I've always wanted to modulate to the key of H!!!J.S Bach famously arranged a piece of music with the key modulations spelling out his name.
TOOL
H is B in German, just pointing out incase you wern't being sarcastic. So yea you can modulate to "H" any time you like. Just go to "B"
And TooL are freaking awesome. Lateralus is fast becoming one of my all time fav albums and that is going some. Especially considering i've only been listening to it fora few months.
The more I hear it the more the layers keep peeling off. It's beautiful. I couldnt get into them for the longest time because i put their CD's on EXPECTING virtuosity in the guitar parts. I think a few years ago I was too immature to "get" what tool is about. All I wanted was the fast easy orgasm of guitardom. Then I went to college and got exposed to so much great music that the guitar lovin' became more secondary to the sound in general.
Tools music is minimilastic prog. Almost an oxymoron, but the minimal shifting rhythyms, textures and meters against the crushing back drop is so intense and trance like. The songs are very linear too. The structures completley defy what would be a "song". It truly is creative music. Often the pieces build lineraly to what would to other bands be their chorus section or mid 8 of a song, but yet TooL wont come back to that. They create tension with minimal shifting riffs that develop into cataclysmic pounding complex sections that subside to soft subtle delicate passages.
I'm slowly working my way through their back catalogue but as Mikey said Lateralus is simply an astounding album. Funnily enough I find GREAT similarities between Tool, and Radioheads electrnoica albums Kid A and Amnesiac. (yea another over hyped band lol) On the surface their textures are vastly different. But again Especially on KID A the complex but minimalistic approach is very similar. Creating hypnotic rhythms and twisted textures that build in a linear fashion.
Kid A is also on my list of top albums of all time, and the more I listen to Lateralus the more I find them opposite ends of the spectrum yet intruigingly similar. Everything in Its Right Place, track 1 off of Kid A and The Grudge, track 1 off Lateralus are both in 5 or 10 however you wanna group it. A silly long shot but enough to really grab me and dig deeper with them both. Regradless i'm very glad I gave the band a chance for me to GET them. cause its the kind of music that really enriches your life when it gets under your skin.
To all those that find it boring, maybe you just require an overt amount of stimulating at this point in your life. If you ever find the quick fix of shred not doing it for you give this a blast!
Track
And TooL are freaking awesome. Lateralus is fast becoming one of my all time fav albums and that is going some. Especially considering i've only been listening to it fora few months.
The more I hear it the more the layers keep peeling off. It's beautiful. I couldnt get into them for the longest time because i put their CD's on EXPECTING virtuosity in the guitar parts. I think a few years ago I was too immature to "get" what tool is about. All I wanted was the fast easy orgasm of guitardom. Then I went to college and got exposed to so much great music that the guitar lovin' became more secondary to the sound in general.
Tools music is minimilastic prog. Almost an oxymoron, but the minimal shifting rhythyms, textures and meters against the crushing back drop is so intense and trance like. The songs are very linear too. The structures completley defy what would be a "song". It truly is creative music. Often the pieces build lineraly to what would to other bands be their chorus section or mid 8 of a song, but yet TooL wont come back to that. They create tension with minimal shifting riffs that develop into cataclysmic pounding complex sections that subside to soft subtle delicate passages.
I'm slowly working my way through their back catalogue but as Mikey said Lateralus is simply an astounding album. Funnily enough I find GREAT similarities between Tool, and Radioheads electrnoica albums Kid A and Amnesiac. (yea another over hyped band lol) On the surface their textures are vastly different. But again Especially on KID A the complex but minimalistic approach is very similar. Creating hypnotic rhythms and twisted textures that build in a linear fashion.
Kid A is also on my list of top albums of all time, and the more I listen to Lateralus the more I find them opposite ends of the spectrum yet intruigingly similar. Everything in Its Right Place, track 1 off of Kid A and The Grudge, track 1 off Lateralus are both in 5 or 10 however you wanna group it. A silly long shot but enough to really grab me and dig deeper with them both. Regradless i'm very glad I gave the band a chance for me to GET them.
cause its the kind of music that really enriches your life when it gets under your skin.To all those that find it boring, maybe you just require an overt amount of stimulating at this point in your life. If you ever find the quick fix of shred not doing it for you give this a blast!
Track
Thanks Mikey, Meshuggah are on my list to research. The only thing that will potentially deter me is the vocals. If the vox are CONSTANTLY in the style that I imagine them to be then it will take some doing for me to push past that to appreciate it. Thats perhaps the biggest reason I never got into the death scene, the vocals just make me laugh and I cant take it seriously!
Especially when there is no balance to it. Thats another part of the beauty of Tool (and even dare I say it to a far far lesser and dumbed down extent some Korn) is that the screaming is balanced out by the tenderness, and thus each textures given validity IMO.
Math metal rocks though and I'll pick up one of their albums this week. Thanks for the recommendation!
Track
p.s. Mikey out of interest have you heard KID A by radiohead, or has anyone else listened comparativley to Lateralus and Kid A...if you havn't heard it and you're open minded to electronic music give it a whirl. They compliment each other beautifully!
Especially when there is no balance to it. Thats another part of the beauty of Tool (and even dare I say it to a far far lesser and dumbed down extent some Korn) is that the screaming is balanced out by the tenderness, and thus each textures given validity IMO.
Math metal rocks though and I'll pick up one of their albums this week. Thanks for the recommendation!
Track
p.s. Mikey out of interest have you heard KID A by radiohead, or has anyone else listened comparativley to Lateralus and Kid A...if you havn't heard it and you're open minded to electronic music give it a whirl. They compliment each other beautifully!
Meshuggah certainly aren't death metal, and they don't sing about making love to corpses or Satan either! Yay!
Lyric-wise they are very much like Tool. Complex psychological stuff. Their vocals aren't the usual "Cookie Monster" death metal fare either - though they are agressive and screamy, and there aren't the moments of tenderness that Maynard from Tool delivers. BUT - there are some trippy mellow moments too.
They change a little with each album - like a progression from the last. That's why I'm suggesting "I" and "Catch 33" specifically. You might want to check out "Nothing" also, but the albums above might be your best entry point.
Yep - I have all Radiohead's albums. I haven't ever listened to it back to back with Tool though, so I might give it a try.
Mikey
vai.com
Lyric-wise they are very much like Tool. Complex psychological stuff. Their vocals aren't the usual "Cookie Monster" death metal fare either - though they are agressive and screamy, and there aren't the moments of tenderness that Maynard from Tool delivers. BUT - there are some trippy mellow moments too.
They change a little with each album - like a progression from the last. That's why I'm suggesting "I" and "Catch 33" specifically. You might want to check out "Nothing" also, but the albums above might be your best entry point.
Yep - I have all Radiohead's albums. I haven't ever listened to it back to back with Tool though, so I might give it a try.
Mikey
vai.com
the best thing to do whilst listening to tool is go to songmeanings.net (?) , read the lyrics whilst listening and then read what people have to say about them. i believe their lyrics are the best of any band in the world. absolutely amazing - so much meaning.
rosetta stoned
rosetta stoned
Lateralus is certainly one of the best produced albums I've ever heard, it sounds absolutely flawless. however, their new album sounded like crap. not just song wise, but production wise, and goofy lyrics wise... I think they really sucked it with 10,000 days.
the only 'goofy' lyrics are arguably in rosetta stoned - "Tool's stance on the chemical known as DMT is well known. Sounds like a description of a DMT trip. vivid hallications, heart racing, coming down, etc.. "The Wolf wrote:Lateralus is certainly one of the best produced albums I've ever heard, it sounds absolutely flawless. however, their new album sounded like crap. not just song wise, but production wise, and goofy lyrics wise... I think they really sucked it with 10,000 days.
every single piece of lyric has meaning - especially on the album 10,000 days (there were approximately 10,000 days between his mother's stroke and her death).
i bloody love this album, it'd probably be my favourite tool album and one of my favourite all-time albums.
"Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be, the one.
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending.
To write it down for all the world to see.
But I forgot my pen."
maybe they have personal meaning, but they don't really say much, at least as much as they did on Lateralus. Seriously, I love Lateralus, I could go on and on about it, but 10,000 days just really didn't do it for me. I think it was probably the lousy production that initially got me, and then as I sat through it a couple times, and read the interviews with the band, it felt like this album was just stroking their egos.
Can't disagree more.The Wolf wrote:maybe they have personal meaning, but they don't really say much, at least as much as they did on Lateralus. Seriously, I love Lateralus, I could go on and on about it, but 10,000 days just really didn't do it for me. I think it was probably the lousy production that initially got me, and then as I sat through it a couple times, and read the interviews with the band, it felt like this album was just stroking their egos.
The album production is awesome.
Lyrics are also awesome.
Hey Bennet - did you see them in Oz recently?
Mikey
vai.com
Mikey wrote:Can't disagree more.The Wolf wrote:maybe they have personal meaning, but they don't really say much, at least as much as they did on Lateralus. Seriously, I love Lateralus, I could go on and on about it, but 10,000 days just really didn't do it for me. I think it was probably the lousy production that initially got me, and then as I sat through it a couple times, and read the interviews with the band, it felt like this album was just stroking their egos.
The album production is awesome.
Lyrics are also awesome.
Hey Bennet - did you see them in Oz recently?
Mikey
vai.com
Yeah I agree the production on 10,000 Days is one of the things you certainly can't critize, it's great...
I disagree. There is audible clipping, the vocals sound like they were recorded with a tape recorder, I know the idea was to have everything on the same level, but it just sounds muddied down and nothing really ever sings through like anything is gonna happen. I think after the incredible production in Lateralus the way they chose to do this album was just a disappointment's top me. I know it was intentional but I though it just sounded like a midrange blur. But like I said, I like Lateralus so much that they could record an hour of a cat scratching in the litter box through guitar pickups and I wouldn't really complain.
I'm very tired right now, so all I can do is hope any of this makes sense!!
I'm very tired right now, so all I can do is hope any of this makes sense!!