Of all of the rock bands that have come and gone through the years, few have developed as much of a reputation for being mysterious and creating deep and complex music with obscure meanings as progressive rock band Tool. Much of their music revolves around sacred geometry and a non-religious form of spirituality and ideas based in the occult. Perhaps the most odd thing about Tool is the extreme loyalty of their fans that remain just as faithful to them no matter how long the time between albums, no matter how much attention they give the audience, no matter the comments they make about the character of their fans. The fans simply love them that much more for it, because Tool is simply like no other well known rock band.
Tool formed in 1991 when singer Maynard James Keenan searched around Los Angeles for musicians that could facilitate making his vision for what a rock band should be a reality. Their music started out fairly simple and straightforward on their debut EP, Opiate, released in 1992. It contained mostly aggressive hard rock songs that expressed complaints Maynard had about social issues, such as suppression of free speech and certain churches turning a blind eye at priests that had abused their power. This style would be continued in their first full length album, Undertow.
By their second album, Ænima, released in 1996, Tool had began flirting with their own beliefs in sacred geometry and spirituality and a much more meticulous approach to songwriting. This is the record that saw Tool becoming a progressive/art rock band rather than simply a hard rock band, their compositions more complex, and their lyrical content more meaningful and introspective. The album deals largely with topics of change and rebirth. According to Steven Caddy, who compiled a very thorough analysis of the meanings of songs from three Tool albums, “The ‘E’ in the Æ glyph is a half joke reference to enema. The relevance comes when you take it as a flushing out of ideas, of up-tight feelings, in preparation for open-mindedness and something new.” Ænima is full of double meanings and metaphors, some of which, the literal meanings a bit inappropriate, but interesting nonetheless. My personal favorite, “Pushit”, may be the most straightforward song on the album, but demonstrates the thought that goes into every detail of the music. According to Caddy, “Pushit is a song that deals with the paradoxical nature of an abusive relationship – that we can truly love someone who treats us so badly, and that in an environment where abuse is the only contact, that it can come to be a kind of cursed loving touch.” The aspect that immediately caught my attention, is that every single instrument contains a push-pull element, usually in the rhythmic pattern of the respective instrument. It all comes together to create something much bigger than the sum of its parts, and makes you feel the subject matter in a way that music rarely does. Another topic addressed in Ænima, is the opening of our “third eye”, in the track appropriately called “Third Eye”. This track is basically about an attempt to achieve enlightenment, to become something more than human, an evolution of oneself. The term “third eye” is often used in reference to the pineal gland, which resides in the center of the human skull, and is often thought to have a spiritual connection, due to its stimulation by both hallucinogens and meditation. Another song with themes of evolution and untapped potential is “Forty-Six & 2”, referring to there being 46 chromosomes in a human, and the idea that we could evolve by adding more to that. The song is particularly dense with different ideas of spirituality and consciousness and concepts developed by Carl Jung, and it is considered one of Tool’s greatest works.
Tool’s next album, Lateralus, released in 2001, further embraced themes of self betterment, introspection, and enlightenment and had a much more positive outlook than previous albums. Right out of the gate, “The Grudge” examines the possible courses of actions that could be taken by a person with a grudge, with many references to The Tree of Life, “a central part of the study of the Byzant Kabbalah, a mystical system that has its roots in Judaism… It can be viewed as a map of the human psyche, and of the workings of creation...” Further into the album is “Schism”, a song dealing with a crumbling relationship, and the necessity of communication to mend the relationship. This is yet another of Tool’s most well known songs and another favorite of mine.
“Lateralus”, “Disposition”, and “Reflection” make up a trilogy of songs that again address ideas of transcendence and evolution, and actually form one massive song that was separated into three sections. According to Caddy, “Lateralus ... uses the golden spiral as the basis of a complex and versatile metaphor for possibility.” The song urges the listener to embrace and reach into the unknown and seek enlightenment. The song itself uses the Fibonacci sequence in a few different ways to form the structure and rhythm of the song, another example of the meticulous nature of Tool’s writing process. “Disposition” acts mostly as a transition piece between “Lateralus” and “Reflection”, and doesn’t have any obvious meaning of its own and is largely open to interpretation. “Reflection” deals with a man who has come to lose faith in his attempts to become enlightened. Just as he begins to concede that he will be nothing more than he is, he makes a revelation as he looks into the moon. Just as the moon does not produce its own light and reflects light from the sun, he himself is too a reflection of something else. “So begins his journey toward the abandonment of self. The Buddhist realisation of enlightenment is achieved in a similar way, (there is also correlation with the New Age notions of collective consciousness).”
One of the things that I find interesting about Tool is that there is such a clear progression of ideas and beliefs that evolve throughout their career. They started out with a very normal view with very little spiritual connotations or implications, that grew into something with a focus on enlightenment and transcendence as if you are watching someone transcend before your very eyes. It’s something very interesting to see, and I would definitely recommend listening to Lateralus for anyone with an interest in transcendentalism.
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Discussion Questions:
1. Do you have any transcendentalist beliefs?
2. Do you think it is possible to reach some form of enlightenment, or is it just something to strive for?
Commented On:
What does "transcending before your very eyes" look like? Are these musicians transcendentalists in the Kantian, Emersonian, or some other sense? Do they really take the pineal gland/3d eye hypothesis seriously? Is music generally a good vehicle for philosophical reflection?
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