Review by Saxy S for Tool - Fear Inoculum (2019)

Well… this happened. It wasn’t quite 10,000 Days, but it sure felt like it to longtime fans of this group, which I include myself into that list. 13 years since the last album. TOOL have always taken their time releasing new music, but this was unprecedented. But, the legal disputes that this band found themselves in kept them out of the 2010s almost entirely. And as a result, their music was only just released on streaming platforms within the last month, which must have made the wait feel even longer!

I’ve gone back and reviewed every single studio release in anticipation of this, so if you want to know where I stand on one of my favourite metal groups and their discography, knock yourself out. But going into Fear Inoculum, I had no idea what to expect. I tried my to hinder my anticipation as more information was revealed because... there was no way this could live up to the sky high expectations that the TOOL cult have given it. So here we are. How does it stack up as a metal album in 2019? How does it compare to the rest of the groups music? Was it worth the over decade long wait?

Well… yes and no. For one, I am finally glad to see TOOL back making new music that is as polished and unique for a time where progressive rock and metal seem to be in full nostalgia effect. The bad side is that, despite my best efforts to not do this, TOOL haven’t really evolved that much since 10,000 Days. And as a result, the new album feels… underdeveloped. Not bad by any stretch; TOOL are a competent enough group to never release anything “bad”, just not where it should be.

And before we begin, I have to mention a couple of things. First, that this review will discuss only the tracks on the physical release. Not that the electronic interludes on the digital release are bad, but because they act more as moments of reprieve rather than contributing to the experience.

The other that needs to be abundantly clear to the cult fans that this album must be compared to modern metal albums, not just other TOOL albums. Because (1) the last TOOL album came out in 2006, and (2) the landscape of progressive rock/metal isn’t the same as it was back then either.

So to begin, if Lateralus was the band experimenting with their progressive side, and 10,000 Days was the band attempt at commercializing that sound, then Fear Inoculum is TOOL experimenting with “progressive sludge metal” or “atmospheric sludge metal”. These songs are long; not a single “song” is less than ten minutes. And many of them are built around a handful of different melodic themes and ideas that are woven together to make these songs worth their runtime. “Pneuma” starts with a disjointed guitar riff during the verses, and the chorus consists of long tones, while Danny Carey fills around the drum kit. The later portions of this song combine these two ideas together quite wonderfully.

And now I commit the first act of heresy by comparing TOOL to another band. And the album that I kept comparing this to was Winter, the 2017 masterpiece by English black metal band Fen; an album that at the time I gave a perfect score to and upon revisiting it, I stand by my score. That album was long as well and used brooding quiet sections to compliment the thunderous blast beats and howling vocals. Also as an item to make you, the listener, anticipate the release even more. With this, while many of these songs do manage to pull off dynamic contrast and release exceptionally well, it gets a little tiresome when they all follow the same formula.

Don’t get me wrong, “Invincible” and “Culling Voices” are two fantastic tracks, but especially for the later, when you know what’s coming before you’ve even heard it, that’s a problem. It’s why tracks like “Pneuma” and “7empest” are a little bit more unique, with “7empest” being a heavy metal assault from beginning to end. It does still have some strong dynamics, but nothing like the reprieve of the tempo change during the bridge of “Invincible”.

The title track is a song that could have been cut down to size a little bit, especially during the outro. The song starts off pretty post-metal, before transforming into an odd time signature riff that at least feels like it belongs with the beginning, but the outro just sounds like TOOL and didn’t fit in. The same can be said for “Descending”, a track highlighted by its last seven minutes as a jam session with prominence on Adam Jones guitar solo. I like the melodic stuff, but the chugging riffs just go on way too long. A damn shame because the first half of that track is phenomenal.

Which takes us into the performers themselves. As I said, Adam Jones seems to have much more prominence on this album as a melodic instrument than even before. Just look at “Descending” and “7empest” for that. Danny Carey is killing it on “Pneuma” and “Chocolate Chip Trip”. Justin Chancellor’s bass work is as prominent as ever and everyone complaining about how Maynard’s vocals sound need to stop. He’s 55. His voice has been dipping since Ænima, give him a break.

From a production standpoint, it’s not surprising that on an album that is diving even more into the atmospherics of sludge metal, TOOL is using more electronics and synthesizers on this album. It also wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve been listening to a lot of ambient, spacey, electronic music. Specifically, the Mass Effect: Original Soundtrack. The spacey intros of “Fear Inoculum” and “Culling Voices”, the dank low synth tones that are prominent on the outro of “Descending” and the electronic ostinato on “Chocolate Chip Trip”.

Okay, so what are the band trying to say on this record? Well this album seems to be showing the band at their most fearful/anxious. The critical point is when Maynard becomes personal on “Invincible”. Perhaps a very relevant song for the group, as they were forced into hiatus while they were still at the peak of their popularity, the band worries whether or not their fans will return to them.

“Fear Inoculum” discusses “The Deceiver”, an antagonist character who has brought our protagonist misery and anger, and the protagonist now begins to reject them. “Descending” is the band showing their fearfulness for the future of our planet and how our irreversible damage may cause the downfall of humanity as we know it. “Culling Voices” discusses the echo chambers that we form as individuals (in our own head) or as part of a group, and how constant replies of assurance are inevitably bad for us. And “7empest” is the rejection of the authority figures who tell the people lies to further their own narrative. And when those figures are called out for it, they blame somebody else. How relevant in 2019. With the themes of fear and anxiousness near the front, it makes sense as to why some of these songs feel long: these opinions are not fully formed or realized yet. They need to be refined and cut down to the proverbial meat and potatoes. I think for what the band is trying to say, the lyrics match the songs, even if I don’t like it.

So where are we? TOOL’s Fear Inoculum is a puzzling project. One that requires the attention of the listener to really grasp everything that is going on. That is to say, make sure you’re sober when you listen to this. It’s far too long for its own sake and should have been refined. As a metal album in 2019, it does stack up favourably to whatever the heck that last Slipknot album was, but compared to Saorand Spirit Adrift? Not so much. What about compared to other TOOL albums? It’s certainly a better than Ænima and it will have longer staying power, but compared to Undertow and 10,000 Days it feels like a step down. It’s a good comeback album, but it should have been a lot better.