Music has been a great source for inspiration throughout the centuries, and Tool’s music is a huge inspiration to my writing and thought process. I first discovered Tool’s music in February of 2007
, and my taste in music has never been the same since. They grew on me within minutes of listening to their first, “Opiate” EP. The lyrics were so much profound than anything I ever heard before. The music itself was quite raw in their earlier days, but as time progressed, so did their music. From Opiate to 10,000 Days, Tool’s style has developed quite a deal. Their music has become much more complex, and their lyrics continue to inspire any freethinking person. The are the definition of progressive rock/metal, and they currently are my favorite band. So, I figure, why not list a few of my favorite songs separated by the album on which they appear.
I shall begin with, their first major release, and that is the Opiate EP.
- “Sweat” – 3:46
- “Hush” – 2:48
- “Part of Me” – 3:17
- “Cold and Ugly (Live)” – 4:09
- “Jerk-Off (Live)” – 4:23
- “Opiate” – 8:28
This album has a very raw sound, as Tool sound progression begins here. This album is better classified as “hard rock” or even “grunge” rather than “progressive rock.” The music is not nearly as layered as later Tool music either. The drums by Danny Carey are top notch, as he truly takes Tool to another level. However, the lyrics are what separate Tool from any other band. Here are some excerpts of lyrics from the three songs I enjoy the most off the Opiate EP.
Cold and Ugly Lyrics:
Underneath her skin and jewelry,
hidden in her words and eyes
is a wall that’s cold and ugly
and she’s scared as hell.
Trembling at the thought of feeling.
Wide awake and keeping distance.
Nothing seems to penetrate her.
She’s scared as hell.
Jerk-Off Lyrics:
Someone told me once
that there’s a right and wrong,
and that punishment
would come to those
who dare to cross the line.
But it must not be true
for jerk-offs like you.
Maybe it takes longer to catch a total asshole.
but I’m tired of waiting.
Maybe it’s just bullshit and I should play GOD,
and shoot you myself.*
Because I’m tired of waiting.
Consequences dictate
our course of action
and it doesn’t matter what’s right.
It’s only wrong if you get caught.
If consequences dictate
my course of action
I should play GOD
and shoot you myself.*
I’m very tired of waiting.
Opiate Lyrics:
Choices always were a problem for you.
What you need is someone strong to guide you.
Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow,
what you need is someone strong to use you…
If you want to get your soul to heaven,
trust in me.
Don’t judge or question.
You are broken now,
but faith can heal you.
Just do everything I tell you to do.
Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow.
Let me lay my holy hand upon you.
My God’s will
becomes me.
When he speaks out,
he speaks through me.
He has needs
like I do.
We both want
to rape you.
Jesus Christ, why don’t you come save my life.
Open my eyes and blind me with your light
and your lies.
The song, Opiate is truly one of the greatest criticisms of religion in music form. An ugly aspect of Christianity and most other religions is the concept of releasing ones responsibilities onto others. Most Christians simply think, that faith will get them into heaven. They need not to think of their personal responsibility on earth, nor question anything, for others have done all the questioning for them. They simply go through the world, never wondering about any of the claims made in the Bible, and simply accepting them on face value. Yet, as the song concludes, god, religion and jesus are just one of the same, they are all lies.
Next Up: Favorite Tool Songs (Undertow)
Tags: lyrics, opiate, opiateep, song, songmeanings, tool
In the latest edition of the album review section, here is probably my favorite album ever recorded. Tool’s Lateralus is probably one of the most inspiring, well composed, original, beautiful album ever recorded. Lateralus really is 78:58 of orgasmic-good music made by my personal favorite band, Tool. This review will follow the same format as the last few, but this time I will try to put some more of my thoughts on the meanings of individual songs. The reason for this is largely to provide possibly a new analysis of the lyrics. However, please remember, my opinions and thoughts regarding this work of art are hardly fact and might turn out to be way off of even what Tool had originally intended. I will encourage everyone who is reading this to formulate your own opinions (and to do that, you must some how obtain it) 
And so it begins…
1. The Grudge
The first song up, and already I loved direction of the album, in this song…(and this album) the sound of Tool is vastly different from that of their first EP, “Opiate” and moderately different from the previous album “Ænima.” (which will be reviewed soon) This album begins the usage of the more “tech” sound that Tool really masters here, and goes on to display in full power with 10,000 Days (also to be reviewed). If this song had no words and was simply instrumental, even then it would be a well composed piece of music, with varying guitar riffs and incredible drum patters along with the usage of other various instruments. The lyrics however, provide an entire new level of contemplation and awe. I believe this song is written with an anti-establishment and possibly an anti-religion/dogma tone, and here is why.
Desperate to control all and everything.
Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen.
The religious have often tried, (and often fail) to “control everything” this is their dream. The Abrahamic religions are the birthplace of the fascist ideology, the idea of “thought crimes”…well look no further. Trying to control what you eat, when you eat, your sex habits, your charity…and the most precious of all, your mind. Those who say enough of such a totalitarian ideology, well they are branded by the society with “scarlet letters” as in the case of Nathanial Hawthorne’s famous play.
Clutch it like a cornerstone. Otherwise it all comes down.
This is relative to faith, as to keep on to such a ridiculous belief, one needs to “clutch it like a cornerstone”…if one listens to reason…”it all comes down.”
Give away the stone.
Give it up, your religious non-sense is convincing not a single person of reason.
Rating: 
5/5
2. Eon Blue Apocalypse
This song, like a couple other on this album…have no words whatsoever. This song has a rather odd feeling, a bit of soft touch, but it builds intensity that carries over to the next song, and thus I suppose the reasoning behind it is simply to provide a segue into the next song…while containing a unique sound that Tool is known for.
Rating: N/A
3. The Patient
Here’s a rather “spacey” song, less words (especially in the beginning) and more just emotion from the music itself. Though unlike the song before, it takes about minute for the song to really begin and even then it is rather hard to grasp the meaning behind it. This song is rather long (a little bit over 7 minutes)…but it is incredibly relaxing. Again, here is a song that I feel as an aura of “anti-dogma”..with lyrics such as this:
If there were no rewards to reap,
No loving embrace to see me through
This tedious path I’ve chosen here,
I certainly would’ve walked away by now.
Gonna wait it out.
Possibly discussions the concept of heaven within Christianity. The religious life without the enticement of heaven would, and is, awfully bland and simply against human nature. I suppose this song has a bit a of a satirical nature…
Be patient.
I must keep reminding myself of this.
That line would reinforce that, “keep waiting”…be patient…something will come in return. The song also gives the feeling to the listener, that is is all pointless…this could be possibly the reasoning for the “moaning” like voice from Maynard and the length of the song.
Rating: 5/5
4. Mantra
Here’s one of those songs that I spoke of earlier, this is just in an instrumental…but like Eon Blue Apocalypse, it is quite short (a bit above 1 minute) and it leads nicely into the next song, which in this case is “Schism.”
Rating: N/A
5. Schism
This is the first single off the album, and one of the best songs on the entire album. The video of it is quite creepy, check it on YouTube if you have time after this. Unlike the previous song, this song is actually quite verbose and meaningful. In a way Tool only can, the lyrics are hardly direct, actually quite the opposite, the lyrics are rather cryptic. Personally, I can’t really hold a single interpretation of this song…as it is so ambiguous…it could be about anything.
One popular interpretation is that it is an allusion to the Tower of Babel, and how god destroyed language uniformity and led the way for the ugly things such as nationalism and tribalism. Another interpretation, that I personally like, would be that Schism could also be a rather progressive song and be speaking of the obvious problem facing humanity. The fact that we are really all related…but many reject that notion and just like that we are all kept seperate. Now, it is time to give up anything that would keep yourself entangled with any particular group and transcend those lines with the intent of putting humanity back on track.
Rating: 5/5
6. Parabol
Another “spacey” kind of song, Maynard does his signature whisper in this song and does it to perfection. I personally believe that it is also the opening part of the next song, Parabola…as it leads right into it. The song begins rather quiet, and stays that way for just about the entire song other than…the ending. The ending which is now built intensity since the start leads perfectly into the much more intense and verbose song, Parabola.
Rating: N/A
7. Parabola
This song, accompanied by Parabol was actually the second “single” off of this album…and I believe it to be the only other one Tool released off of Lateralus. I think this song is about spiritualism, and transcendence beyond normal states of consciousness and cognizance. People, and often intellectuals and thinkers often reach a certain point in which…material things aren’t worth what they previously thought. Humanity has often searched for “something more”…it tried with organized religion and failed terribly, but that doesn’t mean the folk behind the religions were necessarily frauds and charlatans. People like Jesus, Muhammed and Moses could have indeed realized something greater than the material world. However, we know now their interpretation of such was completely false…but still…there very well could be more to this world that we haven’t really touched with a rational hand. This song to me is about that search for something more, not with religion, or organized religion, but some form of consciousness different from that of normal consciousness.
Rating: 5/5
8. Ticks and Leeches
I’ll start with a random note about this song, just because it sticks out in my head. Tool doesn’t play this song live very often, the reason for this is because of the strain that it is on Maynard’s voice. When they do play it live, Maynard often uses different techniques and does some different stuff with his voice when compared to the album track. During the recording of this track, Maynard apparently lost his voice so it really was recorded in a few takes at most.
Now back to the song itself. As you can get from the previous paragraph, this song is hard, loud and quite rough. This being a strong departure from the earlier tracks, but of course this was done in a progressive way…the Tool way. I believe that this song talks about the greed aspect of human nature. Those who will do anything to get what they want…even injure others to achieve their goals…and thus they are blood suckers…or ticks and leeches. They rely on the misery of others to propel them to a comfortable superfluous material status…and such a disgusting thing should never be practiced…though it often is. On a similar note, it could also about greed in a completely different way…with regards to humanity’s lust for materials while robbing the Earth of its resources. Humanity’s sucking of the metaphorical “lifestream” out of the universe.
Rating: 5/5
9. Lateralus
The title track of the album, and to me the best track of the album…Lateralus is possibly one of the greatest songs ever recorded. This is the classic which makes this album not simply a “good/great album” but a masterpiece of modern music. Its execution of certain aspects goes far beyond that of most ordinary songs…and this is why Tool my personal favorite band.
There are many interesting theories behind this song, can’t say I agree with all…but possibly the most thought provoking one is this one: Click Here That link essentially goes into detail much of what I was going to post especially with regards to the time signatures, and plus its a video with pretty pictures…what more could someone want.
As below, so above and beyond
Rating: 5/5
10. Disposition
Here’s an odd song, not much is really said throughout it…really just a repetition of three lines and some “spacey” instrumental and random whisperings/groans. I don’t really consider this a song either, I believe it is, like a few others songs, the transition from one song to another, and in this case…from Lateralus to Reflection.
Rating: N/A
11. Reflection
One of the longest songs on the entire album…its 11 minutes of musical bliss. I personally think, though I suppose it is taking the words literally almost…but I think it is about “self-centeredness.” We are so concentrated with certain things that we never fully contemplate much more important things. I will leave it there, and hope you listen to this song and begin a new contemplation.
Rating: 5/5
12. Triad
Here is the last song that does not contain any words…and oddly enough it is one of the longer songs in the whole album. It is a little bit under 9 minutes and is purely instrumental, though quite varied in riffs and time signatures, so again…I will leave it to you, the listener and reader to get from it what you want.
Rating: N/A
13. Faaip De Oiad
A rather odd song…a weird selection to wrap up the album…but good nonetheless. It is a recording of some fellow who apparently had an experience with a UFO and called a radio station directly after, with a staticy sound to it…a bit mysterious as well. Just a random fact, maybe it might be of some use to you…”Faaip De Oiad” means “Voice of God” in the Enochian language. The Enochian language was invented by Edward Kelley in the 16th Century. Kelley said this language had been revealed to him by angels.
Rating: N/A
This album really was an experience to me, it was incredible, and still is. Every moment that I spend listening to it is filled with a sense of inspiration, and optimism of sorts. Lateralus to me, is Tool at it’s finest…this album is simply nothing less than a masterpiece.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Tags: lateralus, song meanings, songmeanings, tool, tool review, tool song meanings, tool songmeanings
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