Other Bands - Hot Take #1

[Skinny12]

What is a Hot Take? A Hot Take is a bold, maybe even stupid or super smart claim which can be voted for (or against) but -of course- dicussed about!

So, Hot Take #1

TOOL is the best Alternative metal and neo-prog Band ever. Nothing comes close.

[Jonsattic]

The artwork is very arty.

[Hunting Sound Man]

I know of them but haven't dug into their catalogue or live recordings. Where is a good pace to start?

[TheMoebLoop]

'Best' is a strong word, but at least one half of them is excellent instrumental-wise; Adam Jones is not a very good guitar player, but does use well his limited resources to do some rather unusual stuff. Their compositions can be touch and go, but the period from 1995 to 2006 has a lot to enjoy in that respect. For all the "thinking man's metal" adjectives that they gather, however, the lyrics can be quite juvenile and/or trite.

For anyone like Hunting Sound Man, looking for a place to begin knowing them, I'd suggest listening to "Lateralus", which is still the most complex they've ever gotten; on the other hand, "10,000 Days (Wings, part 2)" is as good as anything from the previous record.

When it comes to live recordings, you won't have luck with official stuff, as, apart from a track here and there on "Salival", they've released none; yet, https://tooldriveproject.net/ exists to supply unofficial recordings much like Y! did for us Floyd enthusiasts. The 2001-2002 tours ("Lateralus" again) are where the jewels are, but many people swear by the 1997-1998 ones.

[Skinny12]

I know of them but haven't dug into their catalogue or live recordings. Where is a good pace to start?

10.000 Days!

[Llama]

They are one of the best! You also have bands like Between The Burried And Me! If you have never heard their cover of Us And Them, I highly recommend it!

https://youtu.be/Fwbb8ZDNAkY

[donkyflip]

I was recently turned on to a band called Rishloo by some Tool and APC fans. If you have not heard them before, then do check them out. You'll be impressed.

[tadreamer62]

I voted for Might be right or wrong. Fine that you ike their music.

Adrian Belew once said about "the best":

There is no BEST. Music is not a competitive sport. it's an art. And as such it's completely subjective. A more correct way of expressing that sentiment would be to say "he (or she) is MY favorite."

[f0427ea]

I know of them but haven't dug into their catalogue or live recordings. Where is a good pace to start?

start with their first offering 'Undertow'

[aybesea]

Tool is okay, but I really prefer Exivious. And if you aren't a metal purist, I far prefer Earthless.

[tiwaz10]

Tool maybe top ten... but IMO Porcupine/Wilson, Opeth or Enslaved (increasing energy)🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[geoffers]

i have loved tool since i first heard "sober" way back in the 90's, but they're only the best at taking too much time between albums! art can't be rushed, of course, but it can suffer from taking too long. 'fear inoculum' just didn't grab me like all the others upon first listen. but i am a slightly different person now, too? maybe i've just moved on?

[Skinny12]

I also had my problem with fear inoculum and did not listen to it for months. Then i saw this video and love it since!

https://youtu.be/FssULNGSZIA

Best
Nils

[geoffers]

that is indeed a great video... and song! but i just thought of another reason that i was initially underwhelmed. there was no general cd release... and i still don't have a physical copy of it. i eventually got all of the digital files, and re-arranged them to make a more smoothly flowing album (did the same with 10,000 Days, too, so that the album ends with the magnificent 'wings for marie'). but it's still a hugely disjointed, sometimes aimless feeling album. and the little segues were overkill this time (as i'd gotten tired of that with Aenima), pushing the listening requirement to well over an hour. i guess i've just grown out of being able to devote that much time, at one time, to just one flavour of music? (similarly, i haven't listened to 'the wall' in one sitting more than a handful of times over the past 20 years or so.) 'pneuma,' 'culling voices,' and 'tempest' are excellent songs, though, and i'm putting together a bunch of random playlists that i can listen to in the car, so i'll definitely throw those in there...

[Son of Nothing]

Not that anyone needs to know this or would be interested, but I didn't vote in this hot take because Alternative metal and neo-prog just doesn't interest me in the slightest. So I find that choice of genre just a bit odd as the debut entry for the "Other bands" section. Not that Floyd are strictly prog, either, so picking a classic prog band would probably have been equally out of place.

With that said, I'll let people actually into this get on with the discussion.

[Basement]

I know of them but haven't dug into their catalogue or live recordings. Where is a good pace to start?

tooldriveproject.net