LATERALUS

I've said it before, I'm not a fan of prog metal. I've tried to listen to some of your classic prog metal and find them too similar to 80's hair bands and those cliched speed metal bands like Metallica and the like. Now, I'm not slagging them, it's just that it's not my style. Now, what is it about TOOL that makes me enjoy them so much? It has to do with the themes that Keenan writes, (no Tolkienism/fantasy to be heard anywhere) and the way they can switch gears in the middle of a song without using keyboards as a main instrument. They do use a little bit of keys here and there, and they remind me of early 80's RUSH with there use, but it's mainly a showcase for the band, especially Chancellor's bass and Carey's drumwork. Although Keenan wails during "Ticks and Leeches", (and that's a good thing), he does his best singing on this album, just check out the title track for all you need to know and hear. Kudos also to Jones who's guitar work never gets the acolades, he's a steadfast part of the band and his riffs and buzzing guitars are wholly original, never cliched. What I love so much about this album is the way they melded the little inbetween songs that, when done on their previous album, halted the overall rhythm. It's angry, soft and grooves when need be and in all the right spots. What it also has when compared to their latest disc is thunderous climaxes, and man they just blow me away. What then makes them prog? There's no simple chorus, bridge, guitar solo, chorus. They do things their way, and damn if they don't do it with their own style. Sure, maybe in their early days you'd hear a bit of Sabbath, mixed with a smidgen of King Crimson, blended with some Grunge. On this album and their previous, they created a sound that many, many other bands have copied with middling success. This is their masterpiece and I don't think it'll ever be topped, (even by themselves, sadly). A modern day prog/metal classic of the highest order.