Well people, it finally happened. Indeed, the fifth studio album from Tool is upon us. Coming 13 years after Tool’s previous release, this is an album fans of the band have been frothing at the mouth for, but many of us believed would never come. I didn’t even fully believe it until I first listened to it on its release day. But yes, it seems that hell has frozen over. If we can get a new Tool album, anything is possible. World peace! No more poverty! Communication with alien life! On second thought, that’s a lot, let’s just talk about this new Tool album.
When you have an album this highly anticipated, and long-awaited, the hype naturally comes with hopes and expectations. If they kept us waiting for 13 years, the end result better be pretty good, right? And on top of that, this is a band whose discography up to this point has been virtually spotless. So with Fear Inoculum, Tool have four fantastic albums to live up to, and thirteen years of silence to justify. So did Tool deliver the epic fifth installment in their catalogue that everyone had hoped for? Or did they ultimately waste over a decade creating first blemish on the face of their discography?
Well one thing is for certain, it would be hard even for this album’s harshest detractors to assert that it is a total failure. I mean, whatever you think about this album as an individual chapter in Tool’s catalogue (more on that momentarily), it’s undeniable that in terms of what we have come to expect from this band, all of the boxes (Toolboxes?) have been checked. Dark, hypnotic instrumentals, haunting emotive vocals from Maynard James Keenan, long, strange instrumental passages, unconventional time signatures (often with different instrumentalists playing in different time signatures overtop of each other), and intelligent, introspective lyrics. For me, if you have these elements, you have a functional Tool album. So what sets Fear Inoculum apart from the rest of the pack?
More than anything else, this album stands out to me as the most ambitious release to date from Tool. This band is notorious for their long, proggy songs, with drawn out instrumental jams, and unorthodox twists on the traditional verse-chorus form found in most rock music. However, this aspect of Tool’s DNA is taken to the next level on Fear Inoculum. Apart from the instrumental interludes (most of which are only included on the digital version of the album; for this reason, I will focus very little on these tracks), there are no songs under ten minutes on this album. Each song contains a full, developed lyrical narrative, accompanied by complex and ever-changing instrumental parts, which frequently break off into extended jams. And the painstaking effort of the band is evident in all of them. All of this, plus the interludes on the digital album, add up to a runtime of nearly an hour and a half. And as hard as it is to hold an audience’s attention span through an album of this length, Tool really pull it off nicely here. There honestly isn’t a dull moment on this album. Some might argue that the interludes are a little bit lengthy (and unnecessary), and while they may have a point, I feel that their presence on this album helps to keep the longer tracks separate and distinguishable, while adding interesting little moments of abstract sonic art.
The key reason that this album is able to stay consistently interesting in spite of its length is that the instrumentalists of Tool are really on their A-game here. Drummer Danny Carey’s distinct style carries the instrumental passages, shining especially bright on “Pneuma.” Bassist Justin Chancellor consistently plays complex, intricate bass lines, always contrasting nicely against Adam Jones’s guitar parts, never doubling them in the lower register, as is typical of rock bassists. And Adam Jones…look, I swear I’m not just saying this because I’m a guitar player, but in many ways, Jones is the star of this album. His dynamically tasteful guitar playing constantly serves as the foremost indicator of where an instrumental passage is going, beginning soft passages with delicate arpeggiated picking, and diving into heavier grooves, with sludgy, almost Jerry Cantrell-like riffing. Highlights include a haunting, reverb-heavy solo on “Invincible” and two separate solos in “Descending,” one featuring slide guitar, and another featuring a wah pedal. Neither of these are very new or original accessories to the electric guitar, but Jones uses them in a way that enhances his signature sound. “7empest” is not only the best song on this album, but quite possibly Adam Jones’s shining moment with Tool. The guitar composition and presentation alone are enough to make this the dynamic highpoint of the album, but the fact that Carey and Chancellor are also holding down their own parts masterfully certainly doesn’t hurt. And of course, Maynard James Keenan’s unmistakable vocals are as powerful and moving as ever. Passages of doubled and distorted vocals in “Pneuma” bring these qualities out in an even more haunting way. And on “7empest,” Keenan delivers one of his more aggressive vocal performances to date.
Lyrically, we are treated to much of the same existential, spiritual lyrics Tool have delivered in the past. On tracks such as “Fear Inoculum,” “Pneuma,” and “Descending,” it can be difficult to tell if Keenan is referencing Christianity, Transcendentalism, nihilism, or something else entirely. Other stand-alone cuts include “Invincible,” a song about a warrior returning home with no true sense of self, and “Culling Voices,” a warning about the dangers of narcissism. “7empest” is the highlight of this album, not only musically, but lyrically, as it brilliantly calls out those who seek to control the thoughts of the public, by twisting perception and presenting their own ideals as fact, an issue that grows ever more prevalent in the modern day.
Tool had a lot to live up to with Fear Inoculum. With every year that passed, anticipation and expectation for this album grew higher, and seemingly, more impossible to live up to. But the crazy thing? They did it. Not only did we get a great Tool album, we got one that was worth the entire wait. Thirteen years is a long time, but I’m glad the band took the time to get this one right. There’s no way to be sure, but when the new album hype settles down, and Fear Inoculum takes its place with the other four entries in Tool’s catalogue, I do believe it will be regarded as one of the best. This is Tool at the peak of their creativity, precision, and coherent album construction. I am thrilled to say that the long wait for Fear Inoculum has paid off in full.
Score: 10/10
Favorite Song(s): 7empest, Pneuma, Descending, Culling Voice, Invincible
Least Favorite Song(s): Legion Inoculant
Phil Klinker Music Reviews 