TOOL Lateralus CD (2001)

There are albums, and then there is Lateralus. Released in 2001, Tool's third full-length is one of those records that entire subcultures built themselves around, the kind of thing people discovered at seventeen and spent the next decade trying to fully decode. The Fibonacci sequence woven into the title track's time signatures is not a rumour. It's in there. So are some of the most technically devastating rhythms ever committed to alternative metal, wrapped in Danny Carey's drumming, which remains genuinely unfair.

Schism, Parabola, The Grudge, Disposition, Reflection, Triad. The tracklist reads like a greatest hits from a band that doesn't do greatest hits. If you grew up on Deftones and Faith No More and followed the thread deeper, this is where it leads. Original 2001 pressing on CD, the physical format for people who understand that some records deserve to exist as objects.

Artist: Tool. Title: Lateralus. Format: CD. Released: 2001. Label: Volcano. Origin: USA. Genre: Progressive metal, alternative metal.

Fans of: A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, Deftones, Faith No More, Helmet, Chevelle