are they metal? what do you guys think of them? whats their best album?

No. I like them. Aenima.

No, they're amazing, Lateralus or 10,000 Days

I really like Tool, i think there new album is going to be good, has anyone heard 'Vicious' ?

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If by "Vicious" you mean "Vicarious" then yes.

No, they're awesome but overrated. Aenema or Lateralus.

Ps Check their older stuff first before you try the new album.

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what he said.

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No. Dont think they are anything special. Would rather listen to pink floyd

I would rather listen to Pink Floyd too, but if you're going to compare Tool to a classic prog rock band, that band has to be King Crimson. I don't think of Tool and Pink Floyd as being similar enough for a preference of one to the other to be relevant.

Yes.

I'm still torn between my personal favorite album being Ænima, Lateralus, or 10,000 Days. When i see them live on wednesday, I'm sure I'll give you a better answer.

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Tool is the shit exspesically when your on acid

they have enough to be metal, i think, i love them, and i think the new album is the best.

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I really think the new albums sucks, but every body else loves it. I don't understand.

As for Tool in general, I love them and am a long time fan. Aenima is by far their best album.

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yeah, but whatever. Maybe I didn't let it sink in enough

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Everything this man says is true.

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With some bands, you have to let it sink in before really giving a real opinion on it. Not everyone is like that though.

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In response to the original question:

No, Definitely not Metal. I hate them...or well, I hate Maynard. As for albums...thats simple deductive reasoning.

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Yes. They were cool. Undertow.

Yeh they suck.

Yes maybe prog-alternative metal, Lateralus and 10000 Days

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I still wouldn't call them metal, just because of the whole metal "attitude" that they don't have.

I really shouldn't have to explain that, but they don't have that in-your-face attitude. They are more like an alternative band in the way they play and the way they think.

Thats my reasoning, but whatever.

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The band member's attitudes has nothing to do with the genre of music.

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Tools alright, I like Undertow the best.

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if they're metal or not, i can't answer.

as for the rest, they got to be one of the most boring bands i've ever listened.

I think he meant their attitude as expressed through their music.

Anyway, the people who consider Tool metal make a very basic mistake, consisting of believing in the validity of the following formula: 'distortion+palm muting+anger=metal.' This is more or less like believing that 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1=35. You have to do some work to realize why you're wrong.

They're significantly less boring than any one of the 30,000 pop punk bands still playing the stuff Green Day came up on.

Yep, thats what I was getting at.
I'll let the first two albums pass for some sort of "metal," but afterwards, is just progressive rock as far as I'm concerned.

The whole debate on Tool being metal is pointless. So how about we talk about the music, not the genre. Cool.

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Its funny, people who like 10,000 days heaps all seem to think Lateralus is their best album.

To be honest i think the new album is complete shit, and im a Tool head. I would say their best album is either Undertow or Aenima, its a tough tossup.

Opiate is cool, but its missing a certain sound that Aenima and undertow have. Lateralus i like, never did as much as the other albums though... I dont know why, theres fucking good songs on the cd like Parabola, somethings missing though.

And the new cd is just a perfect circle with different musicians.

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there's two 1's missing for 35 :P

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I really like Tool, would not consider them metal. Maynard inspires me with his sometimes seemingly strange lyrics (Roseta Stoned) , and then his more meaningful ones (Wings For Marie, Eulogy). I count Tool as one of my favorite bands, but never really got into A Perfect Circle. The new album is also nothing like A Perfect Circles' albums were. A Perfect Circle had more song structure, 10,000 days still has parts with strange rythms, and seemingly dragging guitar riffs. I like it lol.

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Anemia is the best and although that slot gets challenged alot, it'll always remain so. I like 10,000 days, but its probably my least favorite (though its still great).

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definatly choose aenima as their best... it really is boring though. I HATE when bands use filler. You listen to the cd once and its already boring the second time around usually. Plus tool wears out my fastforeward button on the cd player haha

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I remember Maynerd joking around on the live cover of Stragglehold about them winning the Grammy for best metalband.

As for the new album, I like it. It's very different than what they normally do. To me it seems like they were just messing for in the studio wondering how weird can our music sound.

Oh and I just remembered Jambi was that genie from Pee Wee's Playhouse.

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Not heard the new album yet.....rather like Aenima. Undertow and Opiate(Used to do a cover of Jerk Off in my old band years back, we jammed with a singer who sounded like Biff Byford from Saxon so you can imagine how funny it must have sounded! )
The only thing I've no interest in with Tool is the 'ooh we're so weird, we don't do interviews etc' malarky, I find they create their own hype a little too much.

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They do plenty of interviews. Search YouTube and see. But not over doing interviews does keep the audience wanting more which isn't a bad thing. It becomes a treat. I also don't believe they refuse to do interviews because "they're weird" and want to remain "mysterious". I think its more of the fact that most interviews are the same questions and a lot of them are pointless.

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There is no Grammy for best metal band. It's for best Hard Rock or Metal Performance, which covers anything with distortion.

Whether or not they literally don't do interviews, they definitely help to cultivate the bullshit elitism of their fans by their 'we're so weird behavior.' But it's pretty easy to ignore all that shit if you want to.

i like the interviews i seen, they are a amazing compared to nearly all mainstrean acts. thier talent dont need the title of "metal" they themselves arent looking for that kind of recognition

What the hell does that mean?

I still feel they're a little up their own rump, their noses are rubbing on the prostrate

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So they could, potentially speaking, sneeze and cum at the same time? Sounds like a good plan.

No.I don't like them.I said I don't like them!

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Seeing as a sneeze is supposed to be one tenth of an orgasm or something........mind you green man fat on the old ladies crowd pleasers wouldn't look nice

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they dont care to be considered a metal band, there is some aspect of "metal" in thier sound most definately but its moreso progressive rock. and ill explian why



the tool drummer is really good,plays interesting stuff, but the guy doesnt need to be called a metal drummer as much as a fusion drummer needs to be called a jazz drummer. so from my point of view drum styles are classified more specifically, we are more strict to lend genre titles out, basically recognition, for stuff they obviously arent doing, can the tool drummer play metal? i dont doubt it but.......tools music as a body of work as far as the drumming goes doesnt constitute anything different from progressive hard rock.

this is why the drummers in metal loath nu-metal probably a bit more than guitarists and fans. yeah sure, they down tune,the distorted bar chords sound similiar, the shit is loud, the singer screams but thier drummer is just doing the same old backbeats at bout the same tempos with primarily a single kick<which is triggered with some bands> thruout all thier albums. its watered down imitation, fuck no its not metal from our view. its "smooth jazz"

Nobody's talent or sound 'needs' to be called metal or anything else. You're still not making sense on that point. There are simpler, and better, and more accurate ways to say what you're dancing around.

And, honestly, I don't give a damn what a band 'cares to be considered.' If they were a metal band, but would prefer to be considered as a travelling minstrel show or an old-school Gregorian slam-funk group, they'd still be a metal band. They're not metal because they don't write and play metal music. Not because of what they need to or would prefer to be called.

well, people before me were posting about whether or not they are metal in what seemed a way to somehow validate what they do, here on a metal forum and granted you can care less, the music speaks for itself. but what im saying, as a drummer i do care and will assert an opinion on this when it goes with two stylistic approaches of drumming, it is not all relative to me. as far as the "need" goes, sure noones sound needs to be called anything but music is similiar enough for it to be catagorized, this catagorization goes with fundementally different drum styles that drummers will uselessly argue till sunrise about. im just responding to conversation of the thread. if it seems trite then so be it.

Mommy, please slide another pancake under the door.

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I expected 10,000 days to be a lot different. I heard a bunch of things about it being their "heaviest album" with lots of Meshuggah influence, etc. It wasn't. I'm not fully satisfied, but its still good. As long as they don't become complacent in their writing.

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I like the ending.. Not because its the ending, but just because he use's a pitch shifter or something (i hope) and says something like Be Patient, and then it cuts out. Its pretty cool.

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Not here they weren't.

I would probably consider this their heaviest album. The obvious influence, however, is not Meshuggah but King Crimson. Since Meshuggah and King Crimson work in similar ways, and metalheads seem to be ignorant of the Crimso, I'm not surprised that it's thought of as a Meshuggah influence. But it definitely, noticeably isn't Meshuggah's sound that keeps getting into Tool; it's recent, experimental King Crimson.

I'm pretty sure the song you're thinking of is 'The Patient,' off Lateralus.

I still haven't gotten over the cd packaging, the artwork is fascinating. If more bands could afford to do this more people would be buying music!