ool returns. And make no mistake, this is the Tool from Opiate and Aenima, not that bland Maynard side-project. This is the dense, complex, primal art-metal band we all know and love.


It's been a while since the last Tool release, yet little has changed in Tool's sound. Aggressive guitar riffs, Maynard's ethereal wailing, and - the signature sound, in my opinion - the intense rhythm section, providing a solid basis for Tool's tribal grind. From the opening track, "Grudge," this record is clearly Tool.


However, this is not a release for the casual fan. Lateralus contains almost 80 minutes of music. Every song is over six minutes (barring interludes between tracks), with several reaching for eight and even eleven minutes. At first bite, Lateralus is a lot to chew on.


The album's tone is much darker, dirge-like, and even more depressing than previous Tool outings. There are few moments of "rocking-out." Instead, the band concentrates more on creating complex song structures and rhythms. Time signatures and tempos shift midsong almost imperceptibly. All this requires intense listening to pick up. Tool seems to be going for subtlety here, quite odd (yet refreshing) for a metal band. However, the album plods through the first few listens, and songs start to sound the same. Part of this is production -- I would have liked to see the bass and drums come out more, but they are often obscured by the heavy guitar. This isn't an album you can have playing in the background while you do math homework. It requires very active listening to appreciate, for better and worse. Clearly each band member is extremely technically proficient at his instrument, but would it kill these guys to put in a hook every once in a while? Eighty minutes, and not one song you can hum in the shower.


Once again, Tool straddles the divide between the pretention of art-rock and the aggression of metal. While still ambivalent about where their sympathies lie, Tool clearly shows a greater affinity for the former in Lateralus. Watch out in the future for Danzig-esque forays into orchestral opera.