TOOL - More than just a band?

Is TOOL more than just a band? What I mean by that question is that examining some of their lyrics,
it seems that they know more than your 'average' band. Perhaps they're communicating some important messages to the masses? have a look:


[Lateralus]

"Black then white are, all i see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
Lets me see."

When we just see the world as black and white, we're still considered infants. Until we see other colors (other ways, change our perception), we'll be able to see.

"As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend."

From the following site(www.kundalini-tantra.com...):

"As above, so below. Yes, this is an important part of this message. As above is the greater force. You can't fight that force. The message here is extremely important. As above greater force is useable if it matches the so below (your) force you CAN control. Get those forces out of synchronization or out of frequency and you WILL suffer. Get them in synchronization and in the appropriate frequency and you WILL gain."


"swing on the spiral of
our divinity and
still be a humannnnnnnnn
With my feet upon the ground I move myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in. I feel it move across my skin.I'm reaching up and reaching out.
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me. what ever will bewilder me. And following our will and wind we may
just go where no one's been. We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.Spiral out."


Again, they talk about the Spiral of divinity, could be refering to the Kundalini spiral? The part about reaching out for random, and with our will we may go where no one's been, reminds me of the law of attraction. Embrace the randomness, but with your will(what you want), you might be able to go where no one's been.


I wanted to mention 'Faaip De Oiad' however other bands did songs about area 51, (hangar 18 by Megadeth), so that's not very exclusive to TOOL.


[Parabola]
"We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment,
We are Choosing to be here, right now. Hold on, stay inside...
his hoooooly realityy, this hoooooly experience.
Choosing to be here in...
This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal all this pain is an illusion."

Could this be refering to us being souls that come back to Earth time and again, but we don't remember who or what came before... We are choosing to be here (soul is here to experience something, to learn something) This body holding me (body being just a vessel for the soul)



[Vicarious]
"'cause I need to watch things die
From a distance
Vicariously I, live while the whole world dies
You all need it too, don't lie"

These words from Vicarious point out the indifference and ignorance of mainly North Americans about what goes on in the world.


[Rosetta Stoned]
10 to 2 AM, X, Yogi '___', and a box of Krispy Kremes, in my "need to know" pose, just outside of Area 51. Contemplating the whole "chosen people" thingy when a flaming stealth banana split the sky like one would hope but never really expect to see in a place like this.Then the X-Files being, looking like some kind of blue-green Jackie Chan with Isabella Rossellini lips and breath that reeked of vanilla Chig Champa, did a slow-mo Matrix descent out of the butt end of the banana vessel and hovered above my bug-eyes,E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose.
` He said, "You are the Chosen One, the One who will deliver the message. A message of hope for those who choose to hear it and a warning for those who do not."

Talking again about E.T. bringing a message of hope, and warns of those who do not.




"Intension"

"[These lyrics are played backwards:]

(Work hard, Stay in school, Listen to your mother, your father is right/rising/right, son... Jesus loves
you... Work hard, Stay in school, Listen to your mother, your father is right/rising/right son...)"

Need I say more here? they're backwards, we're all brainwashed, but at least these are good messages...



"Pure as we begin.
Pure as we come in.
Pure as we begin.
Ruled by will alone.
Pure as we begin.
Move by will alone.
Leave as we come in.
Pure as light return to one."

Are they saying perhaps we're all energy? Beings of light from the same source? Pure when we come in, and pure when we leave, all returning to the same place.



[Right In Two]

"Angels on the sideline,
Puzzled and amused.
Why did Father give these humans free will?
Now they're all confused.

Don't these talking monkeys know that
Eden has enough to go around?
Plenty in this holy garden, silly monkeys,
Where there's one you're bound to divide it.
Right in two."

Don't us talking monkeys know the universe is abundant and can be enough for everyone? Why are we fighting over pieces of the ground?

"Angels on the sideline,
Baffled and confused.
Father blessed them all with reason.
And this is what they choose.
And this is what they choose..."

We have free will and reason, to know what is right and wrong, but this is what we choose...

"Monkey killing monkey killing monkey
Over pieces of the ground.

Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven conscious of his fleeting time here."

Those lines speak for themselves

[AEnema]
"Some say a comet will fall from the sky.
Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.
Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.
Followed by millions of dumbfounded dip#s.
Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.

Mom's gonna fix it all soon.
Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to beeeeeeeee.
(Learn to swim. 8x)"

Hmmm, a prediction about armageddon? Could this be caused by the moon? (mom's is gonna fix it all soon) Luna? The moon does affect our waves, however, a comet crashing into Earth would also create a tidelwave, and I sure know how to swim....

[Merkaba]
"Our body is light, we are immortal.
Our body is love, we are eternal.
Eternal..

Omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, without judgment."

We're all one, connected, powerful, loving, without judgement, beings of light.

Source (www.azlyrics.com...)


So as you can see, (or not), it looks like yes, they're a band, but they're more than a band. The way the guitar, bass, and drums flow together with the lyrics, makes this group special. I ask you, do you think this group is here to 'enlighten' us? or is this just a really good marketing ploy? For one, I will always remain a fan, and my view that they are here to spread some important messages to the masses.

yes, i've heard their music. they are definitely, religious. and have a twisted point of view of chirstianity. At one time I said to my friend that I thought they were devil worshipers. what do you think about that? otherwise, they could just be doing it to shock people with the strong lyrics.

I used to think TOOL was mysterious and had ulterior meanings in their songs. I saw an interview with them and they're just nerdy normal guys. I think Maynard is just heavily influenced by drugs while he writes his songs. I've heard people "prying open their third eye" on peyote and mushrooms and I'm sure that's exactly where he draws his inspiration from.

The first 3 tools albums.. Amazing and I'm not even into that stuff.

Is TOOL more than just a band? What I mean by that question is that examining some of their lyrics,
it seems that they know more than your 'average' band. Perhaps they're communicating some important messages to the masses? have a look:

Their a talented band, one of my favorites. But I don't get all the hysteria around the lyrics, yeah they are cool and well written lyrics, but it's not because Tool say that we're immortal that it proves we are immortal. Do you see what I mean?

they are definitely, religious. and have a twisted point of view of chirstianity.

They don't sing about christianity.

. At one time I said to my friend that I thought they were devil worshipers. what do you think about that?

Yeah they are. They sacrifice people to satan and they also eat babies...

EDIT: Rosetta stoned is about a guy that took '___' and he has a hallucination about him being the chosen one of a bunch of aliens that are about to attack the planet. Or something in that vein :p



[edit on 17-10-2007 by DarkSide]

Tool is all about going against those who shape our reality for us, such as the political, religious and educational. Why do they use that almost same quote by Tim Leary? They're all about making you think at a higher level. It's not just the lyrics, it's the melody of the lyrics along with the rest of the band, they all flow.

It's true it does all flow, and some of the band is heavily into the occult (Danny) but it's only music. Go and find any interview with Maynard or Danny or any others in the band. They just like to mess with people. Their main message (according to Maynard) is to get people to think for themselves. That's why they write such strange lyrics and very rarely ever release any linear notes with lyrics. They want people to use their brains and interpret things for themselves. They don't want people to form their views and opinions based on what they or anyone else tells them.

BTW....favorite band of all time.

reply to post by quintar


I would say that b/c their music flows so well is the reason they created such a large fan base in the first place. I'll admit thats why I started listening to them years ago. But the more I listened the more I wondered what the hell they were talking about.

Lets look at the songs just from the aenima first. Lyrics to whole CD , not sure if you can link w/o signing in (free sing in).

Stink Fist:
Blend and balance
Pain and comfort
Deep within you
Till you will not have me any other way.

It's not enough.
I need more.
Nothing seems to satisfy.
I don't want it.
I just need it.
To feel, to breathe, to know I'm alive.

Personally I believe this is about perversion, which in my mind is a sin.

Next song we have their Eulogy.

To ascend you must die.
You must be crucified
For your sins and your lies. [sic]
Goodbye...

Obviously very Antichrist IMO.

The next song is h. I think this song is about the temptation to hate one another.

The snake behind me hisses
What my damage could have been.
My blood before me begs me
Open up my heart again.

And I feel this coming over like a storm again.
Considerately.

Usefool Idiot is the next song on the track. It sums up what their whole message is. We are tools and they are right. Then after this we have 46 & 2... seems to be a cryptic message here but I'm not sure.

My shadow
Change is coming.
Now is my time.
Listen to my muscle memory.
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.
Forty-six and two ahead of me.

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.

To me 46 & 2 speaks about the struggle between evil in humanity but I have no idea what the numbers stand for.

Message to Harry Manback:
This is obviously a personal foe of the band.

Hooker with a Penis:
Another song about perversion and a diluted fan.

Jimmy:
More about the diluted fan.

Balls of Satan:
Pff Idk. some sort of joke I suppose.

The Eggs/Balls of Satan

Half a cup of powdered sugar
One quarter teaspoo salt
One knifetip Turkish hash
Half a pound butter
One teaspoon vanilla-sugar
Half a pound flour
150 g ground nuts
A little extra powdered sugar
... and no eggs

Place in a bowl
Add butter
Add the ground nuts and
Knead the dough

Form eyeball-size pieces from the dough
Roll in the powdered sugar
and say the Magic Words:
"Sim sala bim bamba sala do saladim"

Place on a greased baking pan and
Bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes
...AND NO EGGS

Bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes
...and no eggs.

Push it:
Saw that gap again today
As you were begging me to stay.
Managed to push myself away,
And you, as well.

If, when I say I may fade like a sigh if I stay,
You minimize my movement anyway,
I must persuade you another way.

There's no love in fear.

Staring down the hole again.
Hands upon my back again.
Survival is my only friend.
Terrified of what may come.

This IMO is about an ex gf or love.

Aenema:
Here in this hopeless fking hole we call LA
The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
Any fking time. Any fking day.
Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.

Fret for your figure and
Fret for your latte and
Fret for your hairpiece and
Fret for your lawsuit and
Fret for your prozac and
Fret for your pilot and
Fret for your contract and
Fret for your car.

Ya I agree with you, I think this is a theory about Armageddon but I think it also has to do with mans own fault to create it. It's also about the band being fed up with America and most likely how it is being run.

Third eye:
Prying open my third eye.
So good to see you once again.
I thought that you were hiding.
And you thought that I had run away.
Chasing the tail of dogma.
I opened my eye and there we were.

I would agree here that this is a drug induced song.

To sum it up...
I think Tool creates deep lyrics b/c they are DEEP...
They think deep, they're not sure about what they are saying...
just like you and me, they're not sure whats going on but they have a good idea. The idea that it is evil vs good, alien intervention, crazy perversion, crazy politics, and a failed government. They combine all this into confusing lyrics that create confusion within the listener only making them want to listen more in the hope to decipher these lyrics that can never be de-coded.

Originally posted by quintar
[Rosetta Stoned]
10 to 2 AM, X, Yogi '___', and a box of Krispy Kremes, in my "need to know" pose, just outside of Area 51.

This is purely about a drug experience, they even mention the drug, '___'!!

Your reading way too much into this.
Ive been fortunate enough to see the band play live on 3 occasions now and they refer to drugs throughout all the shows i have been to see. In fact the first time i saw them Maynards opening words to the crowd were "We are TOOL, if you are not on ... you should not be here".
Doesnt get more succint than that.
Doesnt mean that they are not awesome lyricists and musicians because they are and they put on a damn good show.

Long live TOOL. :bnghd: