Tool - Fear Inoculum (August 30th, 2019)

I love the vocals, Maynard at the top of his game imo.

now the haters and trolls have been obliterated off the map, this thread has slowed down a little and I wish there was more of us into it tbh

I need to take a chill pill lol.....and....calm....down

Ive been skipping the first song and I return to 7empest the most.

  On 9/3/2019 at 9:51 PM, beer badger said:

now the haters and trolls have been obliterated off the map, this thread has slowed down a little and I wish there was more of us into it tbh

I need to take a chill pill lol.....and....calm....down

hehe. yeah, maynard is great. AJ, too. 

cc trip is surprisingly awesome. i could go for an album of just that.

  On 9/3/2019 at 10:09 PM, very honest said:

cc trip is surprisingly awesome. i could go for an album of just that.

Yeah think Danny Carey solo album could be pretty cool!

Upon first listen I was pretty underwhelmed but it's definitely growing on me. It feels like one more track hits me with each listen.

First time I only really liked 7empest (which is incredible!) and Descending (+ CC trip and Mocking Beat). Now I feel like every track has been stuck in my head at some point.

The main thing that kinda puts me off are the lyrics... which at first seemed really cheesy to me, but even the lyrics are growing on me too. I guess it's just taken a while to accept it for what it is. The whole thing has a very new-agey vibe to it and to be honest, I'm ok with that. They've been heading in that direction since Lateralus anyway.

Bands like Tool never really change that much but there certainly is a big progression when you sit this one besides Undertow. I think that's really cool. It reminds me of the progression Boredoms went through: starting off with shorter, grimey, dark, heavy material and gradually the songs get longer and more psychedelic.

i wanna hear CC trip without those 5 electronic notes repeating

Im still trying to gather my thoughts. I fucking love it so far. It just feels enormous.

Since this thread is now veering closer to everyone having a self congratulatory party patting each other on the dick I'll offer a bit of a counter point. I've basically been listening to the album non stop and overall it's good but not great. 

Strengths I would say are Danny's drumming (clear highlight), consistency (no stinkers), and very solid performances all round. 

Weaknesses, every track is the same basic slow build long form (apart from 7empest) and rather mid tempo. It can get a bit monotonous. I've also never been a fan of The Patient and both Pneuma and Invincible have movements that get into a similar dreary jugga jugga guitar riff as that track. Also Maynards vocals are lacking some bite. If you think this album is amazing just chuck on Aenima immediately after and you can hear how much more vital everyone sounds. 

But, all that said, I do like the album quite a bit. I just don't think it's some 10/10 deliver on all fronts. 

  On 9/4/2019 at 12:52 AM, Poimandres said:

it's good but not great. 

innit

Tool Wallpaper

Toolpaper

  On 9/4/2019 at 6:26 AM, hello spiral said:

innit

Tool Wallpaper

Toolpaper

At least it's not Tooletpaper, which it very well could have been after 13 years

I enjoyed the fuck out of this on both listens so far. 

7empest is brilliant to turn up and drive around late at night. 

Yeah, great driving album. Finding it quite soothing and almost pastoral. I like the consistency of tone even if some dynamism has been sacrificed as a result. 

uh oh

Lol yeah I saw that.

I'd give it a 7.5 though. 

Ahahaha I don't disagree with a lot of it.  Still need to hear the version with all the extra instrumental pieces.

I got together with a bunch of friends at my house the night it was released. None of us had heard anything from it and didn’t read too much about it. We had a fire and torches going, a bunch of beer, wine and other substances. That first listen was something else just because of that. It was a cool 90 minutes that flew by. Several times I caught myself laughing out loud with what was coming out of the speakers. It was definitely far too much to grasp on that first run through but it was satisfying and somewhat of a relief. The consensus was that they delivered big time after such a long time off.

When the first vocals came in on the first track, I had an “uh-oh” moment as it immediately had the Eat the Elephant vocal sound. But that disappeared rather quickly. While most of the vocals are much more ethereal than normal, it all seemed to fit and balance how heavy everything else was. After a few listens the vocals are actually one of the highlights. It seems like the lyrics are much less vague than in the past but still enough to take multiple meanings from. 

Pneuma is already top tier material like Third Eye, Lateralus, H, Eulogy, etc. I love the way the syncopation of the vocals and the beats are. Instant classic. I’ll eat my hat if they don’t make a video for that one. That 80s metal riff at the end? Come on. Classic. Invincible is the same. Just perfect. The jam at the end is one of the best things they’ve ever done. Parts of it sound like Pantera and Meshuggah had a child. Just nasty as fuck. Love how dark it is. Same with the jam section of Descending. That little bass drop and then boom, dark sinister groove with the synth from Reflection. Deep and sinister as fuck. Another one of the nastiest things they’ve done. 7empest is just too much of a behemoth at the moment.

I love the pacing of the record but am still bewildered as to why the physical piece doesn’t contain the whole album. How the hell are they going to break it up for vinyl? I also don’t like the new logo and wonder why it was chosen. It doesn’t seem to fit the music at all. Minor complaints. The production is kind of just there. Just seems simple and clean and let’s each person shine. I still miss the grit of the Bottril albums but this doesn’t seem to fit that aesthetic anymore anyway. I do miss the humor a little on this one considering how heavy and dense and serious the whole record is. But that might seem out of place on this too. Overall I couldn’t be happier with it and am glad that it still feels too big still. Definitely going to be fun exploring for some time to come. I can’t even imagine what this shit is going to be live. Dick wrench/10. Will come again.

i'm glad you enjoy the new album jules but i bet amidst all that fire, wine and 3meo pcp snorting you still felt guilt for not inviting schlitze to your tool party. i know i'm right shhh

Is anyone noticing clipping on the second proper track? Pneuma.

I think this record is dope tbh. 

Album length flies by as well, it flows really well, even with the interludes.

  On 9/4/2019 at 3:32 PM, Polytrix said:

Is anyone noticing clipping on the second proper track? Pneuma.

Is that the one with all the crackles on the bass?  Then yes.

  On 9/4/2019 at 3:32 PM, Polytrix said:

Is anyone noticing clipping on the second proper track? Pneuma.

Yes... I usually don't notice "bad production" or "bad mastering" when people here talk about it, but this one was really noticable.

Dang! That's a shame that!

Really, really love this record. It gets better each time.  Solid 9/10.  Team Invincible all the way.