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Brian Ivory
Jazz-Metal and everything in between and back again. There are only two Genres good & bad 😆
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Brian Ivory's Album Reviews
With a wait longer than Guns N Roses Chinese Democracy and song lenghts longer than your latest Dream Theater numbers you could be forgiving for being cautious going into this one. Payoff and patience is a big thing in TOOL world, a band known to take their time to let things simmer and unfold and boy do they certainly do here, 6 of the 7 tracks clock in over ten minutes with the final track breaking the 15 min barrier (the shortest song while under 5 mins is in effect a drum solo to show case Danny Carey's limitless talents, though like any similar recording doesn't hold up to repeat plays like the numerous interludes here)
But Holy Moly those 6 actual proper tracks, running times seem to fly by as we're sucked into what can only be described as a dreamlike trance with vocal melody's playing more apart of another instrument drifting in and out of this timeless dreamlike music occasionally and not as often as you would expect for such long songs. The lack of constant vocals may seem off putting at first but repeat plays reveal there's just so much going on in these complex beautiful arrangemens that vocal are used as of and when they are needed with not a single wasted word or phrase and surely some of Maynard's best lyrics to date with Pneuma being a definite Highwater mark in an album full of them.
One of the few band to endure a career so long with a stable line up (Justin Chancellor joined after the first EP and album) and to keep making constantly evolving and changing/challenging music and to never stumble to any trends what tool have giving us here is definitely the most challenging (a long wait for the next one might not be as bad this time for it all to sink it actually, just maybe not so long) and beautiful of their long and varied career.
The interplay of musicians drummer Danny Carey Guitarist Adams Jones and bassist Justin Chancellor will have blown your mind on just about every track on this sprawling album but on the final cut "7Empest" feels like something they've been building up to for their whole career and is stunning euphoric way to end this musical trip and Odyssey
It has been questioned are TOOL even a metal band anymore? Where they ever a metal band?
For they certainly make "Heavy music" heavy and beautiful music, beautiful and heavy seldom go together well, in this bands world they certainly do.
4.5/5 (docked half a mark because of the interludes otherwise a 5*album)
Dr.BMR
But Holy Moly those 6 actual proper tracks, running times seem to fly by as we're sucked into what can only be described as a dreamlike trance with vocal melody's playing more apart of another instrument drifting in and out of this timeless dreamlike music occasionally and not as often as you would expect for such long songs. The lack of constant vocals may seem off putting at first but repeat plays reveal there's just so much going on in these complex beautiful arrangemens that vocal are used as of and when they are needed with not a single wasted word or phrase and surely some of Maynard's best lyrics to date with Pneuma being a definite Highwater mark in an album full of them.
One of the few band to endure a career so long with a stable line up (Justin Chancellor joined after the first EP and album) and to keep making constantly evolving and changing/challenging music and to never stumble to any trends what tool have giving us here is definitely the most challenging (a long wait for the next one might not be as bad this time for it all to sink it actually, just maybe not so long) and beautiful of their long and varied career.
The interplay of musicians drummer Danny Carey Guitarist Adams Jones and bassist Justin Chancellor will have blown your mind on just about every track on this sprawling album but on the final cut "7Empest" feels like something they've been building up to for their whole career and is stunning euphoric way to end this musical trip and Odyssey
It has been questioned are TOOL even a metal band anymore? Where they ever a metal band?
For they certainly make "Heavy music" heavy and beautiful music, beautiful and heavy seldom go together well, in this bands world they certainly do.
4.5/5 (docked half a mark because of the interludes otherwise a 5*album)
Dr.BMR
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