It's the late 80's, you're a relatively smart young adult because your dad was a teacher, you got an army grant, you love KISS and you want to put on a wig and sang your songs good, what are you going to do, move to a gimmick city and go to art school on a whim cause you think you might make a career writing lyrics with a slightly interesting twist a little different than the other 50,000 other singers out there, no, a smart guy like that takes the safe route, buckles down and learns a trade and works his way up to manager. That is unless he had a plan...

Y'all might not realize this but by time Tool started Maynard was already 25, 27 by time Opiate was released. I don't know about y'all but by time I was 25 I had already read a ton of stuff, plotted and schemed many a failed schemes. Maybe for a generation hooked on video games and fast food binge watchable television, writing a book probably sounds impossibly difficult to most of y'all, but for someone who grew up in the 70's in a rural town with no video games and strict parents, reading and writing was probably his main source of entertainment.

Impossible!! Where do you even begin trying to plan out a high concept 20 album series? The answer, you don't, just open your history text book and most the work is already done for you, broken up into big bold chapter titles, The Stone Age (Opiate), Neolithic Revolution (Undertow), Ancient History (Ænima), Classical Antiquity (Lateralus), The Middle Ages (10,000 Days), Early Modern Era (Fear Inoculum), etc. And then fill in the spaces with other specific important chapters, Ancient Egypt (Mer De Noms), Ancient Greece (13th Step), and the many wars (eMotive) that shaped ancient Mediterranean and Middle East during the 1st Century BC. And what epic story about human history would be complete without talking about the centuries-long process of Christianization that shaped the world as we know it today, The Apostolic Age (V is for Vagina), The Roman Expansion (Conditions of My Parole), Medieval Christianization (Money Shot), Global Expansion (Existential Reckoning), and of course Christianity's most embarrassing blunder the period of The Salem Witch Trials (Normal Isn't).

20 albums? That's just a guess, but here's the logic. APC will possibly have 2 more albums, the 5th album will be about the late 1800's, the discovery of radio, invention of the airplane, and how those inventions influenced World War 1. A 6th APC album is only logical following the pattern that Mer De Noms was ocean themed, 13th Step was aerial themed, and eMotive was ground themed, repeating that pattern Eat The Elephant was ocean themed, 5th album will be aerial themed, and the 6th album would be ground themed, although I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped at album 5. But I also think it's possible their next release will actually be a double album serving as both album 5 and 6, also covering the invention of the vehicle, thus the 6th being ground themed. Get it, a "perfect circle", the wheel, cars, ok you get it.

Tool's next album will be the grand finale, album 8, covering the invention of Television and how that influenced World War 2.

What happens after that, nobody knows, there's plenty of recent history to cover, the Vietnam War, the hippy era, the moon walk, the birth of the microprocessor, that one time Richard Simmons accidentally flashed his testicles on television. If I had to guess I would say a 6th final Puscifer album would be about the period between the 50's and 70's, covering the birth of rock and roll, the love and peace era, Charles Manson, and modern religious wars. And then perhaps a surprise 9th Tool release, probably an EP, covering the birth of the internet, the war on drugs, nickelodeon moon shoes, the invention of skateboards leading to our evolution to go up and down rather than just back and forth like regular sports, and ending on a cliff hanger mystery of what happens next?

I already know most of you are going to say NO ITS NOT YOUR A SCHIZO, ok you're right, its not, i made this all up, this was dumb, sorry for wasting your time. I now return you back to your normal programming of blatant lazy karma farming and pictures of tool albums on zia store shelves.

PS if I get at least 10 upvotes I'll stop posting forever.

So I originally just listened to their big songs - Sober, Ænema, Vicarious. Those were like the only three songs I listened to. Then, I stopped listening to them. Two years later, I came across them again and found that I really enjoy their music. I just shuffle their songs (I'm ashamed by this) and have never played a full album through for multiple months. I literally just decided to listen to all albums through. I've already started with Undertow. Should I restart with another album and listen to Undertow again? I guess what I'm asking is what order do I listen to their albums??

Easily my favorite song to workout to. They never miss.

Good stuff :) that’s all that’s- that’s the post. Been a fan since I was in middle school and now 17 years later I’m just now listening to it in full. I’m mad and have to blame someone so I blame you bastards

Every time I hear 'Stinkfist' I think to one meme of "Hedwig" from Split (2017) dancing in time to the song. I can't find the edit anywhere, after searching multiple times. Did I hallucinate such a clip, or is it just buried under tother edits?

I can't unhear/unsee it. When I see one, I hear the other. When I hear one, I see tother.

Super sick local crew T I bought years back… can’t find any info on it online or another one like it.

End of the Century, 1984:

DEATH:

Synthetic winds have blown away

Material dust, but this one room

Rebukes the constant violet ray

And dustless sheds a dusty doom.

Wrecked on the outmoded past

Lie North and Hillard, Virgil, Horace,

Shakespeare’s bones are quiet at last.

Dead as Yeats or William Morris.

Have not the inmates earned their rest?

A hundred circles traversed they

Complaining of the classic quest

And, each inevitable day,

Illogically trying to place

A ball within an empty space.

BIRTH:

Every loss is now a gain

For every chance must follow reason.

A crystal palace meets the rain

That falls at its appointed season.

No book disturbs the lucid line

For sun-bronzed scholars tune their thought

To Telepathic Station 9

From which they know just what they ought:

The useful sciences; the arts

Of telesalesmanship and Spanish

As registered in Western parts;

Mental cremation that shall banish

Relics, philosophies and colds –

Mañana-minded ten-year-olds.

THE PHOENIX:

Worlds have died that they may live,

May plume again their fairest feathers

And in their clearest songs may give

Welcome to all spontaneous weathers.

Bacon’s colleague is called Einstein,

Huxley shares Platonic food,

Violet rays are only sunshine

Christened in the modern mood.

In this house if in no other

Past and future may agree,

Each herself, but each the other

In a curious harmony,

Finding both a proper place

In the silken gown’s embrace.

--Eileen Blair

15 years before her future husband would publish his novel, "1984"

A tough time in your life or relationship with someone

What song connected hard with you?

Currently I am a little overwhelmed, doing a college degree I am forced to do stereotypically and socially non existent.

So I listen to The Patient on Lateralus a lot.

It really helps me calm down and even work.

What about you guys?

I posted this before but I have since had him touched up!

Stumbled upon this on the basketball court.

Just wanted to share this poster I got in Seattle in 1998. I have never opened it from the sealed cardboard backing. I have always loved this artwork.

Was shopping at my LRS and saw this on the shelf I had to pick it up.

Theres this thing I've been trying to write for a while now and I've been listening to tools entire discography while doing it.

Nowadays theres a certain vibe I get from each member and each song. From Adam Jones I get the feeling of nostalgia (especially during No Quarter and Descending), I get the feeling of whimsical joy and energy when listening to Danny Careys parts (The openings of fear inoculum and invincible on the pads in particular) and Justins bass parts makes me feel like I'm growing up in some weird way. Maynards singing amplifies and enhances some aspect of each one of these feelings.

I'm trying to get a feel for how other people perceive tools music because its kind of the feeling I'm trying to emulate when writing. I don't intend to publish it because its the first time I'm writing something and I haven't really found a footing on how I'd like to write, but I know for sure what I want the reader to feel when they read.