. “Cold and Ugly (Live)” – 4:09
* Recorded on December 31, 1991 at the Jello Loft, Hollywood, California
5. “Jerk-Off (Live)” – 4:23
* Recorded on January 1, 1992 at the Jello Loft, Hollywood, California
6. “Opiate” – 8:28
* Contains the hidden track “The Gaping Lotus Experience”, which plays at 6:06 into track 6, referring to the number of the beast (666).

Tool - Undertow Review

Undertow is Tool’s first full-length album, released in 1993. The All Music Guide sees the album’s success in the “striking, haunting visuals that complemented the album’s nihilistic yet wistful mood”

This is not your typical heavy metal cd at all! This is actually more grunge than metal,”grungemetal”,if you will. This album one of is Tool’s finest moments! It’s hard to believe this came out 15 years ago, but hardly an alt-metal cd since has topped this one!

Each songs as as much power and soul behind as Opiate, only on this record, Tool now had a larger budget to produce their first full album and a growing fan base. Tool composed some brilliant new songs like Intolerance and Flood, but they were able to use older songs like Sober and Bottom and make them new.

Track List:

1. “Intolerance” – 4:53
2. “Prison Sex” – 4:56
3. “Sober” - 5:06
4. “Bottom” - 7.13 (Tool/Henry Rollins)
5. “Crawl Away” - 5:29
6. “Swamp Song” - 5:31
7. “Undertow” - 5:21 listen (help·info)
8. “4°” - 6:02
9. “Flood” - 7:45
69. “Disgustipated” - 15:47

Artwork:

The message on the photographs of the band members reads “Trust me trust me trust me trust me trust me I just want to start this over say you won’t go this is love I’ll make weapons out of my imperfections lay back and let me show you another way only this one holy medium brings me peace of mind cleanse and purge me in the water twice as loud as reason euphoria I’ve been far too sympathetic no one told you to come I hope it sucks you down life feeds on life this is necessarry.” This passage has several lyrics from the album’s songs.

Tool - Aenima LP Vinyl

What can I say about this album on vinyl? Well I wish I owned a copy, that’s for sure. I am not all that keen on paying $200 + on ebay to get one. Although I was a big fan of this album when it was first released I wasn’t into vinyl collecting at the time, so I don’t own a copy.

The artwork for this album is nothing special. It’s not a picture disc, and the front cover has none of the holographic qualities of the original CD version.

Album: Ænima
Label: BMG Music / Zoo Entertainment / Volcano Entertainment
Produced by: Tool / David Bottrill
Recorded at: Ocean Way Studios + The Hook Studios, Hollywood, CA, USA - 1995/1996

Tracklist:
1. “Stinkfist” (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D’Amour) – 5:11
2. “Eulogy” (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D’Amour) – 8:28
3. “H.” – 6:07
4. “Useful Idiot” – 0:38
5. “Forty-Six & 2″ – 6:04
6. “Message to Harry Manback” – 1:53
7. “Hooker With a Penis” – 4:33
8. “Intermission” – 0:56
9. “jimmy” – 5:24
10. “Die Eier von Satan” – 2:17
11. “Pushit” (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D’Amour) – 9:55
12. “Cesaro Summability” – 1:26
13. “Ænema” (Keenan/Jones/Carey/D’Amour) – 6:39
14. “(-) Ions” – 4:00
15. “Third Eye” (Tool/Hicks) – 13:47 listen (help·info)

Collective Unconscious Reference:

Album Notes: Bridging the gap between experimental-alternative, metal & progressive ideas of what an album “can be”, Ænima was released in 1996 to much anticipation from fans, critics & other artists. Opening with Stinkfist, a song that many consider to be a Tool-staple & closing with the mammoth Third Eye, also considered to be a staple, this album is as relevant today as it was in the mid-1990’s. Many Tool fans consider this album to the creative-pinnacle or the essential Tool-release for even the most haphazard of music fanatics. Each song denotes a certain comment on not only the macro-scale, society at large, but also on the micro-scale, an individual’s perception of their place in whatever reality they inhabit. Ænima is not an album that is absorbed after one single listen - this is an album that allows even the most rabid fan to hear something new with virtually ever listen. With the addition of Justin Chancellor on bass, who replaced Paul D’Amour, & thought-provoking subject matter, the album takes the listener on a journey - to what or where, that is not for me to say. Each song may mean something unique to you, me & the next person. As for the vinyl release, there were approximately 15,000 released in 1996 with no reprints. This is rather hard to find. Current prices for an average, opened vinyl range between $90 - $200 depending on different variables. For an sealed / unopened copy, I cannot even hazard a guess as to a price.

Aenima Vinyl Artwork:

_{Source:Collective Unconscious - image copyright property of original owner.}

Preview Tracks:

• Stinkfist
• Eulogy
• Pushit
• Aenema

_{*requires windows media player}

Buy now on Ebay: