LATERALUS

well i dont think i really have to really elaborate much on how incredible an album Lateralus is sonically, that is a point few have missed, but as it was Tool that got me into prog music in the first place (i can hear the rumbling of a few 70's prog junkies already...) and because of that i seem to be privy to a few Lateralus secrets. what i would like to share (and i warn anyone who would care about this: these tidbits can be spoilers) are the subtleties often missed within the album. please excuse me if this has been said before. i tell this to the people of this site because i know that the people here are precisely those that would enjoy this album in its entirety, and for that reason i present it to you as such:

the biggest thing people dont think about when they hear the album is the reason why some of the songs are broken as they are. parabol and parabola are, indeed, one song. they are not broken apart for the sheer delight of non-proggers..anyone who's listened to faaip de oiad should know that's the least of thier concerns. the songs are broken up and the bridge tracks created to fulfill an incredible artistic endeavor. backing up... the song Lateralus is the key. listen to how maynard sings the first sets of lyrics. anyone who loves AEnima will recognize the choppy manner in which he sings, albeit a bit less rough, but there is a purpose. "black. then. white are. all i see. in my infancy. red and yellow then came to be." those are, indeed, periods... now count up the syllables. 1,1,2,3,5,8, Dan Brown experts will recognize this as being a bank PIN but they are also the beginning of the Fibonnacci numbers ( a series of numbers in which the next number is the sum of the previous two). i dont want to go into too much detail but those of you with graph paper check it out: draw a 1x1 square (units are irrelevant) and then attach another to it( side by side, not corners). on a side where the two squares form a 2units line, attach a 2x2 square...you will be able to continue on in this manner as long as you want, you'll keep attaching fibonacci squares. now create an arc in the initial square (r=1) in the direction of the next square, do the same for them all and the arcs will join into one tremendous spiral. "spiral out. keep going" gee that was fun wasn't it... now, getting back to the album as a whole, extract all the fibonnacci number tracks and put them in order before the remaining tracks. your new order is: the grudge, eon blue apocalypse, the patient, schism, ticks and leeches, faaip de oiad, mantra, parabol, parabola, lateralus, disposition, reflection, triad. tinker with that storyline and it will make alot more sense..now ticks and leeches and faaip de oiad are a very logical progression whereas before they stuck out (everything else has gelled too). i will not elaborate (too) much further except to say that the fibonnacci spiral is imperfect. the only perfect spiral is one created by the golden mean ratio: and Dan Brown says, "Phi"!. so if those fibonacci tracks are the "imperfect" spiral, what does that say about the remainder? anyone who has ever heard of the rumor of two spirals in Lateralus now knows what that means.

there are a few more tidbits to the album, most of which im not quite as well aqquainted with as i dont play an instument ( in schism's timing for those who are curious to do thier own research). but i would like to mention tht the (inside) cover art is done by Alex Grey (artists check this guy out further). because of all of this i have gicven the album a 5 --something i do not do lightly -- but i should hope it is nbow understood why i do so

P.S. no. Dan Brown and his novels have nothing to do with Tool insomuch as the album and is concerned, its just how most people know fibonnacci numbers. from what ive heard, the previous novel "holy blood, holy Grail" is a band favorite though