St Paul, MN
FEAR INOCULUM
(Topic ID: 248143)
Kitchener, ON
1 week later
Getting excited. Just listened to 10000 Days and Lateralus on the drive to the Phillies game. Plan on Aenema and Undertow on the way home.
Honestly the only good stuff I've heard is from Danny. Adam had one one good riff at the end of Fear Inoculum. Maynard is a lost cause.
1 week later
Album dropped today..... I have been through it twice straight through already. Excellent album (for me). If you like the vibe of 10,000 days, this album will be right up your alley. If you like the early stuff with shorter tracks and radio-type songs, you probably won't dig it.
For those of you who like older tool..... Just jump to track 9- 7empest..... It's a damn masterclass in classic Tool awesomeness, (and it's just under 16 minutes long... LOL)
Just bought the limited edition CD. $45. It even comes with a LCD screen and speaker and a liability warning about misuse. Makes me want to repurpose it as a mod and do a retheme. 
Yeah I just went with the digital copy. Liked the idea of a CD but not at that price. I’m sure it’s cool as they put a lot of time into their album artwork. But it would ultimately just end up in a drawer.
Overall a good album. Flows well. I think I need to smoke pot or try something stronger 
on the next time around.
Yup really enjoying it after a few listens. Maybe not their best work, but it’s nice to finally get some new Tool songs.
So I'm finally sitting down and listening to the new album. I was busy moving all last weekend so didn't get a chance to listen even though I had the deluxe LCD/CD edition. I'm a big fan of this band, but I'll just say that this album, to me, on first listen, is a good, heavy, background track. I'd definitely play it while trying to get some shit done around the house. In my opinion, they kind of left off where 10,000 Days left off, but I'm not sure why it took 13 years to release.
That being said, I saw them in May in Chicago, and it was an amazing concert. I was impressed by Danny Carey and especially Justin Chancellor. Maynard seems like he doesn't want to be seen, but that's ok.
This album feels very different from anything they've done. I say "feels" because there is a lot of familiar with this release. They've brought all of their usual rhythms and riffs but what really has stuck out for me is Danny Carey's drumming on this album... it's more musical. He has his drums tuned distinctly, you're not just getting thuds and cracks (although there is plenty of that)... loads of rapid fire taps on "musical" percussive pads really adds to the melody of these songs (Pneuma). Jone's guitar is clean and aggressive (Tempest)... I swear his Les Paul sounds like a Strat on this album.... I'm feeling like I hear some James Young in there somewhere (CullingVoices). A lot of the guitar has an old school 70s hard rock feel to it to me. It may be just the way its produced... its certainly very tight and clean. Keyboards are new... gives the album a soundtrack feel... I like this. Chancellor's bass has really become the glue of the band in my opinion. As always I really think his synth bass makes the tool sound. Maynard's voice is recorded with less mixing effects on this one. There are some ... but I think its actually a smart move on his part. Reality is that age gets to the vocal chords... and the more you try to dress it up in production you end up killing your ability to perform live. So you're not getting that Maynard scream... anywhere on this album. It feels more intimate, close and in front of the instruments. It's actually pretty cool
Love this album, its a bit gentler than past Tool albums. It's more cohesive than 10,000 days for sure. Its impossible not to compare new vs. old, especially with so much time passing between the last release of 10,000 days. That being said, of all the tracks on Fear Inoculum Tempest has a genuine old-school Tool sound ... it sounds like it came right off of Undertow. But overall, most of this album genuinely feels new.....ish.
Tool remains my favorite modern band, they have solidly been in that spot for me for as long as they have been around, so objectivity for me... well its not easy. For the longest time, Lateralus has been my favorite album. A few years ago I changed my opinion on that and Aenima moved to the top of the list for me. Right now... this one is somewhere between Lateraus and Aenima... probably behind Lateralus. 10,000 days although it has some killer tracks sits behind them. They are all great so putting them in order is kind of pointless for me... but if I had to at the moment thats where this one sits... that may change.
Quoted from Ricochet:This album feels very different from anything they've done. I say "feels" because there is a lot of familiar with this release. They've brought all of their usual rhythms and riffs but what really has stuck out for me is Danny Carey's drumming on this album... it's more musical. He has his drums tuned distinctly, you're not just getting thuds and cracks (although there is plenty of that)... loads of rapid fire taps on "musical" percussive pads really adds to the melody of these songs (Pneuma). Jone's guitar is clean and aggressive (Tempest)... I swear his Les Paul sounds like a Strat on this album.... I'm feeling like I hear some James Young in there somewhere (CullingVoices). A lot of the guitar has an old school 70s hard rock feel to it to me. It may be just the way its produced... its certainly very tight and clean. Keyboards are new... gives the album a soundtrack feel... I like this. Chancellor's bass has really become the glue of the band in my opinion. As always I really think his synth bass makes the tool sound. Maynard's voice is recorded with less mixing effects on this one. There are some ... but I think its actually a smart move on his part. Reality is that age gets to the vocal chords... and the more you try to dress it up in production you end up killing your ability to perform live. So you're not getting that Maynard scream... anywhere on this album. It feels more intimate, close and in front of the instruments. It's actually pretty cool
Love this album, its a bit gentler than past Tool albums. It's more cohesive than 10,000 days for sure. Its impossible not to compare new vs. old, especially with so much time passing between the last release of 10,000 days. That being said, of all the tracks on Fear Inoculum Tempest has a genuine old-school Tool sound ... it sounds like it came right off of Opiate. But overall, most of this album genuinely feels new.....ish.
Tool remains my favorite modern band, they have solidly been in that spot for me for as long as they have been around, so objectivity for me... well its not easy. For the longest time, Lateralus has been my favorite album. A few years ago I changed my opinion on that and Aenima moved to the top of the list for me. Right now... this one is somewhere between Lateraus and Aenima... probably behind Lateralus. 10,000 days although it has some killer tracks sits behind them. They are all great so putting them in order is kind of pointless for me... but if I had to at the moment thats where this one sits... that may change.
I guess somewhere in my above comments I should've used the word "ambient". Their musicianship is great as always, but there's just not a lot going on on this album for me, but I'll give it a few more listens.
Quoted from floyd1977:I guess somewhere in my above comments I should've used the word "ambient". Their musicianship is great as always, but there's just not a lot going on on this album for me, but I'll give it a few more listens.
I know what you mean... I honestly think this is because of the fact that they 100% engineered and produced this album. More than ever It feels like a 4 piece band on this one to me, things are generally simpler. I also think that the epic long tracks (although very much their style)... contribute to this. You're investing 10-16 minutes each track... it can slow down the pace of the entire thing... so it feels like less.
I over-listened the youtube live tracks for Invincible and Decending so that took a little steam out of it for me. I wish I hadn't done that.
Quoted from msj2222:seems mostly like rehashed material to me. Personally, I am disappointed and I have been a long time fan
You might be missing the point on this release, or perhaps your musical interest is elsewhere right now. My taste in types/styles of music has shifted over time. But if you're open, I suspect you need to give it another 20+ listens. This new material hasn't come easily (for me). In contrast, the new Slipknot songs grab you immediately. They are immediately 'likeable' in the short term, but I'll grow tired of the Slipknot songs quickly too. But I suspect the Tool tracks will remain interesting for a long while.
Ticketmaster is a fuckin joke. Denver show tickets went on sale this morning and I spent over 45 minutes trying to pick seats and every time I had seats and chose them it said sorry they have already been taken til it sold out. WTF!
Quoted from Lethal_Inc:Ticketmaster is a fuckin joke. Denver show tickets went on sale this morning and I spent over 45 minutes trying to pick seats and every time I had seats and chose them it said sorry they have already been taken til it sold out. WTF!
You don’t really “have” seats until they are in you cart. Instead of choosing from the map select from the right side column of “best seats” and you may have better luck. I snagged a pair of mediocre seats for jersey an hour after onsale. Takes boring, dogged persistence sometimes.
Usually as the show gets closer they’ll drop tickets left and right so keep checking.
Quoted from Lethal_Inc:Ticketmaster is a fuckin joke. Denver show tickets went on sale this morning and I spent over 45 minutes trying to pick seats and every time I had seats and chose them it said sorry they have already been taken til it sold out. WTF!
I can relate to your post. I hate AXS just as much.
The games they play with tickets these days makes the transaction frustrating.
Quoted from LukyDuck:I can relate to your post. I hate AXS just as much.
The games they play with tickets these days makes the transaction frustrating.
It's the promoters, the bands, the ticket sellers, the agents, the managers....
Ticket selling web sites take the brunt of the blame but it's a huge shit show through and through. Not to mention, you often have many times the people looking for tickets as tickets available. It's not made any easier by all the scams and games but in the end it's just math - for a hot show, there's simply no way to get tickets at face value to everybody who wants one. It's just not possible.
It's easy to get furious with Ticketmaster but if there's say 8,000 tickets left after the various scams from promoters/bands/presales/TM/etc., and there's 50,000 people trying to buy them...I mean, what do you want Ticketmaster to do to help you out?
In the end if you want a ticket you can get one. Pay a vig on stubhub or another reseller, wait for ticket drops (which almost always happen if you are vigilant)...you'll get in.
I know there are a ridiculous number of 'reaction' videos on Youtube, but I enjoy watching these guys.
Tool - Pneuma (reaction) from Lost in Vegas channel on youtube.
Trollhättan
Quoted from msj2222:seems mostly like rehashed material to me. Personally, I am disappointed and I have been a long time fan
Like one long song that never ended. Jam music for nerds. Lol.
2 months later
Saw them in Boston a few weeks ago and was absolutely blown away! fear inoculum is hands down my favorite album of the year, and dare I say one of their best.
Saw them on the last night of the tour in DC. Great show. Still the best live show I’ve seen. Granted I don’t go to a lot of concerts.
On a side note. Wasn’t expecting much from The Killing Joke, but we sat and listened and I personally enjoyed their set.
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