riff at 6:00 sounds like the grudge

[LeMarchand]

thought you'd like to know.

[AguirreWrathOfTool]

Explain.

[LeMarchand]

Go listen to both tracks, compare that riff in Vicarious to riffs in The Grudge.

[AguirreWrathOfTool]

You're right. It's a cycle of 2 bars with a slight rhythmic variation. If you took the notes of bar 1 and put them into the rhythm of bar 2 it's the exact guitar line from 3:04 of the Grudge. Not quite an exact quotation, though, the way it exists in the piece. Oh well, Tool's compositions are comprised of so many parts and tiny cells that small 2 or 3 note idioms are bound to recur just as part of their musical language. For instance...how many times is a root established (most likely D) and a 5th sounds over that, only to be raised up a 1/2 step, sounding a minor 6th? That idea is the nucleus of Tool's sound, presented for the first time in its simplest, purest form in Sober. Everything they've ever done since then is a development of that original nucleus, and that development has gotten only more complex and interesting as time has gone on. Just because their music is designed to evoke certain feelings in the listener (vulnerability, fear of the unknown, intensity, awe and wonderment, etc.) they work with a limited harmonic language to achieve that kind of affect. You ever notice how a lot of Tool's music sounds very ancient, or very universal, like they're tapping into some type of collective unconscious that we're all part of, and deep down those sounds are very familiar to us in the most primal way? It's because of the specific harmonic language they are employing; it's no accident. So anyway, when you're dealing with limited material it takes some creativity to avoid excessive repetition (such as the slight rhythmic variation and tempo difference between the guitar line in a certain 10 seconds of The Grudge and a certain 10 seconds of Vicarious). That not all their songs sound exactly the same after putting out five albums, three of which border on 80 minutes using only four players on more or less the same instruments and relatively similar harmonic material speaks wonders of their musicianship. So yeah, nice observation...I'm sure we'll find more little things like that. Peace.

[Tool be or not Tool be]

I started playing this song for the wife, who's not a big Tool fan at all. And she immediately started singing the words to Schism. Not a good sign.

I really like this song though, it's Tool at their best when rocking.