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Rating: Released in 1996, "Ænima" is Tool's second album. Judging it solely as a good album is as superficial as it is very reductive; "Ænima" is a window into the most complex and profound darkness, a restless journey that leaves you breathless.
Within this album, you move from atmospheres to sounds to the most diverse colors, but in the end, I had the astonishing certainty that everything I heard during the 77 minutes of "Ænima" is a unique and indissoluble thing and that even one note less would have diminished everything else.
Technically speaking, let's say that Tool offers a Progressive Metal of blinding beauty and extraordinary refinement; although due to their amazing sonic refinement, it is very difficult to associate them with a genre or a type of metal in particular, their sound is unique and, probably, no metal band has ever come close to such refinement.
The journey inside "Ænima" begins with "Stinkfist," a track that alternates the unease of the voice with sonic majesty through brief angry passages; it almost seems like a preview of what will happen next.
Following is "Eulogy" with a relaxing and very hypnotic intro disrupted by the entry of a nervous guitar and the voice, first filtered, that then spills into the chorus; at this point, the track takes very varied directions but always stays tied to the first part. To follow with bated breath.
The third track, "H," begins with noises that draw attention, then moves to an excellent melody, with tension slowly rising until it reaches a finale of incredible instrumental intensity. This is followed by a small "noisy" interlude called "Useful Idiot."
The fifth track, "Forty Six & 2," conveys a strong sensation of anticipation mixed with unease right from the start, which spreads throughout the track like an oil stain only to reach a stunning ending. Right after, there's an interlude, "Message To Harry Manback," that leaves the listener bewildered: a melancholic piano background with distant bird calls, but with a cold and determined voice delivering insults of all kinds, in English, but also in Italian!
The seventh track, "Hooker With A Penis," is the most frenetic piece of the album; the melody seems completely absent, but everything is finely tuned to provide a continuous and lacerating emotion that pierces. "Intermission" is nothing but an interlude played on the organ that nevertheless remains in the theme of the album.
Following is "Jimmy," a track that alternates relaxed parts with very compelling ones; but always within the same context. In the final part, the tension rises and, consequently, the emotions. "Die Eier Von Satan" is a truly unsettling and very experimental interlude, with hammering and repetitive noises in the background that seem to come from an assembly line... or from hell? The voice, in German, goes over the ingredients to prepare the eggs of Satan(?) with, in addition to the unsettling noises, the screams of people agreeing. Right after, we move to "Pushit," a track on the brink between melancholy and hope, where the instrumental part has great relevance, but in the final part, it significantly changes rhythm with excellent solos and riffs not too hard but effective, almost suffocated. The subsequent interlude, "Cesaro Summability," begins with a child's laughter that turns into crying, followed by various soft noises of which one is highlighted.
The title track, "Ænima," heads towards the end of the journey; the rhythms become more urgent, though interrupted by an excellent percussive part, and in the track reigns a constant sensation of discovery, of realization, that the journey embarked upon has reached the most important point, the conclusion. And before reaching the final track, there's "(-) Ions," an interlude where an electric noise merges with something seemingly passing through the air.
The last track, "Third Eye," is the complicated yet effective conclusion of the album; in its considerable length (14 minutes), it passes through the most disparate atmospheres: from the dark and grating ones of the synthesizers to the restless ones of the guitars, with an incredible progression from the drums. An explosion of darkness in a thousand different shades, yet always linked to the dominant black. The perfect finale of the album, with a truly furious ending.
In this review, I wanted to describe the album step by step, track by track, solely to try to convey its incredible intricacy, because this is not an album of singles. Recommended to anyone who has the desire/patience to immerse themselves in these claustrophobic atmospheres with the utmost open-mindedness, beyond any musical preference. I assure you that by the end of this journey, you will feel fulfilled and will probably change your way of understanding music.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Stinkfist (05:11)
Something has to change
Undeniable dilemma
Boredom's not a burden
Anyone should bear
Constant over-stimulation numbs me
But I would not want you any other way
Just
[It's] Not enough
I need more
Nothing seems to satisfy
I said
I don't want it
I just need it
To breathe
To feel
To know I'm alive
Finger deep within the borderline
Show me that you love me and that we belong together
Relax, turn around and take my hand
I can help you change
Tired moments into pleasure
Say the word and we'll be well upon our way
Blend and balance
Pain and comfort
Deep within you
'Til you will not want me any other way
But it's not enough
I need more
Nothing seems to satisfy
I said
I don't want it
I just need it
To breathe
To feel
To know I'm alive
Knuckle deep inside the borderline
This may hurt a little but it's something you'll get used to
Relax, slip away
There's something kinda sad about
The way that things have come to be
Desensitized to everything
What became of subtlety?
How can this mean anything to me
If I really don't feel anything at all?
Yeah...
I'll keep digging
Until I feel something
Elbow deep inside the borderline
Show me that you love me and that we belong together
Shoulder deep within the borderline
Relax, turn around and take my hand
02 Eulogy (08:29)
He had a lot to say
He had a lot of nothing to say
We'll miss him
We'll miss him
He had a lot to say
He had a lot of nothing to say
We'll miss him
We'll miss him
We're gonna miss him
We're gonna miss him
Well so long now
We wish you well
You told us how you weren't afraid to die
Well so long
Don't cry
Or feel too down
Not all martyrs see divinity
But at least you tried
Standing above the crowd
He had a voice that was strong and loud
We'll miss him
I'll miss him
Ranting and pointing his finger
At everything but his heart
We'll miss him
I'll miss him
We're gonna miss him
We're gonna miss him
There's no way
To recall
What it was that you had said to me
Like I care at all
But it was so loud
You sure could yell
You took a stand on every little thing
And so loud
Standing above the crowd
He had a voice that was strong and loud and I
Swallowed his facade 'cause I'm so
Eager to identify with
Someone above the ground
Someone who seemed to feel the same
Someone prepared to lead the way and
Someone who would die for me
Will you?
Will you now?
Would you die for me?
Don't you fuckin' lie
Don't you step outta line
Don't you step outta line
Don't you step outta line
Don't you fuckin' lie
You've claimed all this time
That you would die for me
Why then are you so surprised
When you hear your own eulogy?
He had a lot to say
He had a lot of nothing to say
He had a lot to say
He had a lot of nothing to say
Come down
Get off your fuckin' cross
We need the fuckin' space
To nail the next fool martyr
To ascend, you must die
You must be crucified
For our sins and our lies
Goodbye
05 Forty Six & 2 (06:04)
Join in my.. join in my child
And listen.. digging through my old numb shadow
Shadow's shedding skin, I've been picking scabs again
I'm down digging through my old muscles looking for a clue
I've been crawling on my belly clearing out what could've been
I've been wallowing in my own confused insecure delusions
For a piece to cross me over or a word to guide me in
I wanna feel the changes coming down
I wanna know what I've been hiding
In my shadow
My shadow
Change is coming through my shadow
My shadow shedding skin
I've been picking my scabs again
Join in my.. join in my child
Shadow's closer to me...
I've been crawling on my belly clearing out what could've been
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic insecure delusions
I wanna feel the change consume me, feel the outside turning in
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and cleansing I've endured
In my shadow
My shadow
Change is coming
Now is my time
Listen to my muscle memory
Contemplate what I've been clinging to
Forty six and two ahead of me
I choose to live and to grow
Take and give and to move
Learn and love and to cry
Kill and die and to be
Paranoid and to lie
Hate and fear and to do
What it takes to move through
I choose to live and to lie
Kill and give and to die
Learn and love and to do
What it takes to step through
See my shadow changing
Stretching up and over me
Soften this old armor
Hoping I can clear the way by
Stepping through my shadow
Coming out the other side
Step into the shadow
Forty six and two just ahead of me
07 Hooker With a Penis (04:34)
I met a boy
Wearing Vans, 501's
And a dope Beastie tee, nipple rings, new tattoos that claimed that he
Was OGT
After '92
From The first EP
And in between
Sips of Coke
He told me that
He thought
We were sellin' out
Layin' down
Suckin' up
To the man
Well now I've got some
Advice for you, little buddy
Before you point the finger
You should know that I'm the man
If I'm the man
Then you're the man
And he's the man as well
So you can point that fuckin' finger up your ass
All you know about me is what I've sold you
Dumb fuck
I sold out long before you ever even heard my name
I sold my soul to make a record
Dip shit
And then you bought one
I've got some
A-dvice for you, little buddy
Before you point your finger
You should know that I'm the man
If I'm the fuckin' man
Then you're the fuckin' man as well
So you can point that fuckin' finger up your ass
All you know about me is what I've sold you
Dumb fuck
I sold out long before you ever even heard my name
I sold my soul to make a record
Dip shit
And then you bought one
All you read and
Wear or see and
Hear on TV
Is a product
Begging for your
Fatass dirty
Dollar
Shut up and
Buy, buy, buy, my new record
Buy, buy, buy
Send more money
Fuck you, buddy
Fuck you, buddy
Fuck you, buddy
Fuck you, buddy
09 jimmy (05:24)
What was it like to see
The face of your own stability
Suddenly look away
Leaving you with the dead and hopeless?
Eleven and she was gone
Eleven is when we waved goodbye
Eleven is standing still,
Waiting for me to free him
By coming home.
Moving me with a sound
Opening me within a gesture.
Drawing me down and in,
Showing me where it all began,
Eleven.
It took me so long to realize
You were the voice that's been calling me back home.
Under a dead Ohio sky
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
I wish that I could see you
Turn and run to play
Dreams are fading
Carry my ancient soul.
Carry me into the light
Aim your body heavenly
Enduring a memory
I'll come to your light.
Open your light
Point your light
Hold your light where I can see
Hold your light,
Eleven.
Lead me through each gentle step by step
By inch by loaded memory.
I'll move to heal
As soon as pain allows so we can
Reunite and both move on together.
Hold your light,
Eleven. Lead me through each gentle step
By step
By inch by loaded memory
'till one and one are one, Eleven,
So glow, child, glow
I'm heading back home.
10 Die Eier von Satan (02:17)
Eine halbe Tasse Staubzucker
Ein viertel Teelöffel Salz
Eine Messerspitze türkisches Haschisch
Ein halbes Pfund Butter
Ein Teelöffel Vanillenzucker
Ein halbes Pfund Mehl
Einhundertfünfzig Gramm gemahlene Nüsse
Ein wenig extra Staubzucker
... und keine Eier
In eine Schüssel geben
Butter einrühren
Gemahlene Nüsse zugeben und
Den Teig verkneten
Augenballgroße Stücke vom Teig formen
Im Staubzucker wälzen und
Sagt die Zauberwörter
Simsalbimbamba Saladu Saladim
Auf ein gefettetes Backblech legen und
Bei zweihundert Grad für fünfzehn Minuten backen
und KEINE EIER
Bei zweihundert Grad für fünfzehn Minuten backen
und Keine Eier ..
(in english) THE EGGS OF SATAN
Half a cup of dust sugar
One quarter teaspoon of salt
One pinch Turkish hashish
One half pound of butter
One teaspoon of vanilla sugar
One half pound of flour
150 gram ground nuts
A little extra dust sugar
... and no eggs
Into a bowl give
Butters stir in
Ground nuts admit and
Knead the dough
Eye Ball size piece of the dough molds
In the dust sugar rolls and
Say the magic word
Abracadabra
On a greased griddle puts and
With two hundred degrees bake for fifteen minutes
and NO EGGS
With two hundred degrees bake for fifteen minutes
and no eggs..
(in accurate english)
The Eggs of Satan
Half a cup of powdered sugar
One quarter teaspoon of salt
One pinch Turkish hashish
One half pound of butter
One teaspoon of vanilla sugar
One half pound of flour
150 grams ground nuts
A little extra powdered sugar
... and no eggs
Place in a bowl
Stir in butters
Mix in ground nuts and
Knead the dough
Mold into Eye Ball sized balls
Roll in the powdered sugar and
Say the magic word
Abracadabra
Put on a greased griddle and
Bake for fifteen minutes at two hundred degrees
and NO EGGS
Bake for fifteen minutes at two hundred degrees
and no eggs..
11 Pushit (09:56)
I saw the gap again today
While you were begging me to stay
Take care not to make me enter
If I do we both may disappear
Know that I will choke until I swallow
Choke this infant here before me
What is this but my reflection?
Who am I to judge or strike you down?
But you're
Pushing, shoving; pushing, shoving
Pushing and shoving me; pushing and shoving me
And you still love me; you still love me
Push it on me; you shit on me
Rest your trigger on my finger
Bang my head upon the fault line
You better take care not to make me enter
Cause if I do we both may disappear
But you're
Pushing, shoving; pushing, shoving
Pushing me and shoving me; pushing and shoving me
And you still love me; you still love me
Push it on me; you shit on me
And you're pushing me and shoving me
Slipping back into the gap again
I'm alive when you're touching me
Alive when you're shoving me down
But I'd trade it all
For just a little
Piece of mind
Pushit on me...Pushit on me...
You're pushing, shoving, scrambling
To keep my feet down on the ground
I am somewhere I don't want to be, here
Push me somewhere I don't want to be
Put me somewhere I don't want to be
Seeing someplace I don't want to see
Never wanna see that place again
I saw the gap again today
While you were begging me to stay
Managed to push myself away,
And you, as well, my dear
If, when I say I may fade like a sigh if I stay,
You minimize my movement anyway,
I must persuade you another way
Pushing and shoving and pushit on me...
There's no love in fear
Staring down the hole again
Your hands are on my back again
Survival is my only friend
Terrified of what may come
Remember I will always love you
As I claw your fucking throat away
But it will end no other way
It will end no other way
13 Ænema (06:40)
Some say the end is near
Some say we'll see armageddon soon
I certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this
Bullshit, three ring
Circus sideshow of
Freaks here in this
Hopeless fucking
Hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is
To flush it all away
Any fucking time
Any fucking day
Learn to swim
See you down in
Arizona Bay
Fret for your figure
And fret for your latte
And fret for your lawsuit
And fret for your hairpiece
And fret for your Prozac
And fret for your pilot
And fret for your contract
And fret for your car
It's a bullshit, three ring
Circus sideshow of
Freaks here in this
Hopeless fucking
Hole we call L.A.
The only way to fix it is
To flush it all away
Any fucking time
Any fucking day
Learn to swim
See you down in
Arizona Bay
Some say a comet will fall from the sky
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves
Followed by fault lines that cannot sit still
Followed by millions of dumb-founded dipshits
Some say the end is near
Some say we'll see armageddon soon
I certainly hope we will
I sure could use a vacation from this
Stupid shit
Silly shit
Stupid shit
One great big festering neon distraction
I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied
Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim...
Mom's gonna fix it all soon
Mom's coming 'round to put it back the way it oughta be
Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim...
Fuck L. Ron Hubbard
And fuck all his clones
Fuck all these gun-toting
Hip gangster wanna-bes
Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim...
Fuck retro anything
Fuck your tattoos
Fuck all you junkies
And fuck your short memory
Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim...
Fuck smiley glad-hands with hidden agendas
Fuck these dysfunctional, insecure actresses
Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim... Learn to swim...
I'm praying for rain
I'm praying for tidal waves
I wanna see the ground give way
I wanna watch it all go down
Mom, please flush it all away
I wanna see it go right in and down
I wanna watch it go right in
Watch you flush it all away
Yeah, time to bring it down again
Yeah, don't just call a pessimist
Try and read between the lines
And I can't imagine why you wouldn't
Welcome any change, my friend
I wanna see it come down
Plug it down
Suck it down
Flush it down
15 Third Eye (13:47)
See I think drugs have done good things for us, I really do.
And if you don't believe that drugs have done good things for us, do me a favor.
Go home tonight, take all your albums, all your tapes, and all your cds and burn them.
'Cause you know what, the musicians who made all that great music that has enhanced your lives throughout the years?
Real fucking high on drugs.
Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed into a slow vibration. That we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather.
It's not a war on drugs, it's a war on personal freedom is what it is, OK? Keep that in mind at all times, thank you.
Dreaming of that face again.
It's bright and blue and shimmering.
Grinning wide and
Comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes.
On my back and tumbling
Down that hole and back again
Rising up and wiping the
Webs and the dew from my withered eye.
In..Out..In..Out..In..Out
A child's rhyme stuck in my head
It said that life is but a dream
I've spent so many years in question
To find I've known this all along.
So good to see you
I've missed you so much.
So glad it's over.
I've missed you so much
Came out to watch you play.
Why are you running away?
Came out to watch you play.
Why are you running?
Shroud-ing all the ground around me
Is this holy crow above me.
Black as holes within a memory
And blue as our new second sun.
I stick my hand into his shadow
To pull the pieces from the sand.
Which I attempt to reassemble
To see just who I might have been.
I do not recognize the vessel,
But the eyes seem so familiar.
Like phosphorescent desert buttons
Singing one familiar song....
So good to see you.
I've missed you so much,
So glad it's over.
I've missed you so much.
Came out to watch you play.
Why are you running away?
Came out to watch you play.
Why are you running away?
Prying open my third eye.(x4)
So good to see you once again.
I thought that you were hiding.
You thought that I had run away.
Chasing the tail of a dogma
Opened my eye
Opened my eye
Opened my eye....and there we were.
So good to see you once again.
I thought that you were hiding from me.
And you thought that I had run away.
Chasing the trail of smoke and reason.
Prying open my third eye.(x10)
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Other reviews
By Er Ribelle
Ænima is without a doubt one of the best albums released in the last twenty years.
Tool never disappoint, truly never: from record releases to music videos, from album booklets to concerts.
By Nando77
"Stinkfist is perhaps the most listenable track on the album, a mix of anger and desperation and a masterpiece."
"The album changes the way of understanding music (does that sound insignificant to you?)."
By lucarandi80
Ænima is a miracle of about eighty minutes with no weak points or decline in style.
Thirteen minutes of pure psychedelic rock, hallucinogenic and otherworldly sounds that we cannot simply define as music.
By JimmyFuma
This album is not a moment; it’s a whole life, and it is precisely this that elevates it to a colossal, unrepeatable, and magical work.
His name is Maynard James Keenan, and this album is his powerful and violent declaration of intent, unequivocal and glaring.
