Ænima Reviews
(4)
Date : Feb 13, 2023
I don’t hate Tool or anything, and they absolutely have some fantastic tracks under their belt (Sober, Schism, etc.) but I find them to be one of the most overrated bands out there. Ænima is a perfect example of everything wrong with Tool in my opinion.
Firstly, there are NO standout tracks. Zero. Nothing on here has a chorus or a riff or anything that is going to stick with you. None of the songs have any strong moods, emotions, atmosphere, etc. It’s all very gray… Just the band playing some technical stuff while Maynard rambles on and on about something. Pretentious doesn’t begin to cover it.
Then there’s the fact that this thing is littered with useless interludes. It’s another shot at being “clever.” And damn they fooled a lot of people. The only time this many interlude tracks are acceptable is on a concept album where the interludes move along the story or connect the themes in some way. Here, we’ve got 6 interlude tracks, about 11 minutes of pointless nonsense that the most rabid Tool fans would defend as showcasing how we make assumptions based on the sound of things, even if the meaning is totally different… The thing is, I don’t care. I don’t care about whatever inside jokes or rabid drug induced revelations compelled them to make over a third of the tracks gimmicks. All I care about is how good the album sounds, and the album sounds like a mess.
The meat of the album is decent, but again, there’s no staying power, no reason to come back to it. The lyrics tread an odd line between humorous sarcasm and total existential pretention… neither of which I enjoy. I’ll stick to their hits, but Tool albums are not well crafted and this is perhaps their worst offender.
Firstly, there are NO standout tracks. Zero. Nothing on here has a chorus or a riff or anything that is going to stick with you. None of the songs have any strong moods, emotions, atmosphere, etc. It’s all very gray… Just the band playing some technical stuff while Maynard rambles on and on about something. Pretentious doesn’t begin to cover it.
Then there’s the fact that this thing is littered with useless interludes. It’s another shot at being “clever.” And damn they fooled a lot of people. The only time this many interlude tracks are acceptable is on a concept album where the interludes move along the story or connect the themes in some way. Here, we’ve got 6 interlude tracks, about 11 minutes of pointless nonsense that the most rabid Tool fans would defend as showcasing how we make assumptions based on the sound of things, even if the meaning is totally different… The thing is, I don’t care. I don’t care about whatever inside jokes or rabid drug induced revelations compelled them to make over a third of the tracks gimmicks. All I care about is how good the album sounds, and the album sounds like a mess.
The meat of the album is decent, but again, there’s no staying power, no reason to come back to it. The lyrics tread an odd line between humorous sarcasm and total existential pretention… neither of which I enjoy. I’ll stick to their hits, but Tool albums are not well crafted and this is perhaps their worst offender.
1 like
Date : Mar 10, 2021
My most played album #946. Tool - Ænima. Triple platinum that is amazing for alternative metal. The song "Ænema" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998. In 2003, ranked the 6th most influential album of all time by Kerrang! In 2006, it placed 14th on a Guitar World readers poll 100 best guitar albums. In 2014, readers of Rhythm voted it the third greatest drumming album in the history of progressive rock. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its initial release. 4 more hits "Stinkfist", "H.", "Eulogy" and "Forty Six & 2". A couple of noisy moments but a great album!
Date : Dec 30, 2020
This is one of the best albums ever created by human beings if you ask me, from front to back it is nearly perfect. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to listen to Tool. Stinkfist, Eulogy, H. Forty Six & 2, Jimmy, Pushit, Ænema, Third Eye are all amazing......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
1 like
Date : Jan 24, 2008
1집 Undertow에서 장족의 발전을 이룬 앨범이라 할 수 있다. 이들의 전작인 Opiate(EP)와 Undertow는 뉴메틀의 기반 위에 약간의 독창성을 기한 음악이었다면 이 앨범으로 그들은 새로운 장르를 개척했다고 봐도 무방할 정도로 완벽히 새로운 음악으로 환골탈퇴를 한 것이다. 프로그레시브적인 독창성과 실험성, 뉴메틀의 그루브함, 핑크플로이드에게서 영향을 받은 듯한 사이키델릭함 까지 포함하고 있는 이 앨범은 그야말로 완벽한 한편의 명작이라 할만 하다. 보통의 뉴메틀 밴드처럼 처음부터 끝까지 분노하고 포효하고 하는 감정선과 달리 이들은 너무나 영리하게 곡 속에서 인간의 감정선의 점층적 변화를 절묘하게 표현해내고 있다는 점 또한 주목할 만하다.
차곡차곡 끓어오르는 무언가를 억누르듯 힘을 비축해오다가 곡의 말미에 가서 일순간 대 폭발을 일으키고 마는데 꼭 화산이 대폭발 직전 부글거리는 끓어오름으로 시작해 말미에 그 모든걸 쏟아낸 후 잔해만 남은 휑한 모습이 자연스레 떠올려진다. (2번 트랙 Eulogy가 대표적)
가사 또한 지극히 추상적이다. 주로 인간 내면심리에 대한 내용이 많은데 해석을 해봐도 이미지만 어렴풋이 그려질 뿐 구체적으로 상이 맺혀지진 않는다. 확실히 이들의 음악은 단순히 듣기만 하기엔 무리가 많다. 가사가 뜻하는 바라던지 부클릿 디자인이 의미하는 것, 뮤직비디오가 뜻하고 있는 것 등 생각에 생각을 거듭하게 만들고 곱씹어보게 만든다. 그만큼 매력적인 음반이다.
Stinkfist, Ænema 두 트랙은 공식 뮤비가 있다. 한편의 아방가르드영화를 보는듯한 그들의 뮤비도 꼭 한번쯤 감상해보자.
차곡차곡 끓어오르는 무언가를 억누르듯 힘을 비축해오다가 곡의 말미에 가서 일순간 대 폭발을 일으키고 마는데 꼭 화산이 대폭발 직전 부글거리는 끓어오름으로 시작해 말미에 그 모든걸 쏟아낸 후 잔해만 남은 휑한 모습이 자연스레 떠올려진다. (2번 트랙 Eulogy가 대표적)
가사 또한 지극히 추상적이다. 주로 인간 내면심리에 대한 내용이 많은데 해석을 해봐도 이미지만 어렴풋이 그려질 뿐 구체적으로 상이 맺혀지진 않는다. 확실히 이들의 음악은 단순히 듣기만 하기엔 무리가 많다. 가사가 뜻하는 바라던지 부클릿 디자인이 의미하는 것, 뮤직비디오가 뜻하고 있는 것 등 생각에 생각을 거듭하게 만들고 곱씹어보게 만든다. 그만큼 매력적인 음반이다.
Stinkfist, Ænema 두 트랙은 공식 뮤비가 있다. 한편의 아방가르드영화를 보는듯한 그들의 뮤비도 꼭 한번쯤 감상해보자.
6 likes1
