ÆNIMA

I bought AEnima at the same time as undertow (tool's album before this one). but i had usually only listened to undertow, i felt that i could live happy with it. after a while though, i needed some change. Tool kind of did the whole rise to stardom thing backwards. Instead of becoming popular with an independent-sounding record, Undertow was a mainstream album. AEnima is not a mainstream record. An aggressive, satirical, nightmarish blend of insane vocals, drums (Danny Carey's arms must have been ready to fall off after this album), heavy bass, and distorted guitars is definitely not for everyone. The rythm changes so much in these songs that one track sounds like three seperate ones. The artwork is extremely disturbing, but also kind of hilarious, and very original (I like the animated artwork of the West coast, the eye, and the contorsionist). Tracks on this CD to look out for - "Stinkfist" (very listenable), "Eulogy" (thought-provoking piece on religion), "H" (had to get some new headphones after listening to this a little too high), "46 & 2" (oh YEAH), and "AEnima" (one of the greatest songs ever). But don't get me wrong, "Hooker w/ a Penis" (hilarious in a dark sort of way), "Die Eier Von Satan" (a recipe in German), and "Third Eye" are all great. Listen closely to the first part of "Eye," it's pretty funny. The only song I really don't get is "Message to Harry Manback," but hey, that's what the skip track button is for.