| Undertow | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by Tool | |||||
| Released | April 6, 1993 | ||||
| Recorded | October - December 1992 at Grand Master Studios, Hollywood, California | ||||
| Genre | Alternative metal Progressive metal |
||||
| Length | 69:13 | ||||
| Label | Zoo Entertainment | ||||
| Producer | Sylvia Massy, Tool | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
|
|||||
| Tool chronology | |||||
|
|||||
| Alternate cover | |||||
The censored artwork edition sold in some U.S. stores
|
|||||
Undertow is Tool's first full-length album, released in 1993. At the time, grunge was at the height of its popularity, and pop punk was slowly beginning to gather mainstream attention. Undertow helped heavy metal remain prominent as a mainstream musical style, and allowed several later bands to break through to the mainstream.[1]. The All Music Guide sees the album's success in the "striking, haunting visuals that complemented the album's nihilistic yet wistful mood"[1] — it was eventually certified double platinum by the RIAA on May 14, 2001.[2] "Undertow" sounds slightly different than later Tool albums, without as many elements of progressive rock and metal, being somewhat closer to heavy metal. It could be described as being slightly indicative of Tool's later "art rock" style, but with traces of grunge and thrash metal.
Contents |
Recording
The album was recorded between October and December 1992 at Grand Master Studios, Hollywood, California, by Sylvia Massy.
Music
- See also: "Sober", "Prison Sex"
Undertow's hidden final track is called "Disgustipated". The track is an early example of the band's interest in musical experimentation,[3] their use of satire[4] and intention to challenge the listeners' preconceived perceptions of music.[4] It was placed at track 69 on the CD — an innovative play with the capabilities of CDs at the time of its release.[5] It begins with a eulogy set to a satirical religious overtone to harvested carrots, followed by an experimental passage, produced by "getting together three pianos and shotguns smashed with sledgehammers and recorded to a six beat"[6] — which eventually fades into chirping of crickets.[4] The chirping continues until the track closes with what has been described as "a brief phone message left by a serial killer who describes, in lurid detail, the bloody plight of this latest victim",[4] but has been in fact credited to "Bill the landord".[7] The idea to record the song originally grew from a night at Palladium in Los Angeles, "during an anti-vivisection show which Tool found themselves part of."[8]
"It was supposed to be an acoustic show with Alice In Chains, Rage Against The Machine and Porno For Pyros. Tool, shall we say, departed from that agenda smashing a multitude of guitars while Keenan discharged a shotgun. After the smoke and plaster dust settled they went and somehow did a studio version of it."[8]
- Henry Rollins' spoken word piece on the album version of "Bottom" is different from the one Maynard James Keenan recites live.
On this track (and on the opening for Intolerance) Adam Jones creates a distinguishing effect by using four Phaser pedals at once - each set to a different rate.
Album art
The album art was designed by Adam Jones.[9] Photos in the liner notes of a nude obese woman and the band members with pins in the sides of their heads generated controversy, resulting in the album being removed from stores such as KMart and Wal-Mart.[10] The band reacted by releasing another version, which depicted a giant bar code on a white background.[10] This version of the album included a note from the band (see right). When the cover is held up to a light, the obese woman inside is seen encircled by it. The message on the photographs of the band members reads "Trust me trust me trust me trust me trust me I just want to start this over say you won't go this is love I'll make weapons out of my imperfections lay back and let me show you another way only this one holy medium brings me peace of mind cleanse and purge me in the water twice as loud as reason euphoria I've been far too sympathetic no one told you to come I hope it sucks you down life feeds on life this is necessarry." This passage has several lyrics from the album's songs.
Track listing
All songs written by Tool unless otherwise noted.
- 1. "Intolerance" – 4:53
- 2. "Prison Sex" – 4:56
- 3. "Sober" - 5:06
- 4. "Bottom" - 7.13 (Tool/Henry Rollins)
- 5. "Crawl Away" - 5:29
- 6. "Swamp Song" - 5:31
- 7. "Undertow" - 5:21 listen
- 8. "4°" - 6:02
- 9. "Flood" - 7:45
- 69. "Disgustipated" - 15:47
"Disgustipated" is track 69 on most pressings in North America. It also appears as track 39, track 10 (mostly in Europe) or as a hidden track following "Flood" on track 9. On certain Japanese imports, "Disgustipated" is track 70, with a short live version of "Flood" as track 71.
Personnel
Additional personnel
- Henry Rollins – Vocals on "Bottom"
- Statik - Programming on "Disgustipated"
- Sylvia Massy - Production of album and mixing on "Disgustipated"
- Ron St. Germain – Mixing [1]
Charting
Albums
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Billboard 200 | #50 |
| 1993 | Top Heatseekers | #1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "Sober" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #13 |
| 1994 | "Prison Sex" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #32 |
| 1994 | "Sober" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | #23 |
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to Undertow is taken from Acclaimedmusic.net.[11]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pause & Play | US | The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums | 1999 | #11 |
| Classic Rock | UK | The 100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time | 2001 | #87 |
| Raw | UK | 90 Essential Albums of the 90s | 1995 | * |
| Visions | Germany | The Best Albums 1991-96 | 1996 | * |
| Raw | UK | Albums of the Year | 1993 | 6 |
(*) designates unordered lists.
Samples
Prison Sex excerpt Image:Tool - Undertow - Prison Sex - sample.ogg
Problems listening to the file? See media help.
Notes
- ^ a b Rob Theakston (July 2, 2001). Undertow Review. AllMusic.com. Retrieved on 2007-05-22. “Just as grunge was reaching its boiling point and radio-friendly punk-pop loomed on the horizon, Tool released Undertow, which firmly reinforced metal's prominence as a musical style [...}. At the forefront of Tool's commercial explosion were striking, haunting visuals that complemented the album's nihilistic yet wistful mood. Drawing equal inspiration from Black Sabbath, alternative theories of science, and Eastern religions, Tool's abrasive sonic assault begins from the opening notes and continues through the final moments of the last composition, an open mockery of organized religion and its incapacity for original thought. With its technical brilliance, musical complexities, and aggressive overtones, Undertow not only paved the way for several bands to break through to the mainstream [...], it also proved that metal could be simultaneously intelligent, emotional, and brutal.”
- ^ British Rock Royalty Add More Awards. RIAA (July 2, 2001). Retrieved on 2007-05-14. “..."Aenima" and "Undertow" are currently double Platinum®...”
- ^ Chuck Eddy (December 1996). Ænima review. Spin. Retrieved on 2007-05-13. “1993's platinum-plus Undertow CD ended with a quarter-hour monstrosity of tedium entitled "Disgustipated" that at least managed to introduce Tool to the Wide World of Sound Effects.”
- ^ a b c d Scott Schalin (November 1993). Sob Story - Tool Will Give You Something To Cry About. BAM. Retrieved on 2007-05-13. “The band also like to run with the listener's preconceived perceptions of music. "Disgustipated," the new album's closer, runs 15-and-a-half minutes long, and begins with a farmer performing a sacrificial ceremony on a bunch of harvested carrots. The cries of the vegetables segue to the sound of chirping crickets [...], chirping their little heads off until their once- comforting stridulations take on a violent, horrifying moan. ("That's what it's all about," Keenan explains. "Seeing things differently, seeing things how you never have before.") The final part of this quiet epic is a brief phone message left by a serial killer who describes, in lurid detail, the bloody plight of this latest victim. [...] The contrast of dark humor with disturbing imagery makes the piece poignantly powerful. "There's a lot of humor in our work that's lost on people," Keenan admits. "Much of what we do is a big, 'Fuck you!' to the industry."”
- ^ Roman Sokal (2001). Tool: Stepping Out From The Shadows. Exclaim!. Retrieved on 2007-05-13. “They play with the capabilities of CDs by adding an extra "hidden" track (still innovative at this time): track 69 is the highly abstract track "Disgustipated."”
- ^ George Tsao (May 1994). TOOL w/ Flaming Lips and Failure (5/18/94) Varsity Arena, Toronto. M.E.A.T. Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-05-13. “The hidden track "69" from Undertow also follows the final song on the album, and has Keenan's evangelical voclas mixed in with the haunting cries of farm animals. The song was set to a satirical religious overtone as Keenan preached about the injustice of the slaughtering of carrots. D'Amour explains it as "getting together three pianos and shotguns smashed with sledgehammers and recorded to a six beat."”
- ^ Online Interview from AOL. AOL (November 1995). Retrieved on 2007-05-13.
- ^ a b Murray Engleheart (February 1997). All the Pistons Firing. TimeOff. Retrieved on 2007-05-13.
- ^ Tool Guitarist Adam Jones is a Master of Many Trades. Guitar School (1994). Retrieved on 2006-04-07.
- ^ a b Griffin, J.R. (1994). TOOL on Videos, Censorship, Art, And Why You Should Never Let A G. Axcess. Retrieved on 2007-05-13. “It came as no surprise when Wal-Mart and KMart refused to carry the album. Rather than miss out on a large audience, Tool decided to censor itself and released a plain white album cover that contained nothing more than a giant bar code, the band's name, and the album tracks.”
- ^ Acclaimedmusic Undertow. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Maynard James Keenan · Adam Jones · Justin Chancellor · Danny Carey Paul D'Amour |
|
| Studio albums | Undertow · Ænima · Lateralus · 10,000 Days |
| Extended plays | Tool · Opiate |
| Box sets | Salival |
| Singles | "Hush" · "Prison Sex" · "Sober" · "Stinkfist" · "Forty-Six & 2" · "Ænema" · "Schism" · "Parabola" · "Lateralus" · "Vicarious" · "The Pot" · "Jambi" |
| Related articles | Discography · List of tours · Lobal Orning · Bill Hicks · Alex Grey |
| Related bands | Puscifer · A Perfect Circle · Tapeworm · Children of the Anachronistic Dynasty · TexA.N.S. · Green Jellÿ · Pigmy Love Circus · Peach · ZAUM |
