7empest is a fucking masterpiece

I feel like the only Tool fan on the planet who actually thinks 7empest was the weakest song on the album. It just went on forever and none of the riffs were half has interesting as anything The Mars Volta put out on one of their lesser known records.

Put any Mars Volta record up against this thing and Tool loses. Just sayin' Even AEnima was better than this record.

It has it's moments, but damn, it's really just kind of okay. Not amazing, not terrible, just really okay.

Thoughts on Pneuma?

I don't like The Mars Volta but I agree that 7empest is not the most interesting track here. Pneuma, invincible and descending are all better.

The Mars Volta is unironically gay

I listed to CCT -> 7empest on repeat while I jerk off

It's a 46&2 remix

Their best since 10000 Days.

I'm really quite unimpressed with this album. This is going to be a two part comment, I hate to be that guy, but it's gotta happen.

Part 1/2:

The Adam Jones problem is still in full effect here, in fact I would say it's even worse than it was on 10,000 Days. He is just out of ideas and mostly recycles the same phrases and progressions he has been recycling for decades. There are brief, fleeting moments where it seems he is onto something fresh or new or different for him, even a little bit, but nearly always it is immediately followed up by something that is virtually identical to a riff or passage from a previous Tool record.

Meanwhile the other members of the band seem to attempt pulling out all the stops to desperately try to break out of the same formula but can't manage to do it. Danny Carey continues to evolve but seems only able to evolve in a single direction, it's just more intricate and complex permutations of the same patterns. I don't think there was any moment where I was genuinely surprised by something. It's all so on the rails. Chancellor for the most part is doing fairly similar circular repeating patterns and tending to choose to soar above the guitar at all the same Tool-esque moments. And those synthesizers being employed... I don't know. They seem kind of precious and bordering on retro in a way that bugs me. Again it just seems like they are doing anything they can to vary things up.

Part 2/2:

Maynard seems to largely be sleepwalking through things, if you ask me. I hate to say that, I know a lot of Tool fans are going to flay me alive for it. His voice is as beautiful and tuneful as always, don't get me wrong, but it's almost as if he's ascended beyond all human emotion at this point and is just this transcendental zen monk crooning endlessly. Perhaps some of you like that about it. I wouldn't call it robotic but there's no aggression anymore, no grit. And I'm not just whining because he doesn't scream anymore, it's more than that. It seems with each new record he doubles down on the direction he's been moving in since Lateralus, becomes more and more philosophical and highfalutin to the point where I just don't find him relatable or human anymore. There's not any confrontational ideas posited, a whole dimension they used to have that is missing entirely from the lyrics, it's a lot of symbolic acidhead imagery and evocations of unity and oneness and rising and reclaiming that seem as if written by some detached observer. I get that he's not going to be a raw nerve anymore like he used to be, but Aenima had such a unique balance between being thoughtful and enlightened versus being primal and crass. I'd hesitate to go so far as to call it pretentious, since I usually find people who make such a claim to be pretty fucking arrogant themselves most of the time, but I guess I am struggling to take him seriously more than ever before. There's even a moment where he literally says, "To be or not to be?" He's verging on self parody in places I think.

What do you think, Tool bros? Am I just suffering from overly high expectation syndrome? Anyone feeling a similar way? Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's trash or anything, if pressed I'd probably still give it like a C+ or something, but I can't weasel out of the fact that I'm pretty underwhelmed so far.

I'm pretty late to respond, but Pneuma is really good. The main Adam Jones riff is massive and good. My problem is that the intro with the bass just sounds like a watered down version of The Patient or something. The intro makes no sense. It's like they are playing 3 different songs that don't line up with each other, which is pretty antithetical to the message of the song.

I'm realizing that Adam Jones is playing guitar like a drummer normally plays drums. The bass is being a bass and the drummer is the lead instrument, taking leaps where the guitar is a static time keeping instrument.

The lyrics and vocal delivery on the whole album is actually kind of woke. Maynard isn't hiding, he's being his cringy self without hiding behind anything. I miss the anger though, that was part of what made tool interesting. Even if Maynard did find himself and cooled out, good for him, but it doesn't make for interesting music.

>the new tool album sounds like tool
>this is a bad thing

I like Maynard's singing in Culling voices, especially the way he sings word "suspicious"

Nice reddit post but I'll reply

>He's verging on self parody in places I think
I always felt he was somewhat sarcastic and satirical in his songs, almost like he's singing tongue in cheek save for a few outbursts in Wings for Marie and Pushit/Jimmy.
I agree that he's seemingly not really into the same vocal performance that he used to give us, almost like he is punishing the band for maybe shooting down some of his ideas so he's taking his toys and going home
His vocals are the number 1 issue I have with album, I've never seen him underachieve so badly.
Even his Puscifer stuff was more powerful and worthwhile. I'm hoping this was just him shaking the rust off and they give us a new album in a few years

>Tool releases new album
>/mu loses their collective fucking minds over it
>Greatest album since, since, since... IGOR!!

While I wait for all the hullabaloo to blow over.

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HERE WE GO AGAIN

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How is this album so good?

and the colored girls go