![]() ![]() ![]() Maynard's like, 'I can't handle you writing and then changing stuff when I'm trying to write lyrics. That's what came out of that - to have that respect for each other about our process. Basically, what we learned, especially between Maynard and I, is that everyone has their own way of working. "The beautiful thing was that - like popping a big zit - once it came out, it healed," he says. Plus, once they arrived at their natural writing dynamic - Keenan adding lyrics and melodies to his bandmates' finished instrumentals - they became even closer. It was such a thing that needed to happen, and it happened and made everything else better."Īs Jones points out, tension is an inevitable part of any collaboration. "That little thing you hate about your brother, you really hate the 12th time it happens. We have an open dialogue, at least I do, and sometimes it's hard to say things like, 'I'm frustrated with you' or 'I'm having a problem with this' or 'I hate your fucking guts.'" He laughs. We're brothers, and sometimes it's really hard to communicate. "We're not throwing punches at each other. "There are four different guys, four different cooks," he says. Eventually, there was a "turning point" during that process, Jones says - a "big confrontation that came out all at once." Jones, Chancellor and Carey are now notorious (and/or revered) for their meticulous jamming - tweaking and jettisoning and reviving and rearranging ideas. The most critical lesson: Not everyone in the band operates at the same pace. ![]() And there were things we learned about each other on that record that are pivotal to this day." "We had a couple records under our belt and touring, so practice makes perfect. "I think it's an excellent observation," Jones says of the idea of Lateralus as a crucial crossroads for the band. Even the visual elements - Jones' unsettling, stop-motion-filled videos, the cosmic-spiritual sleeve art of Alex Grey, the psychedelic live projections - were now immersive and fully intertwined with the sound, creating an entire TOOL universe. With Lateralus, it no longer felt quite accurate to lump them in either category: TOOL has become something singular and uncontainable. Keenan's lyrics had become more subtly philosophical, as the music behind him swelled to a level of intricacy rare in mainstream rock or metal. But looking back at Lateralus two decades later, Jones recognizes this album as a creative turning point: Working with returning producer David Bottrill, they expertly balanced the esoteric and the emotional, the goofy (ambient interlude "Mantra" features the slowed-down sound of Keenan squeezing one of his cats) and the grandiose. That studiousness is a through-line of the TOOL catalog - the connective tissue bonding the primal heaviness of their debut EP, 1992's Opiate, to the psychedelic prog atmospheres of their latest record, 2019's Fear Inoculum. Talking and bullshitting in the rehearsal space, these concepts come up in a very intellectual way - almost like in a classroom - and then we apply them to the music." We love this journey we're all on: the complex things of life, the simple things of life. "Instead of just jamming riffs, there's a lot more thought behind it. ![]() "Those are the kinds of things I really do enjoy about the band," Jones enthuses. "We told Maynard, and he went, 'Oh, my god, I'll write my lyrics like that!'" The singer ultimately built some of his phrases in a syllabic structure, climbing from the first to sixth numbers and back down again. "We started writing - and since we're a very math-based band, we started exploring different themes in that," Jones says. But after the band's friend Ryan, a hotshot firefighter and "amazing intellect," further outlined the sequence's history, they'd burrowed deep down the rabbit hole. It could have just been a trippy observation. It's also inspired many brilliant works of art - including, inadvertently, "Lateralus," a fact that has intrigued listeners endlessly in the years since. Closely linked to the golden ratio, the sequence frequently occurs in nature, like with seashells and flower petals. He's referring specifically to the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern in which each number is the sum of the previous two: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987 and so on. But if that's what someone gets out of it, and it's positive, then great." There are elements of that, but not that complex. "The problem is that sometimes it goes too far, and there are people who think we're wizards - everything, every number we use, has a hidden meaning and a message," the guitarist tells Revolver with a laugh. Pick up TOOL's Lateralus on 2LP picture disc vinyl at Revolver's shop.Īdam Jones is marveling at "Lateralus," the title epic from TOOL's third LP - both its labyrinthine construction and fans' equally intense obsession. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |