Ænima by TOOL, the path to a higher state of being

Ænima,  TOOL's second LP, from 1996.

TOOL is an American alternative/progressive metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1990.

The initial lineup consisted of Maynard James Keenan on vocals, Adam Jones on guitar, Paul D'Amour on bass (who left the band after contributing to their first album, Undertow, considering "their creative process" "excruciating and tedious" and was replaced by Justin Chancellor), and  Danny Carey on drums, who we recently saw performing on the wonderful project  BEAT.

Their sound is a fusion of heavy metal, progressive metal, and alternative rock, resulting in masterpieces that have earned them four Grammy Awards.

Ænima is a complex, atmospheric masterpiece, with intricate lyrics based on philosophical and spiritual concepts. It's a seminal work in TOOL's discography, blending heavy metal with dark, atmospheric moments, complex rhythms, and long instrumental sections, featuring masterful performances by Danny Carey, with his exceptional polyrhythms, and Justin Chancellor's bass, whose bass lines are integral to the melody. This album has a dark, intense, and often claustrophobic atmosphere.

The lyrics address themes of anger, self-criticism and social criticism, anguish, evolution, and Jungian psychology in a highly complex concept, revolving around spiritual and psychological purification (catharsis) to facilitate personal evolution and a radical shift in perspective.

The album's title is a fusion of the Jungian terms "anima" (the inner self or soul) and "anema" (enema, a physical purification procedure) to reflect the dual process of internal and external purification necessary for growth. Drawing on various philosophical and psychological sources, it draws on Jungian psychology for the concepts of "anima" and the confrontation with one's "shadow" (the darkest and most repressed aspects of the personality). "Forty Six & 2" explores the idea of ​​integrating the shadow as a necessary step in human evolution toward "a higher state of being."

The social criticism is caustic, cynical, and merciless, depicting a society devoid of feelings, driven by commerce, and requiring increasingly extreme stimuli to feel alive.

The album is dedicated to the late comedian Bill Hicks, whose cynical yet hopeful social commentary influenced the band. The title track, "Ænema," is inspired by him, with his discourse on the need to "throw away" Los Angeles and the vanity of society. The artwork features a lenticular image of California sinking into the ocean. Fragments of Hicks' work are also sampled in the track "Third Eye," which addresses the theme of spiritual awakening through psychedelics and questioning authority.

The album itself is a metaphor that allows for an inner journey and becomes a tool (TOOL). Maynard James Keenan described the process as a "change, personal and social," that requires discomfort to move forward.

The album also takes a stand against organized religion and "hero worship," distancing itself in favor of a personal spiritual awakening and self-realization, with the ultimate goal of "opening" one's "third eye" to see beyond the superficiality of modern life.

A comprehensive, undivided listening of the 15 tracks and its 77-minute runtime is essential to fully appreciate it, with its heavy, complex, and intense songs, packed with emotion, interspersed with shorter tracks between more engaging tracks.

- "Stinkfist" opens the album, a masterpiece of anger and desperation with an impressive groove and memorable riffs.

- "Eulogy" is a long track with complex rhythms and a dramatic, powerful mood.

- "H" is musically a mix of progressive metal and alternative metal. This atmospheric, psychedelic track begins with a haunting bass line and guitar effects, followed by a heavy, intense atmosphere featuring Danny Carey's complex polyrhythms and Maynard James Keenan's emotional vocals.
The precise meaning of the song has been the subject of various interpretations. I'll quote one from Keenan, taken from interviews, where he explained that the song is about "the difficulty of making decisions," comparing it to the classic Warner Bros. cartoon with "an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other." Another interpretation is that the song's release coincided with the birth of Keenan's son, Devo H. Keenan.

- "Useful Idiot" features a continuous loop of white noise, typical of a vinyl record that has reached the end of its groove, with the volume of the sound gradually increasing to symbolize a banal and repetitive existence.

- "Forty Six & 2" is one of my favorite tracks, featuring hypnotic bass from the immense Justin Chancellor, a great atmosphere of tension that shifts from atmospheric and calmer sections to explosive and heavy moments, and a great, very moving vocal performance by Maynard James Keenan.

- Message to Harry Manback is a short, atmospheric track with a melancholic piano melody that serves as the background to a recorded monologue, a seemingly real message left on an answering machine to singer Maynard James Keenan by a man identifying himself as Harry Manback, who, speaking with a strong Italian accent and using profanity and homophobic slurs, berates Keenan for supposedly stealing his girlfriend.

- Hooker with a Penis is a fierce and aggressive track, intense, frenetic, one of the heaviest songs ever recorded by TOOL, with a pressing rhythm, powerful bass, distorted guitars, and Keenan's voice full of anger, screams, and growls. In response to a fan who called the band a "prostitute" for making money off their art, Keenan replies, "I sold my soul to make a record, you idiot, and then you bought one."

- "Intermission" is a short, 56-second instrumental transitional piece featuring a repetitive bassline from "Forty Six & 2," played on piano.

- "Jimmy" is a dark track with a big, powerful guitar riff and a sense of tension, with quiet sections and heavier, more explosive moments.

- "Die Eier Von Satan" (German for "The Eggs of Satan" or "The Balls of Satan") is a short, satirical piece with a dark, humorous tone. Despite its title and sound, the lyrics are a recipe for hashish cookies. Musically, it has a heavy, military sound, and the German lyrics are sung with increasing emphasis and ferocity, like a political rally, evoking images of Nazi rallies for listeners who don't understand or know the lyrics.

- "Pushit" is a nearly ten-minute progressive track with powerful dynamics, an atmospheric section, and Keenan's powerful vocals. It's one of the most intense and powerful tracks, ten minutes of tension. It begins with an atmospheric, light guitar and bass, building intensity with Keenan's increasingly tense vocals, until the song explodes with powerful drums and guitar, and a cry that says, "There's no love in fear." A truly impressive track.

- "Cesaro Summability" is an atmospheric transition to the title track, lasting less than two minutes. It features a loop of white noise in the background, accompanied by the sounds of a crying newborn baby. Some theories suggest it's meant to evoke a sense of birth and vulnerability before Ænima addresses the theme of "purification."

- "Ænema" is a brutal and angry song that rails against society, with an intense guitar riff and the chorus "learn to swim." It won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1998 and is a harsh critique of the superficiality of modern life, culminating in the image of a purifying earthquake. It builds on the album's previously described concept and musically blends alternative and heavy metal with the complexity of progressive rock. It employs complex rhythms, adopting the musical technique of hemiolia, a duple and triple meter that, when played simultaneously, generate a feeling of unease and rhythmic complexity.

- "(-) Ions" is an experimental instrumental, a loop of white noise mixed with crackles, giving the impression of an electric storm, of lightning, creating a sense of tension and anticipation.

- "Third Eye" is an epic, approximately 13-minute track that closes the album. It begins with a monologue by Bill Hicks and builds to a powerful psychedelic and progressive finale.

The artwork for the original version, which I don't have, uses lenticular printing to reflect the album's themes of shifting perceptions and spiritual purification. It was designed by guitarist Adam Jones, with paintings and illustrations by Cam de Leon and additional design work by Kevin Willis.

The North American edition of the CD featured a special jewel case with a built-in lenticular lens that created a motion effect when viewed from different angles.

The booklet featured a surreal, biomechanical face with eyes that seem to come to life when tilted, as well as "Ocular Orifice," a retouched version of a Cam de Leon painting depicting an eye in which the pupil appears to rotate completely within its socket. The image of the Smoke Box, a box with animated smoke and eyes surrounding it. A photo of contortionist Alana Cain with her legs wrapped behind her head in a suggestive pose, with the band members in the background watching her.

A revolutionary album that cemented TOOL's greatness, powerful, imposing, and grandiose, rivaled only by their subsequent masterpiece, Lateralus, which is my favorite musically. Today, no band compares to TOOL.

A fantastic album from start to finish, a masterpiece. Essential.

Note: All links to the musicians' works are in the TAGS under the article title or on the "Artists" page.

Tracklist

1. Stinkfist (5:11)
2. Eulogy (8:28)
3. H. (6:07)
4. Useful Idiot (0:38)
5. Forty Six & 2 (6:04)
6. Message to Harry Manback (1:53)
7. Hooker with a Penis (4:33)
8. Intermission (0:56)
9. Jimmy (5:24)
10. Die Eier Von Satan (2:17)
11. Pushit (9:55)
12. Cesaro Summability (1:26)
13. Ænema (6:39)
14. (-) Ions (4:00)
15. Third Eye (13:47)

Duration 77:18

LineUp

- Maynard James Keenan - vocals
- Adam Jones - guitar
- Justin Chancellor - bass
- Danny Carey - drums and percussion, samples

Featuring:
- Bill Hicks - sampled spoken word (15)
- Marko Fox - vocals (10)
- Eban Schletter - organ (8)
- Chris Pittman - additional synthesizer (15)
- David Bottrill - keyboards (6), co-producer and mix

 

ArtWork

Cam De Leon with Adam Jones and Kevin Willis (art direction) and Tool (concept)