Tool's Lateralus album.
It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest musical journeys of the twenty-first century.
The Grudge
Eon Blue Apocalypse
The Patient
Mantra
Schism
Parabol
Parabola
Ticks and Leeches
Lateralus
Disposition
Reflection
Triad
Faaip De Oiad
The album starts out with eight seconds of silence. When you put on an album, you expect to immediately hear music. You've got to wait for the disk to spin, or the needle to drop, or the tape to start rolling, but then you expect to hear music. Maybe a dim introductory chorus, but music nonetheless. Not so, with Lateralus. Eight whole seconds of nothing, save for a high pitched whine. A noise, described by some to be the workings of an elevator, others say it is the engine of a buzzsaw, like the sawblade of eyes printed on the cover of the album. These introductory eight seconds create suspense. My first thoughts were anxious. "Why isn't it playing? Is something wrong? There's something wrong with the speakers." Suspense indeed.
And then the music starts. There's no initial build-up, no introductory chord or two, just a sudden pounding, a slightly off-rhythm (in 10/8, for those who care) that assaults you with feeling. Danny's drums pound the time into your eardrums, while the fuzzy distortion of Adam's guitar gives you two notes, over and over again, providing a cruel backdrop for the story about to begin. The cold precision of Justin's bass, way up high where "in-the-pocket" bass players never go, etches away the ever-present dustiness of the guitar, paving the way for the moment (0:32) when Adam's guitar is the only thing heard, a calm before the storm. Danny and Justin come back in, and in the background there is another noise, similar to the mechanical whine, but more of a whooshing sound, as if one were speeding towards a destination. Fifty-six seconds into the song, the whooshing sound grows louder and louder, as another person joins the fray, the organized chaos of anger. Maynard James Keenan's voice comes in, "Wear the grudge like a crown...", not out in front, begging for attention like most bands, but prominent and in the mix, level with the rest. He uses his instrument the same as the others in the band, an equal part. He delivers his prose with an cold, cruel accuracy, adding emphasis while still remaining calculated and cold. He finishes his words, "Unable to forgive the scarlet letterman", and the band executes a powerful crescendo, Adam's guitar grows louder as he strums more and more furiously; Danny's cymbals crash and clatter amidst the powerful kick drum, increasing its speed while still remaining rhythmic, as it descends, anticlimactically, with Justin's melodic interlude.
More to come.