jazo

I am a novice at best when it comes to knowledge of the Kundalini, but I have come to think that Lateralus is indeed a tool (see what I did there) for expanding the way one views themselves in the world. To do this I think they employed a time tested method of personal transformation and chose to infuse the concepts of alchemy within the album. I will thoroughly explain my reasoning, but do keep in mind that at the end of the day everyone has the right to see things differently. This is merely what Lateralus has come to mean for me and I would not have it any other way.

There is no need to re-order any of the tracks. As was already mentioned, the band put them that way for a reason and I think that settles it. To me, TOOL has always seemed like a force that is out there waiting to guide you in a new direction. The songs and subtle knowledge therein are not going to jump out and bite you. For most of their songs I feel like it is a personal interpretation, but not on Lateralus. Here I believe we see purposeful direction given to the listener.

The Grudge begins with the sound of something accelerating upwards... an elevator is what I always imagine. A sign of things to come and generally what the album symbolizes, the act of ascension is clearly what is beginning here.

The song itself is immensely powerful and as this is the album's opening track the band leads it off with a bang. They want you drawn in from the start, ready to listen to more. The lyrics in the song deal heavily with the notion of being caught up in "the grudge". Now this is an area of interpretation but what stands out to me is an "all or nothing" attitude. You are holding the grudge and thereby being denied certain possibilities in life had you not been.

What I've concluded about The Grudge, is that it ultimately comes to correspond with the root chakra. That is, being consumed by the physical nature of reality and never acknowledging the many other layers that happen to be here. A little more than halfway through, the song slows and Maynard says rather matter-of-factly "...drags you down like a stone to consume you, till you choose to. Let this god choose to...". The 'let this god' line is repeated a few times for emphasis. This way of viewing yourself, as a god and not a product or result of the physical world, is a key message to take away from The Grudge.

"Give away the stone, let the waters kiss and transmutate these leaden grudges in to gold". Kicks off the chakra / alchemical symbolism in two ways. One, the "waters" are next up in the line of elements corresponding to the chakras. The Grudge was Earth, Water will be represented next. And obviously, transmutation is what happens in every alchemical operation. The idea is to take something that is imperfect and transform it towards perfection; gold in most cases, but in personal alchemy it is always the metaphor for self-improvement.

One final note about The Grudge... Maynard's Scream. I capitalize scream because it is just so powerfully awesome. He yells for 26 seconds... yells at us to "LET GO". What are we letting go of? THE GRUDGE! Our attachment to all things material and consuming. To begin the phases of self-transformation you must go through this as it allows the rest of the process to be initiated.

I will continue my analysis and interpretation of Lateralus and post back here over the weekend. I've only really ever kept these thoughts to myself and in random notes scribbled here and there. It might take a couple days to get the rest out, but I think it's time I did, so thank you for creating this topic.

Hopefully there will be more discussion and less criticism for putting your thoughts out there.

__________________
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