F O U R T H E Y E

In a 0:53 Instagram video posted on May 1 (this year), Adam plays a bit on a toy-looking striped guitar. Does this bit appear on the new album?

Yes, that is part of Descending.

Thanks. Looking forward to that (I haven't heard the album yet).

rshforgothispw wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2019 6:00 am
Hellboy have you listened to it? Haven’t seen you say anything about it.

I think he said he is going to abstain from commenting until the album is officially released.

rinkwhopper wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2019 7:03 am

rshforgothispw wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2019 6:00 am
Hellboy have you listened to it? Haven’t seen you say anything about it.

I think he said he is going to abstain from commenting until the album is officially released.

Nice. Hellboy please go in depth this is a monumental occasion and this release warrants it. So far, there’s only been a handful of articles (I know it’s early) but it seems brushed over.

Descending is so fucking good. It’s about Global Warming, right? Also really enjoying Culling Voices, which is about political discourse and social media, right?

inequitude wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2019 3:07 am I was a bit meh with Invincible when I heard the recent US tour recordings for the first... idk... 10 listens? then one listen again and it did a total 180 on me - same thing happened with FI single - I'm pleased to read on the Reddit threads how this 'awakening' thing happened to many others.
So with that lesson in mind, I think I'll wait it out a little before passing any commentary on what I make of it. 'Let it marinade' I read somewhere.
7empest to me atm it just 15 mins of carrying on - I think once you listen to it enough times to know where each part of it fits... that's when it clicks... if that makes sense? Marinade.

What I do notice though and wont change over any further listens is the tempo of Descending and Invincible are discernibly slower on the album vs. live. I threw both mp3s into a DAW and increased them by ~5bpm you get much closer to the live versions, which imo are significantly better.... but... marinade.

Cheers to all. Good times. BBQ

Well that didn't take long - listened 4.5 times over - still skeptical of Descending tempo but I am 1007% on board the mothership - FI is rad as fuck. Super stoked

7:03 in descending is either Adam plugging in the slide or a soft palm mute

8:34 is that a Justin flub on descending? It’s hard to tell cuz it sounds like he layers another bass on top of it a little later on.

A lot of people saying this is too clean sounding but I’m digging how raw it sounds. Either way I love the way this song is composed and layered. it’s easily top 5 for sure.

rshforgothispw wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2019 9:06 am

A lot of people saying this is too clean sounding but I’m digging how raw it sounds. Either way I love the way this song is composed and layered. it’s easily top 5 for sure.

I'm with you on this...have read lots of comments about it sounding "digital" or "processed" which maybe is true of some compression but overall this is the most "live" I've ever heard the band in a while. There are noticeable tempo stretches in Descending, Invincible and Tempest and I love hearing like the band is about to come apart at the seams only to kill it once again.

If people call this clean then Lateralus is overly clean in contrast.

The sound of FI is ridiculously good. And the first time you really want to listen on that good headphone or good HiFi setup. You lose so much when listening on lower quality.

The album is a complete journey of epic encounters.

FI only leaked because the fan base was so excited to hear it. I can't imagine TooL is too dissapointed in that.

I think any band especially one that holds independent control so dearly would be upset with a leak but much like with mobile phones at concerts are resigned to the fact the it will happen no matter how hard they try to stop it.

I got hairy palms knuckles

Finally was able to sit down and properly listen with some headphones to the album in it's entirety. My brief opinion on each song:

Fear Inoculum
Grower. This song didn't resonate with me as a single, but upon the album listen I was familiar with it and it goes hard near the end.

Pneuma
With only 1 listen under my belt this song was very good but didn't strike me as amazing. At times felt almost too off on each instrument. The ending was phenomenal. Definitely will grow on me.

Invincible
Great song. Loved it live. Felt like it was a bit harder live. But still an amazing track. That break down around the 9:30 mark... Are you kidding me?

Descending
Contender for best song on the album. Holy shit this song has it all. Love it

Culling Voices
Saw people thought this was APC... I didn't get that. Built perfectly. A great 'fuck you' to all the people talking shit about Tool and their internal relationships over the years. A perfect song to follow up Descending.

Chocolate Chip Trip
Danny.

7empest
Jesus Adam... Save some riffs for the next album would ya! This song absolutely grabbed me from the moment the guitar came in. It has it all, and all of it is named Adam Jones. Held nothing back.

Fear Inoculum as an album felt very 'Tool' upon the first listen. Further listens with bring out new and interesting things I didn't notice this time around. Amazing musicianship and perfectly placed lyrics. Maynard chose his spots perfectly on this album. He sang meaningful lyrics while leaving space for the band to crush our ears. He knew where to be throughout each track.

^

What a geek!!!

This morning before work I listened three songs : Culling Voices, Pneuma and Invincible. With Invincible it struck me that the "problem" of this song is the fact that it comes after Pneuma and before Descending; the two, perhaps, most awesomely TooL tracks.
On its own Invincible sounds much better.

Culling Voices is also one heck of an excellent track.

I’m starting to tune out about halfway through each song. They’re too long. Need more Maynard, tighter direction, less jammy. The songs are missing that climactic release of tension. They set a theme, tease, and then gradually unwind and meander which can be creative in one sense, boring in another.

I think the less Maynard was a total choice. He uses less words more effectively and the band takes the aggression when he ends I love it.

Fear Inoculum has shipped!

From amazon us should arrive on Friday

rshforgothispw wrote: ↑Wed Aug 28, 2019 6:02 am I think the less Maynard was a total choice. He uses less words more effectively and the band takes the aggression when he ends I love it.

Agreed.

Yeah I've found myself skipping big chunks of songs. They could of cut some huge chunks out and it wouldn't of done any damage but they chose to go off on these little journeys so that's what we have. I am actually thinking of having a go at editing some of the tracks down to make it easier to listen to.

I mean I guess to each their own but why would you do that? Do you also edit Tarantino films cuz off the chatty dialogue?

The payoff isn’t as strong if you cut out the build up.

rshforgothispw wrote: ↑Wed Aug 28, 2019 9:42 amDo you also edit Tarantino films cuz off the chatty dialogue?

My solution for that is to not watch them.