Tool
Aenima
(1996)
Genre:
Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Progressive Metal, a tad of Industrial Metal.
Here
comes my Brief review of this magnificent album but before I start I’d like to
tell you guys my personal story with this album. For some reason I had a real
hard time getting man hands on this album when I was a teen, none of my friends
had it ether. There was a music channel before MTV aired here in Cordoba
Argentina which maybe had 40 videos tops on rotation 24/7. Two of those video were
Stinkfist and Aenima, they where mindblowing. I became obsessed in getting this
elusive album thanks to those videos.
Years later
in 2003 I finally got this album, and the first time I got to hear it completely was
on a road trip that I took with my dad ( It one of my favorite memories that I have with my father) that we went from North Caroline to
Washing DC, it’s a long trip . This trip was weird and transcendent musically
for me, I only had this album and Songs in the Key of Life; by Stevie Wonder
that I found in a used Discman (does anyone remember those things) I got in a
pawn shop. I can tell you those two albums make really odd mix especial if you
here them over and over and over again, but this really opened my mind musically,
it made me a complete musical omnivore.
Vocal
and Lyric: Maynard James Keenan, shows some immense progress as a singer in
this album, especial the melodies that he works on this album. His lyrics as always
are very interesting. 9
Instrumentation:
Guitar:
Jones does a superb job in doing what is needed to push these songs from the ordinary
to the extraordinary.
Bass:
The bass lines in Aenima are really good, as bass player myself I remember
having a blast leaning how to play them.
Drums:
They are just sublime; few drum players can compose and add to songs like Danny
Carry. He does some really complicated stuff without overloading the song or
becoming to dominant. 7.3
Melodies
and Structure: There is great progress in these two fronts. There is a great balance
in the composition, the songs don’t alienate becoming too technical or heavy and
are accessible without compromising art.10
Sound,
Production and Feeling: The band uses wisely silences and creates sonic backgrounds
that add to the mood of the album. 9
Song:
A Tool albums and the songs that from it have the movie equivalents of watching
any Lord of the Rings films, they are epic. 15
The
Bad: Nothing
Originality:
They really pushed themselves in making a milestone album. 10
Overall: 60.3
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