The lyrical content really is just from a different perspective than Aenima and Lateralus. It doesn't deal with the Forty-six and Two, Third Eye, Parabola, Lateralus, and Reflection-stylee subject matter. The majority of the album is a lot more political than Maynard has ever been on any one previous album, more specifically about being human today. Especially after the Channel V interview from the Lateralus era and A Perfect Circle's release of eMOTIVe, while I definately am, at the same time I am really not all too surprised...it caught me off guard, but it does kind of make sense. And really, the credit we give Maynard for being super poetic, song for song from album to album, really comes out to about a 50/50 ratio. Most of it from Lateralus, and a fairly decent portion of Aenima. I hadn't really realized that until this album though, because I did find the lyrics to be a bit of a challenge, too.
And really, anybody that enjoyed any of the six songs on Opiate (Especially Hush, Cold & Ugly, and certainly Jerk-off), furthermore Swamp Song, Bottom, Flood, Intolerance, Hooker With a Penis, Ticks and Leeches or dare I say Aenima (c'mon, the motherfucker says "fuck" close to twenty times - not to mention "...circus sideshow of freaks here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A. The only way to fix it is to flush it all away. Any fucking time, any fucking day.") really can't hold the lyrical content against the album too much. A bit maybe, Maynard definately steared further away from that on all but two songs on Lateralus, but I think too many people were expecting the whole album to be Lateralus all over for 80 minutes. Obviously, this is not the case.
In Maynard's defense though, I must say that even though the lyrical content is kind of a step backwards (*cough*THE POT*cough*), it really isn't all too different from anything he has ever written with Tool, at least from a structural standpoint. The words unassociated with the music still read the exact same way all of his lyrics always have. It's all "Maynard Poetry," only a lot less poetic than the two previous albums. Structurally, it's no different.
I guess I know their last four albums wwwwaaaaayyyy to well, to be able to make such comparisons. But you do too, so you know what comparisons I am making.
I think a lot of people aren't digging it because of have too solid of expectations before the album 'came out.' I don't mean to sound like nobody has a good reason to not like it, even amongst other Tool fans, because everyone most certainly has the right to criticize and dislike every aspect of the album. But I think a lot of fans expected 'something' in particular, unlike with Lateralus. That blew everyone away because nobody had any reason to feel that they knew what was coming. This time, a lot of folks did, including myself.
I don't know...it has it's drawbacks, but I certainly don't find it to be any less worthy of being a Tool album than the last two albums.
And really, anybody that enjoyed any of the six songs on Opiate (Especially Hush, Cold & Ugly, and certainly Jerk-off), furthermore Swamp Song, Bottom, Flood, Intolerance, Hooker With a Penis, Ticks and Leeches or dare I say Aenima (c'mon, the motherfucker says "fuck" close to twenty times - not to mention "...circus sideshow of freaks here in this hopeless fucking hole we call L.A. The only way to fix it is to flush it all away. Any fucking time, any fucking day.") really can't hold the lyrical content against the album too much. A bit maybe, Maynard definately steared further away from that on all but two songs on Lateralus, but I think too many people were expecting the whole album to be Lateralus all over for 80 minutes. Obviously, this is not the case.
In Maynard's defense though, I must say that even though the lyrical content is kind of a step backwards (*cough*THE POT*cough*), it really isn't all too different from anything he has ever written with Tool, at least from a structural standpoint. The words unassociated with the music still read the exact same way all of his lyrics always have. It's all "Maynard Poetry," only a lot less poetic than the two previous albums. Structurally, it's no different.
I guess I know their last four albums wwwwaaaaayyyy to well, to be able to make such comparisons. But you do too, so you know what comparisons I am making.
I think a lot of people aren't digging it because of have too solid of expectations before the album 'came out.' I don't mean to sound like nobody has a good reason to not like it, even amongst other Tool fans, because everyone most certainly has the right to criticize and dislike every aspect of the album. But I think a lot of fans expected 'something' in particular, unlike with Lateralus. That blew everyone away because nobody had any reason to feel that they knew what was coming. This time, a lot of folks did, including myself.
I don't know...it has it's drawbacks, but I certainly don't find it to be any less worthy of being a Tool album than the last two albums.
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