Tool, Lateralus

This is an album I have owned for many years, and one I keep coming back to. I had a few albums by the band before this came out but none of their work really stood out like this album does. I personally think it is one of the best albums I have ever listened to, not just as a "progressive rock/metal" album but as an overall piece of work by any band of the last couple of decades.

The tracks flow together seamlessly, from the epic masterpiece first track right through to the end of the album, nothing seems strained or pretentious even considering the complex nature of the music. I really think this is a classic album, worth a listen from anyone interested in the deeper aspects of music.

It is an album that transcends genres, weaves in and out between crushing heaviness, lush sparse soundscapes and thundering rhythms with amazing ease, showcasing a band on absolutely top form. The musicianship is astounding, particularly the drummer, who apparently put to use many years studying Indian polyryhthms on this album, blending them with modern metal in a way that, to my knowledge had never been done before.

Hopefully this will help a few people to enjoy an album which is definitely very special.

If you have already listened to a tool album you will know even from undertow how swift, sophisticated, complex and genius there music is. If so... Then you have another thing coming:

this album is exciting, alive, 100% complexity, genius, divine and calm all in one. If you heard AEnima and thought the drumming was good in that then you have another thing coming danny carey sweeps the floor with his drumming depth and abilities in songs like: schism, parabola, ticks & leeches and lateralus itself. the lyrical depth is one of another level of mysterious. Guitar and bass is divine

And all of this put together makes a totally astonishing album. And even more in terms of liking there are no best tracks, they are all likable in the same way. CONCLUSION: if you like tool and haven't heard this album then: BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I only have one fualt in this album thought but it is such a good album, it cannot be put down by it but, the final track: "faaip de oiad" is a load of bull**** it is not a song it is just a rubishy dialogue track so if you just end after track 12 you are not missing out on anything. But it is your choice

Tool, Lateralus is amazing, Tool is talented beyond any other band, there is no match! Each song is a new experience!

Tool, Lateralus. Just a pure class album! Great album. Amazing band, realy spiritual and aggresive. This album introduced me to this band and I am now a big fan. Going to see them at DOWNLOAD 06.

Tool, Lateralus are the finest album, by one of the finest bands. Amazing musicianship and songwriting, with excellent vocals and lyrics at the forefront. Highly inventive style, and even after all these years it's still an album i can go back to time after time, and immerse myself in. Essential purchase for those into music with depth.

Never have I listened to a band with such intricate rifts and diverse sounds. Unique and yet somehow famaliar, Tool are a band that leave you wanting more. Lateralus contains something for everyone, from rock anthemns, impressive for their catchy lyrics (Schism being a classic example of this), to the more spiritual sounding tracks that end this brilliant masterpiece. Few bands improve the more albums they write, Korn are the empitome of this slide into commercialism, but Tool with Aenemia proved that their musical and lyrical talents grow with each passing year. Lateralus is a calming yet energetic and beautifully composed piece of art and is well worth listening to.