The genre that eventually captured my interest was rap: it had repetitive patterns with strange sounds, most of it sounded like it came from some sort of machine, didn't have any guitar solos, and the vocals sounded like actual men (I don't mean this in a derogatory way, only that they sounded like real voices). Instead, I liked music from videogames with strange bleepy sounds and started making my own strange bleepy sounds at age 11 with BASIC programs on a Commodore 16 computer. I didn't like any of it, particularly the singing parts they all sounded like someone was squeezing their balls into pulp. In the second half of 80s I was in my early teens and everyone listened either to hard rock and hair metal (Kiss, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, stuff like that), or pop music (NKOTB mostly). I was first and foremost a computer geek. (Only four albums? No room for Kate Bush, Japan, any reggae, Philip Glass, swing.)īeing brutally honest, I would have to choose four records that, even thought they might not be good, they are the ones that got me into the music I like now.įirst, some context.
I encountered them at roughly the same time, and all three continue to blow my minds today. Anyway, this was the first electronic dance album I heard, otherwise it's a three-way tie between this and Leftism by Leftfield, and Sheet One by Plastikman. Hawkwind fans, funnily enough, but I like the connection.
Underworld - Second Toughest at the Infants From them I progressed to Gong (my first introduction to jazz!), and ultimately psy trance, Shpongle and other mad shit. Also, psychedelic as fuck! A misspent youth ensued. Heavy and atmospheric, and Lemmy obviously bribed the sound guy to push his bass to the front of the mix. Boy, that Oberheim and Minimoog sound good! Someone else lent me Tangerine Dream around the same time (I was branching out) and that was the start of my love affair with synths. Adrenaline all the way!Īfter Motorhead I was checking out anything noisy, and Rush soon popped up. From there it was a short skip and jump to The Damned (Machine Gun Etiquette) and other great stuff. The Iron Fist tour was also the first concert I ever went to. If these aren't good enough reasons to listen to Ænima, then just trust the simple fact that Tool deliver the hard rock goods every time the band chooses to release something.I was just the right age (12) when an older neighbour played it to me. But those listening closely will discover a special treat: a catalyst encouraging them to discover a world around them to which they otherwise might have been blind. Topics such as the philosophies of Bill Hicks (eloquently eulogized in the packaging), evolution and genetics, and false martyrdom will fly over the heads of casual listeners. There is no compromise from any member of the band, with each of them discovering the dynamics of his respective instrument and pushing the physical capabilities to the limit. Long exploratory passages are unleashed with amazing precision, detail, and clarity, which only complements the aggressive, abrasive shorter pieces on the album. Sonically, the band has never sounded tighter. Make no mistake, this isn't your father's rock record. However, Tool are conceptually innovative with every minute detail of their art, which sets them apart from most bands.
For their second release, Tool explore the progressive rock territory previously forged by such bands as King Crimson.