It's Friday, August 30th, and you know what that means...Tool are back, and they've given us something serious to chew on - their 85-minute long progressive soundscape of a new album entitled "Fear Inoculum". Surreal moments abound for Tool fans over the past few years of waiting for signs of new material, to the last month of honing in on the album's title track, which the band shared a few weeks back.
It should come as a relief to any fans worried about the output here that the songs sound very much like Tool songs. As other reviews have stated, this is music you need to soak in for a while, ok? Get your good cans and bring this album for a long walk in the forest. Repeat listen are a must, because what the band are doing here musically, contrary to what the naysayers point out (where is the groove?) is they're just grooving to their own prodding, precise beat. It's all groove here. Don't just look for the big thrills - this is a ride, a journey.
"Fear Inoculum", album opener/title track, starts with an alien photocopier (correct me), followed by tablas/percussion that sounds familiar a la Pushit, but the song quickly develops into it's own hypnotic entity, with Maynard's vocals doing pretty much what they need to, contributing some powerful spiritual suggestion through angelic, melodic tones and reflective lyrics. The proggy arrangements are familiar, borrowing from various stages of the band's career, but to be fair, they're copping their own sound and no one else's, and the familiar chords/tones often feel like the revisiting of an old emotion while progressing to new ground.
"Pneuma" is already fast-becoming a fan-favorite, and for good reason. The band lean into a punchy, swinging downtempo drone accompanied by a memorable Adam Jones riff, and some motivational rhetoric from MJK to go with. It feels fresh, only getting bigger and more impactful as it goes. The call to "Wake Up. Remember." sounds urgent.
"Litanie contre la Peur" is a superb little Eastern interlude, leading us into "Invincible", which introduces a slightly more Radiohead-inspired side of Adam Jones. As a Tool fan, you notice any chord or note not normally in the band's repertoire, and it's certainly different to hear this kind of finger picking from a Tool song. The track moves through synth-heavy psychedelic jams that wouldn't be out of place on a Pink Floyd album before exploding into pummeling riffage for the ending section.
"Legion Innoculant" is another interlude, seemingly inspired by more ambient, electronic artists, Brian Eno, Vangelis, etc. It's a natural transition for Tool.
"Descending" is a wild ride with one of the greatest second halves of Tool's career. Melodic and devastating.
"Culling Voices" is a slow burner, opening with and staying with another slightly unusual Adam Jones melody, opting to develop in subtle stages, only opening up towards the end. The band could have capitalized on Jones' early riff and jumped in somewhere, but they wait 6 minutes and go in a more familiar direction with the closing riffage.
"Chocolate Chip Trip" will probably go down as one of the coolest drum solo tracks ever recorded. And there are quirky synths too.
"7empest" is the chosen 'rocker' on the album, and this one seriously grooves. For 15 minutes and 44 seconds, bruh. That's what is required when approaching the end of a Tool album. My personal opinion is that Tool are just ridiculously in SYNC on "7empest", and it succeeds in spades even though it embraces some similar chord arrangements of "Right In Two" (not the first time that was noticed on this album). My favorite track, with "Pneuma" coming an extremely close second.
Tool have succeeded here in making the whole greater than the sum of the parts, all plunking in their contributions with care and passion. "Fear Inoculum" is big, beautiful, thought-provoking and....fun?
Listen for yourself on Spotify.
Earlier this week we featured a Canadian artist who has taken on the daunting task of covering/arranging a triad of Tool albums, Aenima, Lateralus and 10,000 Days, all on solo piano. Independent Music Promotions' (www.independentmusicpromotions.com) revolutionary music PR campaigns are the most effective in the industry. Submit your music to us today.