Dedicated to searchforme.

I read Kabir’s review when he first posted it, but kept away from all of the other personal reviews/interpretations, not necessarily by choice, but because there simply are too many threads to skim through and moderate. But I think that’s probably for the best. At the risk of opening myself up to the relentless hostility that occurs here, here’s the flux’s take on the new music that I have from Tool. I’ll try to keep it interesting. But I can tell you right now, if you don’t want to read for long periods of time, sorry, but I just feel like this is the only way I can truthfully talk about what this record means to me.

edit 5/8/06: Further examinations of past tool songs, which was kinda required, are found starting on page 5 of this thread.

First, I want to say that to get out of this what I got out of it, you should be familiar with Tool’s past works, especially the preceding 2 records Ænima and Lateralus. Especially a little song on Lateralus called Reflection…

Kabir, in his review, said that this record picked up right where Reflection left off. I thought that was an odd statement. Lateralus didn’t end with Reflection, but Triad. So why would this record start there? I’ve always said that Tool records follow a certain pattern, that the next release from the band sounds like the last song on the preceding record, and that the last song on any record could have very well have been on the next record, almost as if they were giving us a preview. Opiate (the song) stands out on Opiate (the album) and showed us Undertow. Flood shows us the chaotic power of Ænima, Third Eye shows us the spiritual progression of Lateralus, and I expected 10KD to be largely connected like Disposition/Reflection/Triad. I didn’t count on them to use just Reflection. But Kabir nailed it, and I was pretty amazed at his ability to see as much as he saw with only one listen.

I turned on Vicarious, Jambi, and Right in Two in a playlist last night before I went to bed. While I lay there, I had a sort of breakthrough concerning the problems that everyone who didn’t like the album, and my own first reservations about it, were talking about. “Something” apparently was missing. People weren’t being “moved” as they were with prior releases. People didn’t like that parts of older songs showed up in the new ones. People talking about Maynard’s comment that one can only do so much before basically “quitting.”

How many times have we heard the weariness in their song, releasing the burden of never really being grasped by the mass majority of listeners? The Patient. Over Now on Mer de Noms. The pointed bitter sarcasm. How many times can you repeat yourself in different ways to infant-like souls before you realize that you aren’t getting through to most of them? What we are missing, guys, is being pushed. We have all felt it. I mean, Opiate was my first record, so I have seen the progressional concept from the band in all of it’s fascinating history. Opiate gathered the angry. Undertow took the anger and pushed and molded the anger into some sort of plan. Ænima pushed us to understand what was available to us. Lateralus pushed us to see why we should take it, showing us ethereal soundscapes depicting our potentials, all laid out for us in it’s epic glory. How long do we need to be pushed before we do it on our own? How fucking long? As responsible sentient beings, do they keep pushing us and feeding us? If they did that, they would be leading us. And that’s not how it works. That’s no different than any cult or sect of religious fanaticism. They don’t want to be your Christ. They don’t want fanatic followers who follow just as blindly as any hardline religion. The euphemism “think for yourself” is mocked often, because it’s so cliché’d now, since every 12 year old who saw Tool on that tour where that Leary quote preceded Third Eye has it in their signature. But it’s really a point they want to drive home. Do it for yourself, guys, because it’s time. And that’s what makes this album so scary to me. I’m facing fears here that I haven’t faced in a while. This album’s passive-ness made me not be able to sleep last night. We aren’t being pushed, driven, because it’s up to us and we cant keep being fed because the time is coming where if we cant do it on our own, we’ll see ourselves on the wrong side of the gap. We’re junkies for the kind of inspiration and push that Tool provides us with. Do they mind doing it? Of course not, but as I said, as responsible sentient beings, they cant keep feeding the junkies or the junkies will not progress. They wont always be able to show us the next door through, and we will have to be able to find them on our own.

Try to listen to this album next time in that light. See if you don’t feel yourself craving being driven, having inspiration exploding through your brain at all times. Then wonder if I could be correct. See if your hostility towards them using parts of music they have used in the past is misguided. See if you can accept it as them simply pointing to things they have already told us, and take it as a mockery of us not being able to get it the first time.

So what is this record, then? If not to push us, what purpose does it serve? Every one of us knows that at least since Undertow, not a single second of any Tool release is out of place, it is all precisely crafted together. Whether you identify with it or not, the precision with purpose is there.

This album mourns.

This album is the release of the tremendous, horrific sadness that sentient beings must undergo in order to survive. We are all familiar with the concepts of evolution being interwoven throughout Tool’s message. We’ve felt the push that helps us understand it, know that it is real. This is the blues record they were speaking of.

This album is about catastrophic division. We’ve seen it before, in Pushit, with the gap, we’ve seen the hard path in the Patient, we've seen the rift in Schism, although the pieces are put together there. But we have never witnessed it. We’ve never seen what that division does. Tell you the truth, I’ve always been a little afraid of it. But it’s time to face it now.

Because finally, this album is about death and the necessary invoked apathy that the witnesses are forced to endure. It’s fucking painful.


Before I talk about the music on this record, I have to explain what I get from Reflection and Triad. Reflection is my favorite Tool song. It represents, to me, the exodus that is bound to occur. Those humans that are moving on, say their last goodbyes and look sadly at their reflection. I have gone into this song in much detail in the past, but I feel as if I must skim this to conserve your time. Triad represents those who partook in the exodus arriving at their new promised land (heaven), they plant the seed and then step back a distance (when the music gets really quiet and Danny does the tick-tock thing as if we were waiting), then the seed explodes into glorious growth when the music kicks back in. To me this trio of songs represents the change we are facing that is roaring down the stretch at breakneck (relatively, of course) speed. The most key songs on this record, to me, are Vicarious, Jambi, Rosetta Stoned, and Right In Two, and I’ll try to focus mostly on them.

Vicarious
To say that this album picks up where Reflection left off is kinda misguiding, actually. I think of it now as “zooming in” on the aspects of Reflection and taking a journal with you. There’s some things we don’t want to face, and these guys aren’t afraid to show it to us. Another pattern I have noticed is that the promo single that is release with the last two albums, especially, represent the theme of the record. I couldn’t find the theme, at first, like I said. So I was confused about Vicarious when I heard the rest of the record. Stinkfist represented the problem of desensitization, the slipping of our race, and pointed it out in no uncertain terms. Ænima dealt with what to do about that problem. Schism represented the gap and putting the pieces together to bridge it. Lateralus showed us what was on the other side, the promise of rewards, the magnificence of our inner spirals. So I made the comment to Cronos one day, I said, “Vicarious represents… soup? (referring to the rest of the album)” I didn’t know where the pieces went on 10KD and it was all a jumbled soupy mess to me. But it represents the rest of the album perfectly now.

We start with a tease of Schism. This whole song refers back to Schism at different times. The beginning is like a dream, up until the alarm goes off. I’m sorry, but I disagree with Kabir when he says that Vicarious hits us all at once and there is no real intro like the rest of the albums have. Undertow has the weird drowning waterish sound, AEnima has the jack-in-the-box winding up, and Lateralus has the film projector/elevator starting up. This album has a dream as the intro sound. We dream of the gap. We dream of the Schism. We feed off of the tragedy so much that we dream about it. The intro and the real beginning of Vicarious come in after the alarm goes off (the second time, as if we hit snooze because our asses are lazy), and we awaken.

Again this song focuses on the problem. The problem is what we feed ourselves with. The power of the collective that is referred to in Tool’s music is not limited to those who can cross the gap. It involves all of us, from the lowest scum to the highest ascended master. Anyone born of a human mother in this plane is involved. Your thoughts and actions affect me, and vice versa, no matter how far away physically we are from each other. So this is a problem for those who have the ability to cross. They don’t want to be extinct, thank you very much. But all this feeding on tragedy and death are simply pulling us further and further backwards. AND WE HIDE IT FROM EACH OTHER. Hence all of the accusations of hypocrisy…

frown out your one face but with the other stare like a junkie into the tv

…and pleas of disclosure

you all need it too don’t lie why cant we just admit it

This trend of feeding on negativity doesn’t appear to be slowing down. We all know it, see it, every news headline is a horrible accident or something equally as morbid, if not worse. It’s as if we are trying to outdo the last headline, every day, always with an ear out for more more more. Blood flows. We want it. We wont stop till we get it. Tell me, is this harmless? We are turning into the vampires of our own race, of our own accomplishments, our own pleasures, our own desires.

At the end of the chorus at 3:25, Maynard turns to us and spits the words in our face,

why cant we just admit it?

As always, the music and lyrics are one, the music punctuates his venomous question. Then in comes a marching-like riff, as if to describe a war

Blood like rain fallin down down on grave and ground

Then a tremendous part, it’s like a broken up transmission! Describing to onlookers, if we knew they were there, what we are.

Part vampire part warrior carnivore and voyeur

And more importantly,

We still have the transmittal synched to the death rattle

As if this was our destiny all along, to crash. Perhaps there are escape pods, though…

La la la la la la la lie…

Singing the death rattle. And guess what we are immediately faced with after singing it??? The Schism music again. There it is, as if to say, “you called?” I don’t know what that talking in the background is supposed to represent, perhaps more of our garbled transmissions. And yet AGAIN, we realize we are dreaming again and the alarm once more wakes us up. I feel at this point they want to stress the amount of times that we have heard this exact same message from them before, in creating this sense of déjà vu with the Schism/alarm thing.

incredulous at best your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men

(*sigh*)

but pull your head on out your hippy haze and give a listen,

(ALTHOUGH)

I shouldn’t have to say it all again

(But let me break it down for you one more time…)

THE UNIVERSE IS HOSTILE, SO IMPERSONAL

DEVOUR TO SURVIVE

SO IT IS

SO IT’S ALWAYS BEEN

(And I will devour your cancerous ass if I have to in order to survive. Again, I will rip your fucking throat away as I did in Pushit, I will not hesitate, and the love that I felt when I said it last time is starting to fade. I must prepare myself, and that means that my energy must be focused on what’s happening in my moment. Being completely in the moment doesn’t mean that you cant have anyone else around you. They are allowed to be there. But I’ll be damned if I am going to be held back much longer. The division is happening as we speak to you about what we are feeling.)

The above stuff in parentheses is just the feeling I get when he is singing this, when I feel this way about the rest of the album. Then we have the reiteration closing comments

We all feed on tragedy it’s like blood to a vampire, Vicariously I live while the whole world dies

Then, finally, as chilling as any of the other lyrics on the record…

much better you than I…

When we watch from a distance, we think we are “safe.” But our idea of safety is about to be tested.

Jambi
Bi=two

I cant say that I understand where the title comes from. I do think that the “bi” part represents duality. I get the feelings that I got from the Patient in this one.

Just tryin to hold on one more day

One of the more powerful thoughts in this song:

If I thought tomorrow, they’d take you away

As if those who can cross the gap thought only about their future, then the other side would already be gone. But the separation has not occurred yet, they are still tryin to hold on, help as many as possible across. It just isn’t working on the scale that would lead to positive feelings instead of mourning.

Dam my eyes, jam bi eyes

This is what I hear. Poke out my eyes.

Dim my eyes if they should compromise a fulcrum, want and need, divide me then I might as well be gone

Division. If the balance is going to be upset, I’ll cut you off, I wont be able to see or cry for you anymore. I would rather lose my sight for you than be dragged down with you. Then another chilling line…

Then I might as well be gone

As in the patient, thinking of what it would be like to walk away

And I still may

The song really isn’t the same after this point. It’s almost as if, to me, the division is beginning right here. Gone are the thoughts of holding on, the thoughts of the balance being upset. They simply cant allow that to happen, see?

Shine on forever, upon the broken, upon the SEVERED, until the two become one

We are seeing, after the division, the concepts of unity. Before, it was implied that unity was the two sides coming together as one. But I don’t think this is the case anymore. This is what I found scary. I see this type of two becoming one as one of the sides ceasing to exist. An eradication, a squashing (as you would any termite or roach) of one of the two, not a merging. This is how I am seeing the two become one.

Divide and wither away

This part sounds, not excited about the fact, but just as if it was just something necessary, a task. The task of separation.

Breathe in union

Finally, we can breathe in union, the chaff has been separated, the division is made complete.

So as one, survive another day and season
Silence, Legion, save your poison, silence, Legion, stay out of my way

Legion is the name for the devil (or devils) in parts of the bible. The evil. Save your sickening poison, stay out of our way, we simply wont have it anymore.

At this point, after the division, the mourning begins.

Wings For Marie (Pt. I)
Maynard has used many things as examples and metaphors, from Jesus to the flushing of a toilet. I think the point of these next two songs is to use something personal as an example to help us understand the importance of the division.

What have I done to be the son of an angel what have I done to be worthy

What I’m seeing in this song is a recognition that his mother sacrificed herself for him in some way. I’m somewhat uncomfortable trying to analyze these songs, as I’m not all too familiar with his family history. In truth, most of what we know has been sold to us. We know that in Jimmy he lost something that was most precious to him. His mother suffered a brain aneurysm. Perhaps it affected to a large degree her ability to do things for the rest of her life. For a great analysis of these songs I will refer you to subtlefury’s thread about it.

10,000 Days (Wings Pt. II)
These songs are obviously connected, yet separated for a reason. His attitude here is still mourning, but it is far more defiant. Have you seen “The Exorcism of Emily Rose?” IN the movie, the girl suffers demonic possessions the likes of which the church had never seen. And she was given a choice by Mother Mary herself. Emily could be taken from this pain, or she could be a light for all of those who would observe her on Earth. Emily chose to be a light for the divine. I think this is exactly what Maynard is saying to his Mother. Did he agree with the way she did things? Obviously not, what with the bitter song “Judith” that attacks her God who did this to her. He never wanted to see the woman who gave him so much in years and years of constant pain and complications. Yet, here, he gives her her props, so to speak. He mocks those gathered around her dead body, calling them ignorant, blinded hypocrites. None of them have even seen her the way she really was, divine.

Then, enough about them, they aren’t worth the effort. He moves to speaking to directly about her, to her.

but enough about the collective Judas

Haha, those who have not crossed the gap are called traitors. I love it.

this little light of mine, the gift you passed on to me, I’ll let it shine to guide you safely on your way, your way home

Judith Marie perhaps passed a gift on to her son, a divine hereditary gift. Blood and genes carry all of the information in our bloodlines.

Ten thousand days in the fire is long enough

27 years of suffering is more than enough for him to watch. Eventually, Emily Rose was taken up as well. Then these next lines are awesomely defiant, giving her so much praise, saying she and she alone has the ability to go up to heaven’s gates and demand to be seen, demand her wings. This is probably the most emotionally powerful point on the record for me.

You’re the only one who can hold your head up high
Shake your fists at the gates saying “I have come home now! Fetch me the spirit, the son and the father [himself] and tell them their ‘pillar of faith’ has ascended! It’s time NOW! MY time now! Give me my…. GIVE ME MY WINGS.”

The very idea that someone has suffered so much for God that she can go up there and just start demanding that the angels do her bidding is powerful. Shaking your fists at the gates? Fetch me the trinity so that I can demand my fucking wings? Jesus…

And when Maynard speaks to his mom for the last time, forgivingly he asks for her to put in a good word for him. Mourning his life without her, or mourning her light being unavailable, or mourning the fact that they never saw eye to eye.

The Pot
Every album has a song that is less intense in content while being more intense 9by that, I mean heavy) musically. This is to provide relief, I think, for our minds. We take in all of this intense message, god, we need a break or we will snap. With AEnima it was Hooker with a Penis. Lateralus had Ticks and Leeches. This one has the Pot. It’s pretty self-explanatory so I wont spend much time on it. It’s just against hypocrisy. It has an amused attitude, though, as if your hypocrisy ultimately doesn’t matter to me anymore because the division is occurring. The whole “You must have been high” is just throwing back in their faces the ridiculous accusations that have flown out of their mouths before.

Lipan Conjuring
Sounds to me like this could be an Indian burial ceremony. Hmmm…

edit: I have been corrected, it's a Lipan exorcism ceremony. Makes sense.

Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)
As a segue into Rosetta Stoned, the music sounds woozy, shifting, unfocused, crazy, confused. This is a perspective narrative, so let’s assume the role of the narrator. We hear the hospital sounds, we hear ourselves breathing raggedly. They want us to tell them everything… so we start to talk…

Rosetta Stoned
Look, all throughout Tool’s career, we’ve heard songs that could only come from an experienced perspective. From all 4 members. How could one write a song like The Patient and not have personally felt that way before? As the messenger, trudging along a mundane path, for these fucks who don’t even realize what I’m trying to say? And how about 46 & 2? How can you write a song like that and not actually have the experience of stepping through your shadow? How can you write a song like Rosetta Stoned and not be this seemingly schizophrenic character? It’s time we gave Tool props officially as being messengers and speak about them in that regard.

Not that this song is to be taken exactly literally. Kinda like the story of Jesus. Who knows what really happened 2000 years ago. All we have is a story of a man who did miraculous wonders and taught a hell of a lot of people what he knew. Whether he actually existed in the way that he was written about is not known. But the story remains the same, and what we are to gain from it is not altered. The meanings are not in the historical accuracy of the account, but the intended message proposed. So let’s not say that Jesus was physically here and did all of the things he did, and that Maynard was at Area 51 and was visited by aliens and all of this actually happened. We already know that the song uses Dave for inspiration, anyway, the guy that Blair wrote about in that newsletter, and Maynard is not really speaking totally from the first person.

Rosetta lyrics

Serious props to A WalkAbout for his work on the lyrics, not just in this song, but I think he was the first to post the comprehensive album lyrics. This account is the one I mostly used, although of course some of it is almost unintelligible.

Have you done any research on the Rosetta Stone? The one that they found in Egypt?
Yeah, you can look it up on Wikipedia, and I will paste something from there in a minutes, but first take a look at this simplified site about the Rosetta Stone.

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/rosetta.html

It explains that the Rosetta Stone was written in three different scripts, written by priests, honoring the pharaoh, listing all of the good things that the pharaoh had done for the people and priests of Egypt. Now here’s what I pulled from wikipedia…

Rosetta Stone is also used as a metaphor to refer to anything that is a critical key to a process of decryption, translation, or a difficult problem, e.g., "the Rosetta stone of immunology", "thalamo-cortical rhythms, the Rosetta stone of a subset of neurological disorders", "Arabidopsis, the Rosetta stone of flowering time (fossils)".

This song is Tool’s Rosetta Stone, listing all of the things they have done for the people (us listeners, their audience) honoring the pharaoh (the source of life, in this case, the higher existence). The reason you hear three different older Tool songs in this song is because they are listing what they have done for us! What they have told us! We have H., Third Eye, and Triad. And perhaps more, it would just make sense if they did 3. To tell you the truth I cant remember where these parts come from, some of them, in the new context, I just know they are familiar. Those 3 songs in particular, though, are listed. And the whole twist of irony in this piece is that it’s narrated by a guy who cant remember the message he was told, because he forgot his pen when it was key. See the genius here? It really fucking hits me hard. Given what wikipedia told us, they consider it to be a key, for decryption of the message that the narrator gives us. It’s all here.

The story explains itself, pretty much. A guy is visited by aliens (in pretty honest and amusing fashion). After hoping that he hopes his partner doesn’t notice that he pissed his pants, the music changes, and the narrator starts talking about how it felt to be taken, like he had taken acid and was tripping outside his body. The ET tells him that he is the chosen one to deliver a message

Of hope for those who choose to hear it
A message of warning for those who do not.

That’s what Tool has been about. The combined message of no worries for those who cross the gap, and warning for those who don’t. Mostly, the song is composed of riffs from H. until the story gets told, and the narrator begs for them to believe what he said. H. is about the connection that we have with each other, and how we are too connected to slip away, fade away from each other, and that’s the reason the messenger’s hearts are opened up again, out of compassion, even though it’s killing them. Not a coincidence. This is what Tool have done for us, their first script. They showed us compassion when none is granted to them for the most part. Because they are too connected. Or, rather, I should say, they were…

So after the narrator tells his story, he is strapped down, eyes red (signifying suppression via forced medication), doesn’t know if he’s alive or dead, cant remember what the aliens said… and he realizes he has shit the bed, which I think is great way to inject a little humor without losing a sense of the sadness.

I can hear Third Eye and Triad as the other two scripts. Hear the sound Danny uses towards the end of Triad, the same sound is used starting at 7:43. He uses it the same way, a straight time count. The most epic part of the message (not necessarily the most emotional, because I have already reserved that for the part in 10,000 Days), maybe the most epic part of any tool song, summing up what they have done, is during these lines.

Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be the one
Born to bear and read you all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see

This is their cry. Tool can be summed up in this section of this one song. This was their task, to bring us the message and be the one band that would reach us in the way that they have. To record and read to us the details of our ending. Their music is injected with refined and precise power. It shows you things if you let it. They show by example, as Christ was claimed to have done, what is possible. Nothing is impossible. They show us every album that technicalities and skill on an instrument is not where sonic power comes from. Yes, they are good skilled players, especially Danny, but he is probably the only one that would be ranked in any top 5 list as far as most skilled musicians go. The power comes from inside them, the convergence of 4 individuals into one unified whole, examples of what can happen and what is possible if we only cross the gap.

At 9:40 the narrator freaks out because he cant remember what they said although the music, so familiar to him yet not quite tangible, dances through his head.

I had trouble deciphering what parts of past songs was used where. It is very possible that more than 3 scripts were used in this Rosetta Stone, not sure. But also I think that’s part of the point. Because it’s as if it’s on the tip of our brains but we cant quite put our finger on it, like the narrator. Forced medication is keeping him from remembering, what does that say about us in our situation? That the stuff that we feed on is holding us back from deciphering the secrets contained within their music. If we would only grasp it, we would see that they have indeed just been singing one song, a message of hope to those who choose to hear, and warning for those who do not. Did not Jesus say, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear?” The message Jesus presented to us is the same. “I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” But not through his church following. Not those people who think they are elite because they believe in a Christ that physically walked the Earth and that all others are doomed regardless of how they live. Through him. His example. Tool’s example.

This is such a complex interwoven song that I am sure that I do not fathom it all this early. Perhaps my medication is holding me back…

edit: I have come more and more to think that they use all sorts of riffs from different songs in the past, and the three scripts is not relevant. The main point is that it is being written to honor the "pharaoh," listing everything we have been told that the "pharaoh" has done for us. They include themselves among everyone else. What they do wouldnt be possible without the divine. Yes, this song mocks the hippies, the acidheads, the ones who think they have been given a special task, that they are chosen one. Everyone has this ability, to be chosen. But acid can only show you the door, it cant make you walk through it, or even be able to always find it in the future. Let's learn to find the door ourselves, naturally. I dont think acid is bad, no, but the time has come for us to do it ourselves.

Intension
The sound in the front is important. Sounds like a wheel, creaking, or being pushed or pulled, and then slowly, people gather, like they are all meeting at a rendezvous point, whispering among themselves, then all come in to chant with Maynard… His voice doubled so many times is to represent a group setting, I feel. Do you hear parts of the beginning of Lateralus (the song) in here? I’m starting to take this as the exodus has already occurred, separation, death to the two, and only the ones who have crossed the gap can find their way to this place, following their spiral home. To begin again. Pure. By will alone, not with our hands or other external accomplishments. The group begins, the music gets more and more involved as the creation progresses. Sparks, then flames, to light their home (In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth from the void…). This song seems to be a genesis. As Triad was, just portrayed in a different way, still saddened from what they had to just go through.

Right In Two
This is the saddest song on here. Yes, the Wings For Marie invoke deep personal sadness, but this… this is beyond that. It’s sad not because of personal pain, but because of how apathetic it is. The net of being, on the cover, those eyes, do they look like they care? Do they look like they are thinking about your personal feelings at ALL? Fuck, no. The universe is hostile, indifferent to our little plight. Apathetic to the human race surviving or becoming extinct. They don’t really give a shit. They just keep things running. THEY WILL NOT HELP US. WE MUST HELP OURSELVES. This song is told from the perspective of the onlookers.

angels on the sideline again, puzzled and amused
why did father give these humans free will, now they’re all confused

There have been plenty of people who claim to have knowledge and experience on higher planes of existence than the one we are accustomed to having our realities in. They all say that we are being watched. Because there’s something about humanity that is different than anything that’s ever been done before in the universe. Hence the puzzlement that the angels on the sidelines (spectators) are going through. Why were we granted free will already? We will just kill ourselves. We cant see Eden, heaven. So no, we don’t know that there’s enough to go around if we would just step across the gap. We focus our tasks on external things, seeing what we can build outwardly, not inwardly. They call us monkeys as a mockery, since that’s what we appear to be to them, similar to how monkeys appear to us, almost sentient, but not quite. That’s how the spectators feel about us.

We are choosing destruction. Maynard says

Father blessed them all with reason and this is what they choose?

To reiterate that the choice has already been made. Destruction IS going to occur. It is the path we have chosen. The spectators observe how we will divide into two on anything at all. And if there aren’t sides, they will cut it in two with a blade. Division is our nature. Our cells divide with the mitosis process. This carries up to our very nature. It is the design. It is a flawed design, perhaps this is why they wonder if we should have been granted free will. We have to find our way when the lights go down.

We find ourselves, after Maynard repeats several times

cutting it all right in two

Back in Reflection! The tabla sounds, the similar beat to Reflection, it is here again facing us. We are faced with the choice to leave and find our way to survival. I cant tell what the lyrics are but it would only emphasize the point, Im sure that this is imminent. Then the music definitely picks up and seems rather Triad-ish again before going straight into a version of a 46 & 2 riff! It’s still all here! The evolution, the message, the information, the way for us. Lit up again right here in this song. Then more angels on the sideline, wondering when the tug of war will end. Then more cutting right in two, but this time triumphant, as in, we did it, we mourned, we went through what we had to go through to ensure our survival. We saw the gap bridge close forever and we hear the bombs go off over there and see the red glow of fire and know that it can only mean death. But like any disease, the bridge must be destroyed, therefore ripping their throats away in essence, so that the disease cannot be spread any longer. This is the end of the mourning. This is the end of the zooming in on Reflection, the concept of departure, the mourning of the death of our race, yet… there is hope for those who choose to listen? What is that hope and what happens to those who heeded the call?

That hope is not on this record. We know from Triad that there is hope after the departure. I have seen that the following album reflects the last song on the previous one, and that this record zooms in on Reflection. Where is our Triad? Is it what people feel is missing, this hope? Because this record is not about hope. The cover is a dead version of Alex Grey’s painting “Net of Being.” Maybe there is a hope that Triad is coming. Maybe they will release another record soon that is already ready, and unexpected. Whether or not we get a Triad from them, or we have been shown enough, pushed enough, that we are now required to make our own Triad ourselves, remains to be seen. Maybe Virginti Tres is in some way, that hope. Maybe the puzzle in the artwork packaging will tell us. But to me, the point is clear. Their work is the recording and reading to us the ending, the message of hope should be evident to us, but we largely reject it, and that the gap is in process of becoming an impassable chasm as I type this.

It’s scary, depending on which side of the gap you will find yourself on.

Wow, Thank you for that. Brilliant. I'm speechless, I think you hit the nail right on the head.

Same here. Could this be stickied, perhaps?

perhaps if there is enough acclaim for this thread. I will not, however, sticky this because I feel I am special or because I am a mod.

No, sir, not for those reasons, but because I think you've done a good job with this.

Turn that into a thesis, please.

Beautiful interpretation. I am amazed that you could come up with such an in-depth review/theory so early. I am still on information overload from this disc.

Simply incredible.

Thats definately the best post I've seen since I first came to TDN. First I must give you an applause Paraflux, that was very well thought out, and all of your claims are very very plausivle, some I had even thought about myself, but some that I haden't which opened up the meaning to me even further.

I don't want to ramble on or seem like some sort of suck up, but this thread should be read by all here at TDN, the message that Paraflux has set down on the table if free for all to take, and you would be, in my opinion, doing yourself a disservice not to take it.

Well done, one of the finest things i've seen posted. No surprise it comes from you.
I'm sorry but i really did'nt think you thought that much of tool ... but the proof is in the writing. I mean i think about it like that, but you took the the time to tell everyone. I hope they all read and listen to what you said ... good show dude :)

What do you think of this though ... I'll put in a shorter version.
After some long listens, I think it's simply about human evolution and mankind in the present as well. How one relates and deals with life. Good and bad ... That's life.

Wow, I think that is some serious over analyzation. This album is devoid of all the mystery and deep meaning that surrounds tool, its the easiest to analyize. Its tool wearing their feelings on their sleeves instead of hiding them in cryptic lyrics. I would also like to add that re-hashed guitar riffs are re-hashed guitar riffs, there is no way to spin meaning out of using the same riffs over and over. That said, I personally like this album, and as a musician disagree with the amount of rehashed riffs, I think most people are blowing that out of proportion. I do however agree that the overall feeling of this album is greif and sadness. Also, one question, who are tool to lead us anywhere? Last time I checked thay are regular ass people just like the rest of us, but with very self righteous attitudes. Tool is a beautifully artistic band that makes epic music at a time where that type of thing is hard to find. They are not a spiritual movement and hardly examples of how to live your life. Who are they to point their fingers, or tell us anything, they must be high.

Still Reading, so far I am glad to see some depth being drawn out of the new material... I was thirsty

As I said, it depends on which side of the gap you choose.

wow finally something worth reading on these forums

By Far the most well-thought out insightful post I have ever read on TDN, thank you for taking time out of your life to give this insightful reading of Tool to us Fluxer.


Is there any chance that you could find the posts you made, similar reactions to the older albums?

wow...that is amazing.. Reading what they've been saying and just the message from the album itself. It was there but just not spelt out.

I also wrote a poem recently that doesn't have to do exactly this but it made me lose something for humanity. I had the idea for a couple of months, and I sat down to write it and just the concept and what I was trying to do just really put me in this mindset, it made me think and it just put me in a sad place. It hit me about this album even more so after I wrote it.

I support this notion.

awesome stuff flux

To semoshocker: Valid--disagree with your statement about rehashed riffs...but valid. As far as your question regarding who tool are to lead their fans anywhere...I'm going to try...They write for 1. themselves 2. those who want to listen. They're not making a concerted effort to push their fans in one direction or another...to them that would be counter productive. They seem want to be a "TOOL" for inspiration rather than deified leaders of an ignorant mass. The fingers they point aren't malicious...it's like tough love for those who don't get it.

yes sir, thank you for putting it in those words :)

I really enjoyed this, Paraflux, and I admire the amount of work you put into it. I especially liked your analysis of Rosetta Stoned; I love that song but the throwbacks to other songs always kind of hurt it for me, but I think you've helped me get over that.

I've got to disagree with you on some points though. You explained why you thought people were reacting strangely to this album; I have a different opinion. I simply think that there is not one strong message that runs throughout this album as there were in albums previous. As I love all of the songs on this album, I don't see a logical progression with it. I think that since we're all used to Tool's albums flowing nicely and progressing logically, everybody has the tendency to try to make connections between the songs on this album, even though (imo) there aren't any (aside from the obvious: wings, lk/rosetta). This is why I've come to the conclusion that while I love all of these songs immensly, I can't love this album as much as previous Tool albums. I hope that makes sense. This is just a different direction for Tool, but I completely respect that.

wow, awesome read. I too felt the same way without having the capability to put my feeling into words. Hell, not to claim any sort of 'i told you so' but i had this feeling after lateralus. I felt this cd would in some way relate to the supposed shift happening.

From the very first listen the song rosetta stoned hit home, I will admit something personal here.. recently I had a massive panic attack that would not go away, the odd thing was earlier that day i was talking to my mom about 2012 so it was pretty fresh in my mind. When I had these panic attacks, some 2 hours later, i literally felt like i was loosing my mind.. nothing seemed real, i was completely sober, yet i was 'slipping into a dream within a dream'. For an hour of having panic attacks i finally had my mom call 911 and i went to a hospital and they gave me some medicine to numb the feelings. Im still to this day numbed by prescription drugs, in fear of 'crossing the gap' as you put it.

Waiter, I will have what he's having! K Thnx!

I think you hit right on the head what the album was "missing."

The reason people haven't latched onto it is because it doesn't have that "lift you off your feet" daze as the other albums. It doesn't teach us things, it doesn't ask us to be inspired and climb to a higher level. It tells us what's going on now, that humans are barbaric and destructive, and it essentially is the opposite message of all of their other material if looked on from a distance.

I really enjoyed reading your opinions on the album paraflux :) I've been a bit starved of thought provoking discussion regarding the new material, and here I find it all in one thread :)

I wondered if Maynard's change of viewpoint in 'Wings/10,000 Days' was an acceptance and a way to let go of the hatred of 'Judith' especially the last line 'Hallelujah, it's time for you to bring me home'. Even though the two songs are bleak and desolate, there is an overarching feeling of hope (for me anyway) and a feeling of goodness.

Thanks for making the effort to make such a comprehensive post, it's awesome to see other people having the same sort of personal reaction to the album that I feel I've had :)

Damn flux, I only read half-way into Vicarious.. I'll finish the rest later. Talk about over-analyzing.. but I kind of like what you have to say/never thought of it that way. It's a good point you made.

Maybe you addressed this in the rest of your posts (YOU FUCKING POST-PUMPER!), but to me, 10,000 Days doesn't have the same dark and dreary mood that I was so accustomed to and liked so much on Aenima and Lateralus. I'll read the rest later and whatnot.

Great post Paraflux!

Good things come in 3's. So do Tragedies. If 10,000 Days, in it's implication of sadness and violence, is Tool's 2nd generation version of Undertow, then their next 2 albums might just present the extremes of both sides of this gap.

Regarding the live aspect of Tool, its true that many people who caught Tool during the Lateralus tour never saw them live before. Chances are, during the fall 2006 10kD tour many of the people will have at least one show under their belt. Considering this (and not knowing how they could possibly develop a live show that could move beyond that of the Lateralus tour and still influence new ideas while they are playing old 'hits'), I fear many people will grow in their own personal cynicism, further non-constructively critize the band, and express their well cultivated lack-of-concentration-meets-internet-inflicted-attention spans. They will find the occasional inclusion of a few new songs parallel to the process of teaching an old dog a few new tricks.

All things considered, I might suggest the following:

Tool tours during the fall not to develop the next chapter of their ideas in a live context, but rather only to hone their technical skills. Immediately after, instead of taking 5 years off, they do what they did between Undertow and Ænima and re-enter the studio in the most gut wrenching, ball crushed, tired and pissed fashion and channel all that energy into their next album. They release their 5th album during the fall of '07 or spring '08. Here, we find all the dirty and explosive, bitter and dead remnants of affect and disgust. Right in time for the next presidential election! This is to be the album that illustrates the side of the gap which forgoes hope.

And then, they DO NOT tour for this album.

Following, they record their 6th (and final?) proper full length, the most encoded, spirtual and highest tiered album to date. This makes Lateralus look like Border's Books & Music's self-help section. This doesnt just illustrate the hope side of the gap.

This album IS hope. This is THE SOUNDTRACK for the hope side of the gap. This is what we will hear...

THEN, then, they tour! They only play music from the as-of-yet 5th and 6th albums, with all new visualizations, all new aspects, no regurgative songs, no re-telling old stories, no prior audience relationship with these songs live. All new experience. All new vulnerability. All new instruction.

End Tool.

The way I see their LP catalog in full:

Undertow is to 10, 000 Days (both are transitions),
as Ænima will be to Album 5
and Lateralus will be to Album 6

Where we see these themes:

Undertow - Pain can manifest Potential.

Ænima- Potential can manifest Plans.

Lateralus- A Plan can manifest Change.

10,000 Days- Then, a decision must be made.

Album 5- Choose against and Consequence 'A' will be negative.

Album 6- Choose for and Consequence 'B' will be positive.