lateralus

Tool's 2001 album. One of the best albums today. The music incorporates higher intellectual themes and odd time signatures (5/4, 7/8, 9/8, 6/8, 6.5/8??) without sounding forced or geeky. for example: in the ninth track (and albums namesake), "Lateralus", Keenan's vocals during the verses coincide with the Fibonacci sequence of numbers by syllable. the fibonacci sequence is a set of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers:0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12. a pattern that often appears in nature.

The number of syllables progress to the sixth step, then back down to the first step; up to the seventh step, and then back to the fourth step:

1 Black
1 Then
2 White are
3 All I see
5 In my infancy
8 Red and yellow then came to be
5 Reaching out to me
3 Lets me see
2 There is
1 So
1 Much
2 More that
3 Beckons me
5 To look through to these
8 Infinite possibilities
13 As below so above and beyond I imagine
8 Drawn outside the lines of reason
5 Push the envelope
3 Watch it bend

Also, the vocals begin at 1 min 37 seconds, or 1.618 percent of a minute. 1.618 is the golden ratio, were the whole (that is, the sum of the two parts) is to the larger part as the larger part is to the smaller part. The golden ration is the theoretically the most pleasing ratio to the human eye. The golden ratio is mainly used to describe spirals, which are mentioned several times in the lyrics.

In addition, track one, The Grudge" references the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the line 'Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen'.

Some song lyrics on this album can be interpreted as references to alchemy, especially due to the fact that the Philosopher's stone often serves as a spiritual metaphor to evolve from a lower state of imperfection and vice (symbolized by the base metals) to a higher state of enlightenment and perfection. References to this spiritual transmutation are:

"Give away the stone. Let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and fated anchor.
Give away the stone. Let the waters kiss and transmutate these leaden grudges into gold." ("The Grudge")
"Black then white are all I see in my infancy, red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me....Lets me see". ("Lateralus")

In addition to all the cerebral crap, the album just plain kicks ass. Drummer Danny Carey exhibits some of the most impressive drum performances I’ve ever heard (listen to track #8, "Ticks and Leeches, the end of track #1, "the Grudge" or the middle of #7 "parabola") and does so without degrading the listening quality of the music, simply to show off his skill.

The albums main, downfall is its annoying ambient, not-real-song tracks (#2, #4, and #12) that I always skip.

In spite of this though, "Lateralus" is probably my favorite album. The songs have enough depth to make getting bored extremely difficult.

Lateralus is awesome.

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