Loudwire's List of the 10 Best Tool Songs

Post by **UndKeineZwEier** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:34 pm

10.) Sober

Although 'Sober' is one of Tool's simplest tracks, it's also one of their most powerful. Released on the band's debut full-length, 'Undertow,' 'Sober' was written about a friend of the band who could only hit his artistic peak while under the influence. Maynard James Keenan's bellowing of "Why can't we not be sober / I just want to start this over" is disturbingly electric, and 'Sober' succeeded to launch Tool into a more mainstream realm.

Â 9.) Forty Six & Two

'Forty Six & 2' is the fifth and final single released from Tool's sophomore classic, 'Ã†nima.' The concept of the track is full of Jungian references, including the idea that human beings will evolve in the direction of acquiring a total of 48 chromosomes, rather than the normal number of 46. The extra chromosomes would give us a total of 46 autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes, thus, 'Forty Six & 2.' The track's lyrics speak of the transformation of one's shadow, representing the path towards both physical and mental evolution, evidenced in the song's final line, "Forty six and two are just ahead of me."

Â 8.) Schism

Possibly the most popular song of Tool's career, 'Schism' introduced many younger fans to the experimental Los Angeles band. 'Schism' is one of the most complex songs in rock and metal history to gain massive mainstream airplay, as the track constantly switches time signatures from the normal 4/4 to the odd 11/8, amongst many others. 'Schism' was also a critical success as well as a creative success, as the track defeated Black Sabbath, Slayer, Slipknot and System of a Down to capture the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Â 7.) Vicarious

"Vicariously I, live while the whole world dies." Tool's first single from their 2006 album, '10,000 Days,' is a precise and complex seven-minute piece, though lyrically, 'Vicarious' is fairly straightforward. As Keenan sings through the first verse, the lyrical weaver lists off the means of death he's experienced through the eye of his television. 'Vicarious' provides social commentary on the media's sensationalism of violence as Keenan sings, "We all feed on tragedy / It's like blood to a vampire."

6.) Pushit

Pushit' is yet another lyrical goldmine for Tool fans. The near-10 minute track is packed full of substance for hardcore fans to sift through, and also acts as one of Maynard Keenan's greatest vocal performances put to tape. Near the end of 'Pushit,' the spotlight is put on Keenan as he delivers the lyrics, "If, when I say I may fade like a sigh if I stay / You minimize my movement anyway / I must persuade you another way / There's no love in fear," with a soaring high-register beauty. 'Pushit' is also home to the fan favorite line, "Remember I will always love you / As I claw your f---ing throat away."

5.) Wings For Marie / 10,000 Days

Although technically two separate songs, 'Wings for Marie' and '10,000 Days' are not one without each other. As one of the most emotional Tool songs within the band's catalogue, the 17-minute double track contains the middle name of Keenan's late mother, Judith Marie, and acts as a memorial to her passing from complications due to a brain aneurysm. Keenan's mother suffered a stroke in 1976, roughly 10,000 days before she died in 2003. Though Keenan's performance is heart-wrenching, the instrumental section of Tool is highly spotlit throughout the piece, creating a truly unique atmosphere throughout.

4.) Third Eye

Closing out the 'Ã†nima' album, 'Third Eye' caps off the monumental record as a near-14-minute masterwork. Guitarist Adam Jones is truly the star of this track, offering one of the most experimental compositions of his career. The 'calm-becomes-erratic' whirlwind of Jones provides an all-encompassing experience of his personal style, which is found in many pieces throughout 'Ã†nima.' You can beg all you want for the track to never end, but it does, with Keenan's distorted screams of "Prying open my third eye!"

Â 3.) Parabol / Parabola

A beautiful mantra enters as 'Parabol' begins its lifespan. A euphoric sense of unity with all things enters the listener's mind as Keenan sings, "So familiar and overwhelmingly warm." The prelude continues for three minutes, describing the simple act of â€¦ well â€¦ cuddling! After the line, "This body makes me feel eternal / All this pain is an illusion," the instrumental section of Tool kicks into 'Parabola,' with drumming phenom Danny Carey guiding Keenan through the track's first verse. Adam Jones and bassist Justin Chancellor keep the distorted riffs coming throughout the incredibly heavy 'Parabola,' before Jones caps off the nine-minute piece with a gorgeous clean tone accompanied by fret harmonics.

Â 2.) Ã†nema

After the death of legendary comedian Bill Hicks, Tool wrote a phenomenal tune about Los Angeles breaking off from California and sinking into the Pacific Ocean; a bit that Hicks had conjured and injected into his album 'Arizona Bay.' 'Ã†nema' became a like-minded tribute to Hicks, as well as one of Tool's signature songs. The spirit of Hicks lives on as Maynard Keenan sings, "The only way to fix it is to flush it all away / Any f---ing time, any f---ing day / Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona Bay."

Â 1.) Lateralus

We recently named 'Lateralus' the greatest metal song released so far in the 21st century, and thus, it tops our list of the best Tool songs. Inspired by the Fibonacci Sequence, a mathematical pattern found in nature, Keenan chose to house the sequence within his verses, creating a syllabic pattern that aligns with the numerical code of Fibonacci's work. The song also switches between 9/8, 8/8 and 7/8 time signatures, with the number 987 being the 17th number of the Fibonacci sequence. Each individual musician takes charge of 'Lateralus' at some point, helping cement the track as Tool's most essential piece of work.
Â

http://loudwire.com/best-tool-songs/

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Post by **UndKeineZwEier** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:39 pm

There's also a reader's poll for Your Favorite Song from Undertow.

Sober is in the lead with 37.99% of the vote.

Post by **not tyson** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:39 pm

Top ten list for a casual fan maybe

Post by **hellboy** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:41 pm

Saw that on reddit the other day. Â I wouldn't have Vicarious or Parabola on my list, but other than that if it was ok.

If I were to do a top 10 it would be something like:

Aenima
Lateralus
Third Eye
Stinkfist
The Grudge
Pushit
Rosetta Stoned
Schism
Flood
Eulogy

Post by **not tyson** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:50 pm

So were doing top ten lists no one else will read? OK

1. Eulogy

2. Prison Sex O.T.R.M.

3. 3rd Eye

4. Reflection

5. Flood

6. H.

7. The Patient

8. Right in two

9. 4Â°

10. jimmy

MarryHanback · Post by **MarryHanback** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:10 pm

I guess I'm bored enough to jump on this band wagon.

Aenema
Lateralus
Stinkfist
Jambi
The Patient
Jerk Off
Jimmy
Vicarious
Eugoogly
Third Eye

Bets on how long before we see 'comedians' posting lists including LAMC & -ions etc

Busty McCracken · Post by **Busty McCracken** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:24 pm

As far as lists go from a media source, I reckon it's pretty solid..

10:Â Flood (Totally trumped with Justins bass tone when played live though

9: Eulogy

8: H.

7: Disposition / Reflection / Triad

6: Third Eye

5: 46 & 2

4.5: Aenima

4: The Grudge

3: Pushit

2: 10, 000 days

1: Lateralus

And hahahaha.. "Eugoogoly"

Gwarden · Post by **Gwarden** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:09 am

Tyson said
So were doing top ten lists no one else will read? OK

Stinkfist

Pushit

Aenima

Third Eye

The Patient

Reflection

Schism

Jambi

Rosetta Stoned

Right in Two

NickTheGC · Post by **NickTheGC** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 12:13 am

In my opinion, here are my top 10 Tool songs.

1. Lateralus

2. Right in Two

3. Wings for Marie pt. 1 and 2

4. Rosetta stoned

5. Prison Sex

6. Undertow

7. The Patient

8. Jimmy

9. Parabol/Parabola

10. Cold and Ugly

Post by **petemasterpete** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:28 am

Third Eye

Eulogy

Pushit

H.

Aenima

Jimmy

Stinkfist

Flood

The Grudge

10,000 Days

doors · Post by **doors** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:29 am

1. Jimmy
2. Eulogy
3. 3rd Eye

4. Flood

5. Disposition/Reflection

6. H.
7. The Patient

8. 4Â°

9. Aenema

10. Prison Sex

UsefulIdiot8665 · Post by **UsefulIdiot8665** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:23 am

1. Eulogy
2. The Grudge
3. The Pot
4. Jambi
5. Lateralus
6. Sober
7. Pushit
8. Right in Two
9. Opiate
10. Ticks & Leeches

Derp.

MOG · Post by **MOG** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 6:30 am

1. Disposition / Reflection / Triad

2. Wings for Marie / 10,000 Days

3. Third Eye

4. Lateralus

5. Pushit (Salival)

6. Eulogy

7. Lost Keys / Rosetta Stoned

8. Aenima

9. The Grudge

10. Jambi

gamebounty · Post by **gamebounty** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 7:10 am

10: Vicarious

9: Third Eye

8: Lateralus

7: Prison Sex

6: The Pot

5: Disgustipated

4: Sober

3: Parabol/Parabola

2: Schism

1: 10,000 Days

'][' [[]] [[]] ][, · Post by **'][' [[]] [[]] ][,** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:30 am

I didn't read a single one of these top 10 lists.

fortysixand2 · Post by **fortysixand2** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:36 am

1. Cold and Ugly

2. Stinkfist

3. H.

4. Third Eye

5. Lost Keys > Rosetta Stoned

6. Undertow

7. Prison Sex

8. Intension > Right in Two

9. Disposition > Reflection > Triad

10. The Grudge

markuspoop · Post by **markuspoop** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 8:48 am

Guess its my turn:

1.Â Semi-Charmed Life

2.Â The Freshmen

3.Â (718)

4.Â The Humpty Dance

5.Â What's My Age Again?

6.Â Kitty

7.Â Because I Got High

8.Â Bitter Sweet Symphony

9.Â Tubthumping

10.Â What's Up?

Ravenpig · Post by **Ravenpig** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:44 am

I was gonna make a top 10 list on my favorite top 10 lists, but it's not worth the effort and probably wouldn't have been very funny.Â Soooo I'm gonna give you all a corny as fuck answer:

My favorite Tool songs are whatever album I happen to be listening to.

264zn · Post by **264zn** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:39 pm

Tyson said
So were doing top ten lists no one else will read? OK

1. Eulogy

2. Prison Sex O.T.R.M.

3. 3rd Eye

4. Reflection

5. Flood

6. H.

7. The Patient

8. Right in two

9. 4Â°

10. jimmy

Forgot about that track, was there ever aÂ studio version done? Also great list, I'd probably take outÂ 8 & 9 and throw The Grudge and Pushit in there.

Bogart · Post by **Bogart** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:37 pm

Here are my favorites...

1. The Grudge

2. Eulogy

3. Schism

4. H

5. Sober

6. D/R/T

7. Vicarious

8. Aenima

9. Jerk Off

10. Wings/10 K Days

'][' [[]] [[]] ][, · Post by **'][' [[]] [[]] ][,** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:48 pm

Here's mine...

1. Pizza

2. Hot Dogs

3. Corvette

4. Newcastle

5. The moon

6. Raiders Of The Lost Ark

7. Ate Nine

8. Snoopy

9. Fraggel Stick Car

10. ElephantÂ

11. Christmas

Calfium Jay · Post by **Calfium Jay** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:51 pm

Glad I'm not dumb enough to add my two cents worth...

Post by **snazzlefrass** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 5:57 pm

My top 11, cuz I can:

Â 1.) Parabol/a

Â 2.) The Grudge

Â 3.) D/R/T

Â 4.) Crawl Away

Â 5.) Cold and Oogly Boogly

Â 6.) Right in Two

Â 7.) Ticks 'n' Beeches

Â 8.) Pushit (Salival)

Â 9.) Wings/10k days

10.) Aenima

11.) Lateralus

I'd say the first 3 are my top. Everything else in no particular order. Fuck that was hard. Heh heh. Hard.

Gwarden · Post by **Gwarden** » Wed Apr 24, 2013 2:18 am

D/R/T confirmed god tier