I would be lying if said that Tool, as a band, weren't an acquired taste. My first foray into their music was in fact the first single from this album. The song in question, Schism, defines the tone of Lateralus: unapologetic progressive metal. The time signatures are fleetingly random and many of the album's lyrics often feature mentions of things that you'd never really think could be the basis of a song, eg: Ticks & Leeches does exactly what the title suggest, with front man Maynard James Keenan belting lines such as "SUCK ME DRY!" with aggressive gusto.
But upon hearing Schism for the first time, I was not sold. I was 16 back in 2001 and my diet consisted mainly of The Offspring and Green Day. It was only as I left that Californian Punk behind and began listening to more aggressive rock/thrash based tunes that my full appreciation for Tool blossomed. My love for old school prog-rock (Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull[ish]) also helped and in time, the merger of both sensibilities won me over.
Compared to Tool's previous albums (Aenema and Undertow), I have no qualms about calling Lateralus their magnum opus. From it's opening salvo, The Grudge (nothing to do with the movie), the album leaps at you and rarely relinquishes its hold. Each of it's main works feel necessary, making an album devoid of filler and filled with abstract wonders. Few of the tracks are less than 6 minutes yet, despite their length, the album is paced perfectly, with each subsequent song improving on what was done before. Progressive really is the word.
It helps to have a love of things heavy and prog-rock orientated and Tool really are the only band that can pull this blend of genres off. Their subsequent album, 10,000 Days, whilst being brilliant in its own right, was always destined to be the one that succeeded the better previous work.
Lateralus is a masterpiece, pure and simple.
5/5
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