Music Tool- Fear Inoculum

Krits

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Tool's new album Fear Inoculum just dropped. Its on Apple Music/Spotify/Youtube music from the ones I've checked. On my first listen now.

Song 4- Invincible. So fecking epic. Had to repeat it and its a 12 minute song :lol:

Loving the album so far.
 

Morpheus 7

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I was going to listen to it last night but was tired, waiting 13 years since 10,000 days so be a shame to not give it the proper attention. It's funny when I bought the last album I thought it could be years before a new album:lol: it's a privilege not a right though. Actually feck this I'm going to listen to it right now I'm awake.
 

2 man midfield

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Better block out of the next few weeks of listening, this is gonna take a while.
 

Krits

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Just finished my first listen. It’s pretty damn epic. Invincible is so far my favourite song. But it’s such well produced album and Danny Carey once again demonstrates why he is adored so much by everyone.
 

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I'm enjoying it. Having rinsed the title track for a while it's great to hear the whole record.
 

izzydiggler

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I've got mates that ahem have loved Tool for years but never really got into them, partly because of a lack of streaming, despite being told constantly that I'd love them being a big Dream Theater and Pink Floyd fan.

But saw them at Download though this year and was blown away, despite being down on them being announced as headliners. Then delved through the back catalogue after it came in Spotify. They'll never be my favourite band but I'd consider myself a fan now but there's a cultish rabid bubble around them I don't quite get.

Anyway, new album seems more of the same. I like it. Invincible is great.
 

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izzydiggler said:
I've got mates that ahem have loved Tool for years but never really got into them, partly because of a lack of streaming, despite being told constantly that I'd love them being a big Dream Theater and Pink Floyd fan.

But saw them at Download though this year and was blown away, despite being down on them being announced as headliners. Then delved through the back catalogue after it came in Spotify. They'll never be my favourite band but I'd consider myself a fan now but there's a cultish rabid bubble around them I don't quite get.

Anyway, new album seems more of the same. I like it. Invincible is great.
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They've acquired this strange praetorian guard around them who say if you're not a massive fan you must be too thick to understand their music and lyrics. I love Tool but I also love the counter-punch to that elitism, for example:

 

Classical Mechanic

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12OunceEpilogue said:
They've acquired this strange praetorian guard around them who say if you're not a massive fan you must be too thick to understand their music and lyrics. I love Tool but I also love the counter-punch to that elitism, for example:

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Tool are pretentious and the some of their fans are highly irritating. I can see how they turn some people off.
 

izzydiggler

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Classical Mechanic said:
Tool are pretentious and the some of their fans are highly irritating. I can see how they turn some people off.
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Yeah, it's quite annoying - like when people go on about the Fibonacci sequence being used as being genius...I really don't care, I don't see how that adds anything, it's just a gimmick. If it's a gimmick that sounds good, fine but I'm not bothered by stuff like that and Tool fans I know never shut up about it.

I really enjoyed them live but there was no footage of the band playing...I know this is what they do and it was all imagery but it definitely felt disconnected and a lot of people got bored and left. Seems like they go out of their way not to conform and some people lap it up. Not that they care but there's this strange desperation to be different that put me off a little bit.

It's weird as I'm a musician and have really been into virtuoso guitarists/bands for decades and people always mock me for it being technicality over songs...as I said, I love Dream Theater and musician wise, they're just ridiculously good. But the same people that mock me for going on about great musicianship are the same ones that rave about Carey in every sentence...he's a great drummer for sure but again, it's this bubble around Tool where it's great when they do long, pretentious songs with great musicianship but boring when others do it. It's definitely like a cult.
 

Classical Mechanic

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izzydiggler said:
Yeah, it's quite annoying - like when people go on about the Fibonacci sequence being used as being genius...I really don't care, I don't see how that adds anything, it's just a gimmick. If it's a gimmick that sounds good, fine but I'm not bothered by stuff like that and Tool fans I know never shut up about it.

I really enjoyed them live but there was no footage of the band playing...I know this is what they do and it was all imagery but it definitely felt disconnected and a lot of people got bored and left. Seems like they go out of their way not to conform and some people lap it up. Not that they care but there's this strange desperation to be different that put me off a little bit.

It's weird as I'm a musician and have really been into virtuoso guitarists/bands for decades and people always mock me for it being technicality over songs...as I said, I love Dream Theater and musician wise, they're just ridiculously good. But the same people that mock me for going on about great musicianship are the same ones that rave about Carey in every sentence...he's a great drummer for sure but again, it's this bubble around Tool where it's great when they do long, pretentious songs with great musicianship but boring when others do it. It's definitely like a cult.
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Tool are the best prog metal outfit of all time for me and I think they do have enough melody and song craft in the vocals to carry it. Sure they are pretentious but I've always liked elaborate music.

Download isn't the place for Tool really though. I think that big festival shows are always reductive anyway because not all of the audience are there to see any given band, the crowds are too big and the production values are lower because many bands are sharing the stage throughout the day.

I do like a bit of Dream Theatre from time to time. I'd say my favourite song is Trial of Tears. I keep thinking that I should commit to trying to learn Erotomania on guitar! Again though, they're a band that I fully understand why people can't get along with them. They're very cheesy (they're called Dream Theatre for a start!), which is compounded by JLB's vocals - which are a the main turn off for me and like all prog, its complex and requires deeper attention.
 

evil_geko

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I got the album two days ago, have been listening to it since then, brilliant stuff!
 

ravi2

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Classical Mechanic said:
How much did it cost you in Canada?
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$60 but by all reports the limited edition is worth it. I should have it within the hour

Ive seen Tool 4 times in the last 10 years and as soon as their tickets go on sale I am buying them. They are one of the best acts Ive ever seen live
 

Classical Mechanic

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ravi2 said:
$60 but by all reports the limited edition is worth it. I should have it within the hour

Ive seen Tool 4 times in the last 10 years and as soon as their tickets go on sale I am buying them. They are one of the best acts Ive ever seen live
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Generally I wouldn't bother paying so much for a special edition CD but as its Tool and couldn't resist it, the description of it seemed pretty cool also.
 

Krits

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Invisible is such an awesome song. I can't get enough of it now. I know about tool and their intricacies, I appreciate that they try and build their music with them. But in the end what matters is that it sounds good and boy does this album sound good.

Hope they tour somewhere in this region, would love to go see them.
 

Classical Mechanic

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I have to say that I'm really impressed on my first listen. I did fear for the worst given the break and the very high standard of Tool's previous discography. I think the sound is a mix between Lateralus and 10000 days. The lyrical themes seem to have a more spiritual bent like Lateralus but there is a lot of the deep groove heavy riffing we heard on 10000 days. I think it's definitely some of the bands best work but perhaps not so with Maynard. His work seems pretty sparse on the album so far.

The special edition CD has now gone up in price on UK Amazon from £74.99 - £86.95! I can only imagine the high demand has led to them being able to rinse fans. Its criminal how much more expensive this edition is in the UK than North America.

This is a pretty good write up, I enjoyed the characterisation on those annoying Tool fans.

https://www.stereogum.com/2056674/tool-fear-inoculum-review/franchises/premature-evaluation/

There’s a longstanding rumor that back when Spin was still a print publication, the editors would get a letter a day demanding a Tool cover story. The singer for a Tool cover band once described to me, with no small amount of worshipful tone, the depth of their compositions, the scientific and philosophical breadth of frontman Maynard James Keenan’s lyrics; he went on to say how non-mainstream the band was, and “that’s why you probably haven’t heard of them.”
 

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Classical Mechanic said:
I have to say that I'm really impressed on my first listen. I did fear for the worst given the break and the very high standard of Tool's previous discography. I think the sound is a mix between Lateralus and 10000 days. The lyrical themes seem to have a more spiritual bent like Lateralus but there is a lot of the deep groove heavy riffing we heard on 10000 days. I think it's definitely some of the bands best work but perhaps not so with Maynard. His work seems pretty sparse on the album so far.

The special edition CD has now gone up in price on UK Amazon from £74.99 - £86.95! I can only imagine the high demand has led to them being able to rinse fans. Its criminal how much more expensive this edition is in the UK than North America.

This is a pretty good write up, I enjoyed the characterisation on those annoying Tool fans.

https://www.stereogum.com/2056674/tool-fear-inoculum-review/franchises/premature-evaluation/

There’s a longstanding rumor that back when Spin was still a print publication, the editors would get a letter a day demanding a Tool cover story. The singer for a Tool cover band once described to me, with no small amount of worshipful tone, the depth of their compositions, the scientific and philosophical breadth of frontman Maynard James Keenan’s lyrics; he went on to say how non-mainstream the band was, and “that’s why you probably haven’t heard of them.”
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Aye, and I think some pure Undertow vibes on 7empest with the vocals and bass.
 

Classical Mechanic

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2 man midfield said:
7empest is great
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Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I really like 7empest, Pueuma, Invincible & Descending.

One of my favourite Tool tracks from their previous works is Right in Two so these prog deep cuts that build into an intense musical crescendo are right up my street.

I'd that there are zero (relatively) radio friendly unit shifters on this album like Schism or The Pot.
 
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Minkaro

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I like it, but I feel like I should like it more. Which seems to sum up Tool as a whole for me. I’ve tried to get into them, with several attempts over the years, and Fear Innoculum seemed like a good time to try again.

Given I love bands very similar to Tool (especially Soen), I’d have thought I’d like them and this more. I do think I need to listen to Fear Innoculum more, as it feels like a grower, and some bands have taken me repeated listens before something clicks. The drumming is amazing though.
 

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I haven't digested the whole album yet but Descending is a masterpiece. The album itself is a fecking rollercoaster of music.
 

Classical Mechanic

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Looks like the limited edition album has sold out in the UK and is appearing on ebay and other places priced at £100 - £200. The single Fear Inoculum also became the longest song ever to chart in the Billboard top 100.
 

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Continuing to listen to the new Tool album. I'll say this. If it's ever been for pseudo-intellectuals, musically speaking, the band will out them on this one, musically it feels like a massive leap in complexity from their other albums.
 

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Just realized they’re playing right down the street soon. Will cost me several hundred now, but the first time I saw them was one of the most intense and beautiful concerts of my life.
 

Krits

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Definitely the best Metal album of this decade, arguably of this Millennium. As much as I am a Metallica fan boy. Don't think their albums are as good or strong as tools. They do have some strong songs in there. But Tools album to me is lot more rounded and better produced. Also even though Papa Het is my idol and probably the only person I will ever be star struck for Maynard shits over him in vocals.

There might be some better albums out there, but music discovery for me isn't that high as it used to be. I believed Megadeths album is also supposed to be up there. Though I haven't heard it in one sitting, just in parts.
 
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