Tool - Aenima
Some history:
This is the second real album of Tool and IMO their best. Their albums had different kinds of feelings, like Opiate was very rockish and Undertow was more progressive but with a darkish vibe on it, this album features the emotional and vague part of Tool. Their progressive talent and some very nice lyrics. Although this album features 15 tracks there are only 9 real songs on it. But they are all very long with Hooker With A Penis as the shortest song with 4.30 but Third Eye as the longest song with 13 minutes. Most of the songs are between the 6 and the 7 minutes and all of them have their personal feeling, their own highlights and lyrics. With great drumming from Danny Carey, many people see him as the best drummer on earth (including me) with his weird fills, measures that change during the song. Maynards great singing, Adam's great fills and Justin's awesome bass playing.
Tool Is:
Maynard James Keenan - Vocals
Adam Jones - Guitar
Danny Carey - Drums
Justin Chancelor -Bass
Tracklist:
1.Stinkfist
2.Eulogy
3.H.
4.Useful Idiot
5.Forty Six And 2
6.Message To Harry Manback
7.Hooker With A Penis
8.Intermission
9.Jimmy
10.Die Eier Von Satan
11.Push*t
12.Cesaro Summability
13.Aenema
14.(-) Ions
15.Third Eye
Tracks:
01 Stinkfist
This is an awesome opener. It starts with a bass guitar doing some strange disturbed work which is followed with the couplet. The couplet and pre-chorus are just a melody repeated but the chorus is very emotional. The bridge is just a song on itself and is just another highlight where harsh and melodic is used and mixed. Another thing that I want to mention are the lyrics. Everyone who knows Tool know their awesome but very strange and deep lyrics. Now I took a look at the lyrics of this song with a friend and found out that this song was about fistf*cking (It can be wrong but I really think it is about that "subject").
Excellent song but is a bit repetive and weak after some time.
Grade 9/10
02 Eulogy
Now this is something else. Where Stinkfist is a bit hopping and melodic this is vague and mysterious. The intro is very long and for everyone who likes long and slow-buidling songs. This intro is mainly a rhytm repeated for 2 minutes. The normal couplet and chorus are just very good, nothing to mention, but after that a lot of interludes,breakdowns and bridges are used in this song (that reminds me a bit of The Patient, Lateralus). Also Danny uses his awesome technique at about 6.30 where his hithats + left foot plays a 3/4 measure and his right hand + right foot plays a 4/4 measure: impressive. Again the lyrics are very deep and now I'm not good at lyrics I think it is about someone who said that he would die for him and now he doesn't. This is one of my favorites.
Grade 10/10
03 H.
This is a softer song than the rest and really shows Justin Chancellor's talent. His bass playing is awesome (I'm not a bassist but I tried to play it and got stuck in the first few notes). The drumming and vocals are a bit on the background and after the first chorus a long interlude/bridge comes. The interlude/bridge is a great point where you can relax with the repeating but not irritating drumming and guitar. This is another highlight.
Grade 10/10
04 Useful Idiot
This is just noise of nothing. The onlo positive things is that this song is only 30 seconds long. But it is great to set the track: H. and Forty Six And Two from each other.
It only makes the follower better.
Grade 6/10
05 Forty Six And Two
This is I think my favorite track on this CD. It begins with one of the most catchy basslines and features some incredible drumming (look at the drum solo at 4.30). Maynard's singing also sounds full of energy and a mix between clearness, quietness and rawness. In this track the guitarist has a less important job (as the bassist takes the driving bassline) but I don't want to say that the guitarist is on the background as they all have the same important job: doing their own stuff. That's why Tool differs much from all the other music out there, almost no bassline and guitarline is the same and with much bands where the guitarist does a power chords while the bassist just doing the same but then with only one tone this is completely different. But again to the track, this is just awesome in any state: instrumentation, lyrics, vocals, lenght, arrangement.
Grade 10/10
06 Message To Harrymanback
This track is like Useful Idiot a between-two-songs track. And although it's much longer, this is also a funnier track. With some guitar and someone talking it will get a higher grade then the poor Useful Idiot.
Grade 8/10
07 Hooker With A Penis
This is the shortest real song and also the rawest. Maynard here doesn't uses his standard clear voice but has chosen for a rasping energetic shouting voice. I like this song. The chorus is great with Maynard dissing a "man". the song is full of strange measures and Danny (as always) sets an awesome drumline and Justin has also some highlights with his bass guitar. The rest of the song is just as the first minutes: raw and rockish. A very good song.
Grade 9.5/10
08 Intermission
A funny circus sound that goes straight into...
Grade 7.5/10
09 Jimmy
... the most mysterious and vaguest song on the album. The drums and guitar sounds like they play in a very small closed space and really sets the mood of the song. The chorus is also very good as Maynard say just "ooooh" while it's fading away. Very good. The song is based on Maynard when he was 11 (a lot of eleven is used in this song) with great lyrics some highlights but also with some dull points which IMO sets the mood only better. A great song although this is not my favorite.
Grade 9/10
10 Die Eier Von Satan
This is a funny track. The lyrics are about making something (I don't know exactly what) in German. The funniest thing is the second part (the song is divided in three parts) where you can hear many people on the background screaming like they were on tour, at the end of the second part he shouts KEINE EIER!!! with many people giving an applaus. Very funny.
Grade 8.5/10
11 Push*t
One word for this song: Brilliant. This track is without any doubt a real epic. With a guitar opening and some great drumming it is easy to see why I love this song. Everything runs into each other although they all uses other pitches, notes and measures. Just brilliant. The lyrics are also very deep and vague and really shows their lyrical talent. Like in many other track reviews I want to tell some highlights but that's really hard in this song. Every part of this track is awesome has another feeling but still similar to the rest and got his own emotion. But still a great part is when Maynard really tries to sing on his most emotional tone at 8.20. I love this song.
Grade 10/10
12 Cesaro Summability
For some reason I keep skipping this track. Maybe because of the irritating baby crying, or the background lasersound. Well, this is just filler sh*t.
Grade 5/10
13 Aenima
This is another awesome song, but also the worst from the real songs. This will not say that this is not a good song but as there are no bad songs this is the least song I like, sometimes I even skip it. Thing I don't like from this song is that the bridge/outro is just a bit too long, for the rest it is just Tool perfection. The first part of the song is just angry chorus and calm couplets. The bridge/outro is very much Danny doing triplets with his double base, and Maynard giving his opinion about the world. After all this is a great song, the chorus is a bit louder than the rest of the album but sounds awesome and the bridge is just too long but still I love it.
Grade 9/10
14 Ions
This sounds very cool with all those thunder and electricity but if you take a look to the time. almost 4 minutes! That's longer than many songs. (not from Tool but other bands) So I guess this is just worth skipping.
Grade 6.5/10
15 Third Eye
This giant of an epic follows Ions and fits perfectly to it. It starts out with someone saying something, I don't know exactly but I thought it was about drugs. Then the song starts with a calm rhythm with a very cool drum beat. And although the track features a lot of instrumental points. A whole story is told, with the lyrics but also with the instrumentation. The chorus is something else, that's a shouting "Prying open my third eye". It sounds also very cool but a step backwards to the genious rhythm before.
For the rest there are some guitar solo's, and although they aren't as high quality of the solo's you normally see (look at Metallica). The song ends at about 13 minutes and is the longest song as far as I know (I don't count Distgustipated or live versions) but with repeating melodies it sounds much longer. Great track to end with.
Grade 9/10
Best top 3: (not counting the fillers/between tracks)
1. Forty Six And Two
2. Eulogy
3. Pu***
Worst top 3: (not counting the fillers/between tracks)
1. Aenima
2. Third Eye
3. Jimmy
Conclusion:
This is a wonderful album which has the real Tool feeling on it. All the tracks differ from each other but can be put in certain groups (straightforward songs like Stinkfist, Hooker with a penis, or mysterious songs like, Eulogy or Jimmy, or just real Epic's: Push*t or Third Eye) but all the songs have one thing they all have: the power to be an awesome, where all 4 members do their own thing, track. It's very hard to point a finger to a certain song and say: that's my favorite, or that's my least favorite. And that's also why many people have their own choice about their favorites. Please don't see this review as a fanboy review, as I hate fanboy reviews or opinions about facts. But for everyone who like progressive-like songs, Buy this!
Pro's:
- Lots of Epics
- Danny Carey's drumming is awesome
- There isn't any bad song on it
Con's:
- Some fillers are annoying.
And that's it!!!
A 5/5!!!
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