TOOL Official Thread.

[bout to crash]

Not quite sure if I can post this here, but if you got some minutes, I did a cover of Eulogy intro, with spoons and glasses of water 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDHnlcUOWjM

Yesss.

Also not listening to the new single but cautiously curious about the new album.

[Elite]

In all my time at DTF, this thread actually has new music to discuss, wow! I’m on holiday now, so I can’t listen

[The Letter M]

The last time I heard new Tool music, I was still in college. I'm 35 now. 

Anyways, I liked it enough, but I kept waiting for the song to break out in a super-heavy and wild part that never came. It was pretty chill most of the time, not that that's bad, but I guess I expected more, maybe?

Also, the Amazon tracklist showed 11 tracks, but I thought this album was said to have 7? I read in an interview somewhere that 7 became the theme of the album since there were a lot of riffs and songs in 7, and so they ended up with 7 tracks totaling 80 minutes of music. Maybe one of the songs has multiple tracks, a la a multi-movement epic? I wouldn't mind a 20-minute epic from Tool!

-Marc.

[Buddyhunter1]

Anyways, I liked it enough, but I kept waiting for the song to break out in a super-heavy and wild part that never came. It was pretty chill most of the time, not that that's bad, but I guess I expected more, maybe?

Pretty much my thoughts, as well.

[Mebert78]

Just clicked play on the new track.  So far, so good!

My question is, is the cheapest version of the CD $45?  Link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Gonna-Love-Not-Tellin/dp/B07VGTYTBF/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SX9RGUIV7H0O&keywords=tool+fear+inoculum&qid=1565179684&s=music&sprefix=tool+fear+in%2Cdigital-music%2C128&sr=1-2&tag=smarturl-pivot-20

[RoeDent]

Just had a look and it's almost been a decade since this thread was started. Assuming August 30th is the actual release date, it will be 10 years minus 1 week between the thread starting and a new Tool album. Shame the guy who started it isn't around to edit the title now.

[Peter Mc]

I imagine there’ll be some criticism in that it is not a huge departure and could easily have been on either of the last two albums. I really enjoyed it, yes it does sound like more of the same but, as Tool are so different from any other band out there anyway and don’t release stuff very often, I don’t really mind.

[fadetoblackdude7]

The last time I heard new Tool music, I was still in college. I'm 35 now. 

Anyways, I liked it enough, but I kept waiting for the song to break out in a super-heavy and wild part that never came. It was pretty chill most of the time, not that that's bad, but I guess I expected more, maybe?

Also, the Amazon tracklist showed 11 tracks, but I thought this album was said to have 7? I read in an interview somewhere that 7 became the theme of the album since there were a lot of riffs and songs in 7, and so they ended up with 7 tracks totaling 80 minutes of music. Maybe one of the songs has multiple tracks, a la a multi-movement epic? I wouldn't mind a 20-minute epic from Tool!

-Marc.

At first I read 7 tracks, then another article said 7 songs with 2 interludes. Not sure where the 11 came from

[Ben_Jamin]

Im excited for tomorrow, although my hopes aren't high, im still expecting it to be a usual Tool album.

Yup, Usual Tool. Not that that's bad. I enjoyed it on first listen, the production is lovely, lots of atmosphere and space between the instruments.

I like it. Definitely gonna need more listens though! I like how Danny brought the tablas back, it gave me a Disposition/Reflection vibe.

It gave me that vibe instantly, and I'm glad as those are my faves. Even the end solo has that reflection vibe.

Can't wait to see where Fear Inoculum will fall in the album.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Just had a look and it's almost been a decade since this thread was started. Assuming August 30th is the actual release date, it will be 10 years minus 1 week between the thread starting and a new Tool album. Shame the guy who started it isn't around to edit the title now.

New Tool album? It's about time! 

Poor Zeltar! 

[hauswife]

Just clicked play on the new track.  So far, so good!

My question is, is the cheapest version of the CD $45?  Link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Gonna-Love-Not-Tellin/dp/B07VGTYTBF/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SX9RGUIV7H0O&keywords=tool+fear+inoculum&qid=1565179684&s=music&sprefix=tool+fear+in%2Cdigital-music%2C128&sr=1-2&tag=smarturl-pivot-20

EMP Germany said on facebook, there will only be a special edition CD for 80€ and no cheaper version nor vinyl is going to be released. lol

[ProfessorPeart]

Just clicked play on the new track.  So far, so good!

My question is, is the cheapest version of the CD $45?  Link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Gonna-Love-Not-Tellin/dp/B07VGTYTBF/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SX9RGUIV7H0O&keywords=tool+fear+inoculum&qid=1565179684&s=music&sprefix=tool+fear+in%2Cdigital-music%2C128&sr=1-2&tag=smarturl-pivot-20

I am getting a little worried as I am starting to get the impression that this album's main format is digital with that special CD thing as the only physical format. Their website mentions the album is 85 minutes long. CD's can only hold 80. $45 might be the cheapest physical option out there. I guess we'll see.

This line from the description is what has me a bit worried:

The album will be available digitally, and in a special Limited Edition physical package that includes a CD in a tri-fold Soft Pack Video Brochure featuring a 4" HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, a USB charging cable, a 2 watt speaker and a 36 page insert book and MP3 download card.

[TioJorge]

Okay, this sounds pretty great actually. It's pretty clear they're keen on not straying too far at all from their usual format, but at this point I think that it's just surprising that it's real. It's absolutely surreal listening to this knowing it's not fake. More of the same motifs they've come to be known for but they took a few moments here and there where I at least said to myself "okay, that's kind of a new twist, and cool". But at no point was I blown away and thinking that they've grown and evolved. Again though, I never expected that, but it's something to note that they very clearly are...maybe "reusing" is too harsh, but certainly "imitating" the same sounds and hooks that made some of their most popular songs popular in the first place while still making something new. Not a bad thing, but perhaps it's something to set a standard by.

It's also fitting for what I'd be willing to bet will be their last album. Keep the nostalgia but make new music. However, if they weren't bullshitting on how much material they've written for this album, they might be able to reuse, recycle, reinvent some of the stuff that they weren't happy with on this one for a last hurrah. But that doesn't seem up their ally for a last album, nor does a B-sides.

I'll also say that I was very worried about every track being pretty long, but this went by pretty quick. They're fantastic at melding those mellow, very calming, atmospheric moments to transition sections in the song and I kind of don't notice it after a while. Then again Disposition/Reflection is by far my favorite song (duo) from them so that format is right up my alley. At the very least, this got me excited for the new album. Definitely not ramping up any hopes or expectations though.

[Max Kuehnau]

Just clicked play on the new track.  So far, so good!

My question is, is the cheapest version of the CD $45?  Link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Gonna-Love-Not-Tellin/dp/B07VGTYTBF/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SX9RGUIV7H0O&keywords=tool+fear+inoculum&qid=1565179684&s=music&sprefix=tool+fear+in%2Cdigital-music%2C128&sr=1-2&tag=smarturl-pivot-20

I am getting a little worried as I am starting to get the impression that this album's main format is digital with that special CD thing as the only physical format. Their website mentions the album is 85 minutes long. CD's can only hold 80. $45 might be the cheapest physical option out there. I guess we'll see.

This line from the description is what has me a bit worried:

The album will be available digitally, and in a special Limited Edition physical package that includes a CD in a tri-fold Soft Pack Video Brochure featuring a 4" HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, a USB charging cable, a 2 watt speaker and a 36 page insert book and MP3 download card.

Yes, we shall see (bang bang bang bang). Seriously though, in case there were to be a Hi Res download option and it were to be cheaper than this deluxe mess, then I may buy the Hi Res version (there is no maximum length when it comes to that format too)

[Crow]

It's completely emotionally dry and has nothing fresh or surprising about it

So it's basically a weaker 10,000 Days song
Exactly what I was expecting, too
Probably gonna be one of those albums I spin once out of curiosity then never revisit again

[TioJorge]

I am fully onboard with the plebs and am strictly streaming this one.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's completely emotionally dry and has nothing fresh or surprising about it

I wasn't as harsh on it simply because my expectations were not just that they'd rehash what worked before, but that they'd be worse. But also kind of thought this once or twice at moments before I just kind of went with it.

It's definitely not too hard to imagine someone in the room saying "Okay guys, what worked before? Let's use that as much as humanly possible without them saying that we literally copy and pasted the track".  But whatever, again...I expected a literal joke of an album so...eh!

[SystematicThought]

I was expecting an entire album of interludes like Lipan Conjuring, so this was better than expected. Still didn't do much for me, but like Tio, I was expecting the worst, so this is okay

[fadetoblackdude7]

The only concern I have is that there won’t be any strong choruses on this album. I’ve listened to this song a few times and I heard the 2 live songs that they’ve been doing all year, and they all just sound like long jams with random lyrics/vocals put over them. I hope they prove me wrong, or make me love what they came up with regardless.

[TioJorge]

I was expecting an entire album of interludes like Lipan Conjuring, so this was better than expected. Still didn't do much for me, but like Tio, I was expecting the worst, so this is okay

  I kind of would have respected the amount of "fuck you"s that would have entailed.

I'm pretty sure the guys know that their real (I say real with a very specific inflection) fanbase will eat up anything they put out that sounds even remotely reminiscent of the "Tool sound", so what this track sounds like is very logical to me, and most assuredly extremely calculated (not in an original, musical sense but in a, "let's appease them" sense).

The only concern I have is that there won’t be any strong choruses on this album. I’ve listened to this song a few times and I heard the 2 live songs that they’ve been doing all year, and they all just sound like long jams with random lyrics/vocals put over them. I hope they prove me wrong, or make me love what they came up with regardless.

This is so much what I feel with the other two songs. Legit exactly what I thought is that it just sounded like a jam session and they were like "Oh.....OH YEAH, this is a new song, for sure, definitely!"

Now, I don't feel that so much with this one, but like I said, it panders to what I liked most about the older Tool stuff and I have ZERO doubt that is exactly what the guys are counting on. Pandering. Which is disappointing in its own right. Though no one every claimed Maynard or the others were ever stupid, so they know what they're doing.

[King Postwhore]

That song went nowhere.  Sounds great but the song muddled along.

[MinistroRaven]

My thought on the song:

https://www.sonicperspectives.com/news/tool-stream-fear-inoculum-title-track

The title track of TOOL‘s long-awaited fifth studio album, Fear Inoculum, can be streamed below. The disc, which will arrive on August 30 via RCA Records, will follow up 2006’s 10,000 Days. Yes, it’s been a painfully long wait for the TOOL fans out there, and they have always operated the same way: teasing their fans with barely nothing and building an excruciating tension among them all prior to any album release.

The 10 minutes-long title cut is a slow-burner, somewhat cathartic and psychedelic tinged song, very much a familiar blend between the Lateralus and 10,000 days tracks. The percussion and bass-lines are hypnotic, and its pace is slow and painful, empowered by the Middle-Eastern drum filigranes of Carey and delicate harmonies building a crescendo, without revealing much at all. At the end it somehow leaves me with a little uncomfortable taste of not getting everything I was hoping for, and that is probably their exact intentions. As we must wait to hear the whole album to really be able to form a definitive opinion, one thing is for sure: this track sounds 100% as TOOL, which is probably what their millions of followers are expecting and salivating about.

Continuing its affinity for pushing the boundaries of physical packaging, the Grammy Award-winning outfit has created a deluxe, limited-edition CD version of Fear Inoculum. The collectible offering, which was conceived by and directed by Adam Jones, features a four-inch HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, charging cable, two-watt speaker, a 36-page booklet and a digital download card. Pre-orders for both the special package and digital downloads are . A vinyl release will be announced soon.

[nattmorker]

The only concern I have is that there won’t be any strong choruses on this album. I’ve listened to this song a few times and I heard the 2 live songs that they’ve been doing all year, and they all just sound like long jams with random lyrics/vocals put over them. I hope they prove me wrong, or make me love what they came up with regardless.

Except for 5-8 songs, that's the way their music sounds to me and that's the reason I've never cared much for them.

[Stadler]

I'm not a massive die-hard Tool fan, but I do have all their releases.   Looks more and more like this won't be one of them. Song doesn't grab me, and with no physical product, I'm not going to just give it a flyer.  Oh well. 

[Ben_Jamin]

Just clicked play on the new track.  So far, so good!

My question is, is the cheapest version of the CD $45?  Link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Gonna-Love-Not-Tellin/dp/B07VGTYTBF/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SX9RGUIV7H0O&keywords=tool+fear+inoculum&qid=1565179684&s=music&sprefix=tool+fear+in%2Cdigital-music%2C128&sr=1-2&tag=smarturl-pivot-20

I am getting a little worried as I am starting to get the impression that this album's main format is digital with that special CD thing as the only physical format. Their website mentions the album is 85 minutes long. CD's can only hold 80. $45 might be the cheapest physical option out there. I guess we'll see.

This line from the description is what has me a bit worried:

The album will be available digitally, and in a special Limited Edition physical package that includes a CD in a tri-fold Soft Pack Video Brochure featuring a 4" HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, a USB charging cable, a 2 watt speaker and a 36 page insert book and MP3 download card.

Hahaha. Thats great seeing how the trailers and album art were videos. I was actually thinking what if its just digitally and the physical would just be a dvd or bluray release.

[goo-goo]

I'm not a massive die-hard Tool fan, but I do have all their releases.   Looks more and more like this won't be one of them. Song doesn't grab me, and with no physical product, I'm not going to just give it a flyer.  Oh well.

There is a physical product.

special Limited Edition physical package that includes a CD in a tri-fold Soft Pack Video Brochure featuring a 4" HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, a USB charging cable, a 2 watt speaker and a 36 page insert book and MP3 download card.

[TioJorge]

I mean...that's the way we're headed for all releases, I'm kind of surprised that people are surprised that it's becoming a "limited edition" type of deal. It's been that way for a bit and it's more and more becoming a "support the band even more by buying physical" than an expected physical release. But I get it, for a band that's last release was that long ago and for one that has the amount of foaming-mouth-fans as they do.

Sooner or later it'll be "super limited crystal edition physical copies, 500 total made". I have a hard time saying they'll never make physical copies simply because of human stubbornness and collector's ferocity but after a while it'll be made simply because of fandom and the bands will lose money no matter what. I guess that's another topic all together though.

[goo-goo]

I'm surprised they didn't go for a vinyl re-issue campaign of all their albums plus the new one.

[Stadler]

I'm not a massive die-hard Tool fan, but I do have all their releases.   Looks more and more like this won't be one of them. Song doesn't grab me, and with no physical product, I'm not going to just give it a flyer.  Oh well.

There is a physical product.

special Limited Edition physical package that includes a CD in a tri-fold Soft Pack Video Brochure featuring a 4" HD rechargeable screen with exclusive video footage, a USB charging cable, a 2 watt speaker and a 36 page insert book and MP3 download card.

No, I got that, but I'm not dropping $45 on a lark.  The new song didn't scrinkle my scrotum, so...   we'll see what comes down the road.

[Kilgore Trout]

Their website mentions the album is 85 minutes long. CD's can only hold 80.

CD's can hold more than 80 minutes of music these days.

[devieira73]

I don't think is a good strategy to sell this album... I don't know, but I have the impression that there's still a lot more people that love to buy CDs for a reasonable price than those that buy this "super-mega-out-of-this-world" special editions. I'm a Tool fan (like of a lot of other bands tha I really like), I would love to buy this physical album, but no way to pay $ 45,00 in a Tool album, sorry!

[SystematicThought]

Their website mentions the album is 85 minutes long. CD's can only hold 80.

CD's can hold more than 80 minutes of music these days.

Then why did they cut down parts of The Astonishing because Disc 1 couldn't fit on one CD?

[Pettor]

Haven't seen the album art work before but really dislike the new font. Feels like decoration from a 90s web page 

First impression of the new song is good, not fantastic. Feels like Lunatic Soul for me. Would have liked some stronger melodies and cleaner vocals. Anyway, Tool albums are never perfect from start to finish for me. This is good enough and something I will listen to more but hard to see it becoming a favorite.

[Peter Mc]

Looks like cd is only 79 min but you also get the MP3 version with the full 80+ min.  Got to say, as a physical music buyer, this seems all pretty unsatisfactory. Amazon in the U.K. also has the album costing £77.60, although there are no details of what is included so that may turn out to be inaccurate. Would maybe consider dropping £40 on this, albeit reluctantly, if the packaging was amazing but definitely not £77.60 unless it was multiple discs of music and not just the album.

[The Walrus]

I mean...that's the way we're headed for all releases, I'm kind of surprised that people are surprised that it's becoming a "limited edition" type of deal. It's been that way for a bit and it's more and more becoming a "support the band even more by buying physical" than an expected physical release. But I get it, for a band that's last release was that long ago and for one that has the amount of foaming-mouth-fans as they do.

Sooner or later it'll be "super limited crystal edition physical copies, 500 total made". I have a hard time saying they'll never make physical copies simply because of human stubbornness and collector's ferocity but after a while it'll be made simply because of fandom and the bands will lose money no matter what. I guess that's another topic all together though.

But why are small-time bands who can barely afford to tour in the first place still producing CDs for the traditional price then? It is weird that a band as ginormous as Tool isn't just selling a basic CD copy. They have enough of a reach that they could still make plenty of money off those.

I checked out the song. *shrug* I don't get Tool.

[Crow]

Their website mentions the album is 85 minutes long. CD's can only hold 80.

CD's can hold more than 80 minutes of music these days.

You can also release on *gasp* two CDs
This is exactly what Thank You Scientist (comparatively a no-name band by popularity) did just months ago