I'm not impressed. Yes, I am a party pooper.
You've been able to clearly tell since Aenima that Tool no longer works together. The band writes the music and then MJK writes lyrics over it. The result is way too much forced-ness, IMHO... the music is way too overcomplicated for what it's trying to do. Also, there's been no evolution, at all. This sounds like Lateralus part 2. I frankly don't care if they use some Autechre-esque beats in a song, it sounds more like a gimmick than a musical step forward. All this after 5 listens.
Hearing MJK sing is always a treat since he is the best male singer I know of. But at the same time, this album is leaving me to desire A Perfect Circle writing a glorious masterpiece so I can have my cake and eat it too.
So, I guess I'll have to wait another 5 years for a good Tool album... but then again, maybe Adam said it best -- I no longer smoke pot, so maybe I'm missing something because of that. Who knows?
