The ‘90s and early ‘00s will always represent an era of iconic music, as grunge and other genres began to evolve into what we now call progressive rock and nü-metal. TOOL is perhaps one of the most legendary bands to come out of this cultural shift. After remaining an almost impenetrable enigma for over a decade—13 years to be exact—the band finally released most of its discography onto digital platforms like iTunes and Spotify this past summer, along with their first album since 2006. This sudden influx of music has allowed long-time fans and newcomers alike to discover and rediscover this rock giant and the strange, often unsettling music that feels all the more relevant to today’s social climate. That can also be quite daunting, so I’ve compiled a list of the most essential TOOL below!
- Lateralus, 2001
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Lots of people will cite Lateralus as TOOL’s best album, and for good reason. A few of the most iconic tracks appear here, such as “Schism” and “Parabola.” But this is also the band’s first major development that gave them the reputation they have today. Cryptic lyrics with hidden meanings and unconventional production make songs like the title track “Lateralus” really stand out. “Lateralus” is musically structured around the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8… etc. into infinity), hence lyrics such as “spiral out” and the like. The song features consecutive changes in time signature, first from 9/8, then 8/8, and 7/8—representing the sixteenth integer of the sequence, 987. So much thought goes into TOOL songs you’d think the guys were geniuses. Then there’s also inexplicable tracks like “Mantra” which is just a minute-long slowed-down audio recording of frontman Maynard James Keenan’s cat. Love that guy.
- Fear Inoculum, 2019
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This is TOOL’s first album to be released after a 13-year hiatus and came out August 30th of 2019. Understandably, then, it faced a fair bit of scrutiny. Personally, I think it did wonders to refine the band’s already-established sound. The title track (and first single) is a whopping 10 minutes long, but regardless debuted within the Billboard Hot 100—the longest song ever to do so. This just shows the dedication of the fanbase, even after over a decade of silence. The song “Culling Voices” in particular struck me for Keenan’s crooning vocals that feel reminiscent of ‘90s tunes and just feel oh so good in the ears. The number 7 seems to be a recurring theme in this album, especially with the aptly named “7empest.” The song “Descending” is another personal favorite. With almost any TOOL album, there’s gonna be some strange interludes, but “Mockingbeat” is actually really interesting and unnerving.
- Ænima, 1996
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With quite a few older bands, there’s often going to be some questionable themes when read in the context of 2019. Not always horribly problematic, just things you wouldn’t see today! A lot of these for TOOL have not been released on digital download and streaming platforms, but some odd titles and such remain on albums such as Ænima (though these are tamer than what’s been omitted from the online discography, I think). Despite one particular song on here that falls into that category (you’ll know it when you see it, but it’s not about what the title says it is, FYI), the album itself is pretty good. The title track is easily digestible as late-90s rock and feels perfectly angsty and nostalgic. “Forty Six & 2” is another standout song.
- 10,000 Days, 2006
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Following the release of Lateralus a few years before, 10,000 Days is an expansion upon many of the cynically-spiritual and cryptic themes introduced there. The song “Vicarious” is a great example of this. “Vicarious” and other songs from throughout the band’s discography have also appeared on a few older Guitar Hero video games, so if they feel familiar to you, that may be why! This album is generally regarded as more emotional as well, since “Wings for Marie” and the title track are about Maynard James Keenan’s mother of the same name who passed away in 2003. It’s safe to say that a lot of TOOL’s music was inspired by some of the band members’ experiences on psychedelic drugs, but clearly that’s not the base of everything for the band.
One other honorable mention is the track “Sober” off of the band’s 1993 debut studio album Undertow. This one played on the radio a lot back when it was first released and is sometimes still played today, so you may have heard it, but the rest of this initial album (and the original EP) pales in comparison to TOOL’s later work, in my opinion.
Any of these albums and songs would be great places to start; the must-listens I’ve listed should feel accessible even for people who aren’t usually fans of the progressive rock vibe. If you found this helpful, you might like the other discography guide I wrote a few weeks back about Radiohead!
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