Formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California – Tool emerged with a heavy metal sound on their first studio album, Undertow in 1993. I kept waiting for it to break open because it felt like there was a buildup many times but it just never happened. They're still masters of odd time signatures and 10+ minute songs but other than that, it was tough to find anything that really stood out to me while listening.

It probably took me about 6 or 7 playthroughs until the music really started to open up to me and reveal itself. As a Tool album, I hope every fan will find in this something to which they can relate and I hope this review, such as it is, will inspire people to see this as a 'beyond' Tool work. Don't get me wrong, I have the original deluxe edition which is gorgeous, but the book edition is simply far more a convenient presentation for the shelf and regular use. Sounds equal to or at least as good as the CD box set, which my 11-year-old son has, also an excellent product. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.The gatefold have a lot of nice images but what takes the whole down a bit is the insert, one side is a very nice artwork, the other is a sloppily produced information and lyrics sheet where the 7empest is both misspelled (Tempest) and lyrics omitted, the only reason seems lack of space . Matte finish with 9-sided geometric pattern on back, no solid circles at points, sides have a gloss geometric repeating pattern. Reading these comments, I realize now that being late to the party turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

As far as the music is concerned, Chris Bellman has done a stupendous job mastering and mixing this album.My previoulsy purchased copies of Undertow and Opiate were underwhelming, particularly given that I generally have appreciated early punk rock tool more than later prog rock Tool. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I know Tool and I know how much effort goes into their music so I figured at the very least this was also going to sound great. The tracks are very long, and each feeling like a journey in and of themselves and each one progressively feels like a mini album/ep of its own.

It doesn't sound like the band challenged themselves or grew in any meaningful way over the last thirteen years. All image and audio content is used by permission of the copyright holders or their agents, and/or according to fair dealing as per the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This is truly deep and complex music which will keep giving and revealing more of itself to you the more you listen.

Two years later we made the move to our present address, 35 The Headrow, where we have remained ever since. Of course, those charts don't necessarily mean as much in this age as they did when the preceding Tool LP dropped, but 270,000 album-equivalent units within the first week do not lie. You also get a download code for the video track included in the earlier edition, so now you can watch it on a decent sized screen whilst listening on proper speakers.

The included art and etchings on the reverse of the albums look great but doubt it is something I would display. A fine example of what the group have always done so well - running with wolves like Mogwai, only with far more metal sensibilities, and a damn-sight bigger helping of experimentalism, when this bad boy arrived in 2019 it shot straight to the top of the US Billboard 200, the third consecutive record from the group to do so. For items that are dispatched using our standard service, we ask that you wait 14 days from the date of dispatch before reporting any items as undelivered. The discs are packaged in a hard shell box with new album art, and a bound casebook holding the vinyl along with new imagery not previously seen.

I have described listening to this version as being similar to listening to a recent Pink Floyd reissue or Nine Inch Nails vinyl remaster. Later, Tool became a dominant act in the alternative metal movement with the release of its follow-up album Ænima in 1996.