LATERALUS

Is Tool a prog band? The question becomes meaningless in the face of 'Lateralus'. Prog or not, this album is awesome. What does Tool sound like? Er, how about Black Sabbath meets King Crimson somewhere in the 4th dimension? That should do it. The King Crimson element in Tool can mainly be found in their use of asymmetric rhythms: you know, 5/8 and 7/8, that kind of thing. However, drummer, Danny Carey, takes these elements and twists them beyond recognition. His innate understanding of cross-rhythms is something very special indeed. He manages to imbue them with an hypnotic power that verges on invocation; tribal but unbelievably complex. Nowhere is this more evident than on the opening track 'The Grudge'. The song derives its power from an hypnotic tattoo of 6/8 + 4/8 that has the cumulative effect of a mantra. The ending to the song is unbelievably cataclysmic with Danny Carey threatening to cause an earthquake by way of his double bass drum pedals. The somewhat unwholesome atmosphere of 'Lateralus' is also due to vocalist Maynard James Keenan's quite remarkable voice which is exceptional throughout the album. He surely has one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in rock 'n' roll. Equally remarkable are his cryptic and somewhat metaphysical lyrics. These lines from the title track, a song about the Fibonacci sequence, are surely worthy of Peter Hammill at his best: " Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind. Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind. Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line. Reaching out to embrace the random. Reaching out to embrace whatever may come." The mathematical properties of the fibonacci sequence (one of which is the "virtual" spiral ) are somehow given musical form in this song by Danny Carey's ingenious use of cross/poly rhythms to build up a quite unbearable tension. And for those of you who like this kind of thing (I'm sure I'm not the only loon out there) the opening time signature to 'Lateralus' is 9+8+7, and, as we all know, 987 is actually part of the Fibonacci sequence. Well, I never! There's no keyboards on this album, just guitar, bass and drums. Nor are there any flashy guitar solos. (well, there's a couple of guitar solos, but there not very flashy)What there is, however, is four creative musicians with a collective vision and all working towards the same end. 'Lateralus' MUST be experienced. PLAY IT LOUD! SPIRAL OUT! KEEP GOING!