Let me guess, is OT obsession with the Rock Band Tool?

Okay, I don't often listen to rock music these days but when my pals started talking about Tool out of nowhere, everyone else around me been listening to the band nonstop all of a sudden. What makes Tool so special?

I honestly don't know I never really got into them they had a really cool music video in the 90's called sober but I feel they are extremely overrated. But compared to the horrible music we have these days I can see why people love them Tool are creative I'll give them that they're actually real artist and they are a relic from a better time in music aka the 90's.

I've heard people praise Tool but I was never a fan myself. Though this thread made me launch Spotify and listen to them.

Never got into them.

@johnd13: @warmblur: @evil_loli: I'm not obsessed with Tool, but I'm a fan of their music for years. When you’re listening to Tool, just remember that they’re not like other bands. Their music is incredibly artistic, almost to the point where you have to be paying complete attention to them to even remotely understand them. I remember listening to a song on Lateralus (though I can’t remember what it was), where I thought a song was absolute bollocks during the listen. Then, I closed my eyes for a second, and all of a sudden the song had an entirely new meaning. It was insane the way Tool could just become something so different when you take a look into the music.

Another thing you should note about Tool is that, it’s easy to get a headache listening to them. Not because they’re bad band, but because of how many ideas their music is riddled with and how complex they are. Soon enough your head will fill to the brim and the rest will just sound like noise to you. Just turn it off and give it a listen the next day. If you don’t like there music, you’ll definitely at least enjoy reading through the lyrics, and picking apart the song itself and all of the artistic values that go into making it the complexity that it is.

It's been 13 years since they released their last album. I can see why Tool fans would want to talk about it and 13 years for their latest album was worth the wait and Tool being a rock band that sold millions of albums, won awards and have a pretty respectable legacy has a lot to do with that. Also the recent uptick is obviously because they went so long without new music and the latest album: "Fear Inoculum" is a huge wake up call. Seriously you guys and gals, go listen to their new album and my favorite is "7empest"

I’m not holding out hope for a new System of a Down. Unlike Tool, there’s a lot of conflict between band members there, especially between Serj and Daron.

I don't dislike Tool, I just find that if youve heard one song of theirs you've heard them all.

What makes Tool so special?

Probably the time signatures.

I haven't listened to it too much, but I have a friend who is into them. I've heard most of their albums at least once or twice.

If you're a musician or at least familiar with music theory, you have to respect Maynard and his band.

The song writing, lyrics, and topics of the songs are all pretty great.

With that said, I can understand why some people don't care for Tool or at least don't feel anything.

For me, it's one of the few bands from the 90s I still listen to intentionally. I mean Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Rage, and all those staples from my teenage years I am sick of like a long time ago, but when a Tool song comes on I crank it up and listen to the whole thing.

A Perfect Circle is not bad, either.

Exactly.

Think of it like a foreign movie you need subtitles for. You can't be watching it and then browsing facebook on your phone and still get 99% of what's going like in a native-language movie. You need to stop, immerse yourself, and read the screen in addition to watching what's going on. This is why even with a really good English-language (my native language) I will sometimes turn subtitles on anyway, because you pick up more things, hear-see more of what they're saying, and so on.

With Tool, you need to stop and listen. It's not background music like most music is these days. I mean I know some of us just sit down sometimes and listen, but I think most of us probably turn on music and then go to something else (cook, clean, read, video games, etc). You cant do that with Tool.

Not being critical btw, just saying that's how it is.

Now back in the day there was a huge Tool contingent. Haven't been one in awhile here though.

They do a lot of things differently than most popular artists, basically. They treat most of their songs like a composition, building to intense moments and using riffs sparsely to initiate themes. Most pop songs, going back to the early days of rock, consist of a verse, chorus, and possibly a bridge, and most of the instruments are usually playing all at once. Tool will have several different sections for each individual instrument. You might, for instance, have a section where only the bass is playing, then the guitar will start in and the bass will stop midway through the guitar section, and then near the end of that section the bass will start with a completely different riff. And often these are used to complement each other using counterpoint. It's a level of sophistication you don't often hear from even the best musicians.

Also, every single one of them is a wizard on their instrument. I'm seriously amazed by the bass playing every single time I listen to them, and the drumming is incredible as well. I think the guitarist is actually the least skilled out of all of them, and he's no slouch. Oh, and they know how to use rhythm to add to a song. When they were popular syncopation was all the rage in music, but not a whole lot of bands knew how to do much with it. In fact, there are still a million artists who learned how to do it once and now do all their songs with it just because. Tool actually uses syncopation to build the flow of their songs and make the instruments complement each other. And they use a lot of time signatures you don't hear in pop music. Really, seeing anything other than 4/4 is pop music is a minor miracle.

As for all their songs sounding the same, no more so than any other artist. They have a sound, all bands do.

So basically, everything they do breaks the mold of what a pop artist usually does.

I love progressive/post metal and whatnot but i've never liked Tool much. They have some cool songs but in general I find them pretentious and bland. something about them just annoys me, i feel like their sound is just too clean/measured and 'nu-metal' for my tastes (at least Lateralus and forward).

They are definitely talented musicians and I listened to some of their older albums a good amount to try and get into them but could just never get on board.

There are other bands like Cult of Luna, Isis, Neurosis etc. that are in a similar vein but have much more emotional impact for me.

Yeah. I see their talent but their music is just meh.

I enjoy listening to Tool but their diehard fans are some of the worst. Similar to MOBA fans when it comes to games.

I like them, but the one newer song didn't really impress me, it seems like recycled parts of older songs.

The latest APC album was similarly disappointing when it came out, but more so because it was too soft and simple.

Honestly I think these groups just passed their prime, and the reason it took so long to make new albums is because they kind of knew that. The first 5 albums were all original and felt like progressions for the band. The first two APC albums were similarly fantastic outings. But after a decade or so passes and the group isn't being creative and putting anything out, they just kind of stagnate.

I've never really listened to the Puscifer stuff, but if I had to guess that is kind of what he considers to be his main act now, with Tool just kind of being a group of guys he had a lot of success working with over the years and still likes to tour with, but beyond that the old magic faded with age.

Their newest album is easily their best. They haven't lost magic at all.

If you know music, these guys are special. Every one of them pushes the boundaries of their instruments. It's not for everyone.

I used to listen to Tool a lot more than I do now these days. They're pretty cool; however, I would say the Tool fanboys are quite delusional and they act like the band is like some sort of musical messiah. I wouldn't take a Tool fan seriously because they follow the music like it is some sort of cult.

I like them, but I'm not obsessed with them.