2 keepers
keeper avg .222
(9 actual songs)
Tool had shown some progress since the 1993 debut "Undertow," moving beyond the grungy riffs of Stone Temple Pilots to something with more atmosphere. Songs like "Forty Six & 2", "Jimmy", and "Pushit" still feature the droning riffs of early Soundgarden but they at least have some more satisfying sonic variation, such as the ambient guitar effects at the introduction of "Forty Six & 2." And compared to the sparseness of "Sober", "Stinkfist"***** is a technicolor sonic journey, spanning from tentative to raging, intricate to spacey, and punchy to multi-layered.
Unfortunately no other track reaches that high mark. Drummer Danny Carey's unique sensibility creates an increasingly subtle and complex rhythmic base with an impressive sonic palate, creating unforgettable textures such as the clinking introduction of "Eulogy", the tabla that concludes "Stinkfist", and the frightening samples that drive sound-collage "Die Eier von Satan" (I read the intro of "Eulogy" is actually sampled guitar, who knows). But I can't say everyone else in the band has caught up. Several of the relatively lengthy songs, such as "Forty Six & 2" (the "my shadow" song, which sounds most like the previous album) and the title track (the "learn to swim" song), are too-many minutes of variations on one guitar or bass riff, occasionally broken up by solos, guitar noise, and a bridge or coda here and there. "Jimmy" and the nearly 14-minute "Third Eye" are especially monotonous. The nearly ten-minute "Pushit" also drones along endlessly, though it may be the blueprint for the much better single "Schism" from Lateralus (2001).
Interestingly, the goofy organ "Intermission," credited to an Eban Schletter, is more memorable than the actual song whose riff it's based on ("Jimmy"). Though the aforementioned "Die Eier von Satan" sounds like a terrifying combination of industrial S&M and a nazi rally, the words are merely a recipe for "edibles" delivered very dramatically (and the title itself is a play on "deviled eggs"). And the hyperbolically aggressive "Hooker With A Penis"**** (the "point that f-in' finger up your ass" song) is nothing more than a humorous jab at a fan who was a bit too critical for Keenen's liking. Without delving into the lyric sheet, I'd still wager these aren't the only tracks that are actually more than meet the eye, given the band's cerebral reputation. But with several songs over 8-minutes and at least 9-minutes of unnecessary interludes Aenima seems a more bloated and monochromatic album than all the reverence that surrounds it would suggest.
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