L'inizio.
"Undertow" è la parola VIA della carriera degli straordinari Tool; poco importa se nel 1992 era già stato pubblicato "Opiate", sta di fatto che i Tool iniziano la loro ascesa al trono del mondo della musica unicamente nel '93 grazie a questo grande CD. Con la propria ascesa la band cambierà per sempre il modo di scrivere, suonare e intepretare la musica: essi distruggeranno le strutture curriculari, allontanando così qualsiasi regola dal loro genere, fonderanno musica e filosofia fino a creare un sìnolo di esse; è il passaggio da un'era ad un altra, ed "Undertow" è l'inizio di tale passaggio.
In "Undertow" troviamo un genere diverso rispetto ad "Ænima" e "Lateralus": esso è un'ambiziosa e claustrofobica unione di metal e psicanalisi degli abissi mentali. Un disco ostile, sinistro, logorante. Ancora i Tool, come è ovvio che sia, non sono all'ultimo stadio della loro pazzesca evoluzione, sono ancora aperti ai generi di musica che li hanno influenzati (come per esempio gli amici Rage Against The Machine, o altri gruppi Metal), anche se già in canzoni come Flood (peraltro magnifica), e "Swamp Song" si nota un discostamento nettissimo da parte di Maynard & co. rispetto alla musica "corrente".
Undertow comprende dei capolavori: "Prison Sex", "Sober" e "Flood", leggermente più aperti al pubblico rispetto ai pezzi di successo che verranno, in particolare le prime due canzoni hanno consegnato a Carey & co. il disco di platino che li ha resi immortali. Ma la grandezza dell'album non la fanno i singoli pezzi, bensì l'unione di essi dall'iniziale "Intolerance" di potenza inaudita all'inquietante ritonello ...this is necessary... della parentesi "Disgustipated" che chiude l'album: "Undertow" è un geniale puzzle formato da 10 particolarissime tessere.
Da sottolineare non solo la voce mostruosamente energica e perfetta per il genere di musica di Maynard, ma anche i soliti pazzeschi effetti di Jones che riesce a creare un atomsfera del tutto surreale, mai come nei Tool accanto alla musica è sottolineata una vera e propria atmosfera, come se fosse importante capire i sentimenti espressi nella canzone.
Se non riuscite ad apprezzare i Tool, e il loro genere di musica vi rappresenta solo un ineffabile sostanza, ebbene "Undertow", appunto più aperto al pubblico, sarà la vostra guida per capire tutta la loro carriera ed anche i lavori più complessi come "Lateralus" e "10.000 Days".
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Intolerance (04:54)
I don't want to be hostile
And I don't want to be dismal
But I don't want to rot in
An apathetic existance
See, I want to believe you
And I wanted to trust you
And I want to have faith to
Put away the dagger
But you lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
And yet I tolerate you
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
And yet I tolerate you
Veil of virtue hung to hide your method
While I smiling and laughing and dance
And sing and praise your glory
Shroud of virtue hung to mask your stigma
As I smile and laugh and dance
And sing your glory
While you
Lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
How can I tolerate you?
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
How can I tolerate?
Our guilt, our blame
I've been far too sympathetic
Our blood, our fault
I've been far too sympathetic
I am not innocent
You are not innocent
No one is innocent
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
(crescendo)
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
You lie, cheat and steal
I will no longer tolerate you
Even if I must go down beside you
I must go down beside you
No one is innocent
02 Prison Sex (04:56)
It took so long to remember just what happened.
I was so young and vestal then,
You know it hurt me,
But I'm breathing so I guess I'm still alive
Even if signs seem to tell me otherwise.
I've got my hands bound,
And my head down, and my eyes closed,
My throat's wide open.
I do unto others what has been done to me
Do unto others what has been done to you
I'm treading water,
I need to sleep a while.
My lamb and martyr,
You look so precious.
Won't you, won't you come a bit closer,
Close enough so I can smell you.
I need you to feel this,
I can't stand to burn too long.
Released in sodomy.
For one sweet moment I am whole.
Do unto you now what has been done to me.
Do unto you now what has been done...
You're breathing so I guess you're still alive
Even if signs seem to tell me otherwise.
Won't you, wont you come just a bit closer,
Close enough so I can smell you.
I need you to feel this.
I need this to make me whole.
Release in this sodomy.
For I am your witness that
Blood and flesh can be trusted.
I am your witness that
Blood and flesh can be trusted
And only this one holy medium brings me piece of mind.
Got your hands bound, your head down,
Your eyes closed.
You look so precious now.
I have found some kind of temporary sanity in this
Shit blood and cum on my hands.
I've come round full circle.
My lamb and martyr, this will be over soon.
You look so precious...
You look so precious...
You look so precious...
You look so precious, now...
You look so precious...
03 Sober (05:07)
There's a shadow just behind me
Shrouding every step I take
Making every promise empty
Pointing every finger at me
Waiting like a stalking butler
Who upon the finger rests
Murder now, the path called "must we"
Just because the son has come
Jesus, won't you fucking whistle
Something but the past and done?
Jesus, won't you fucking whistle
Something but the past and done?
Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start this over
And why can't we drink forever?
I just want to start this over
I am just a worthless liar
I am just an imbecile
I will only complicate you
Trust in me and fall as well
I will find a center in you
I will chew it up and leave
I will work to elevate you
Just enough to bring you down
Mother Mary, won't you whisper?
Something but what's past and done
Mother Mary, won't you whisper?
Something but the past and done
Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start this over
And why can't we sleep forever?
I just want to start this over
Why?
I am just a worthless liar
I am just an imbecile
I will only complicate you
Trust in me and fall as well
I will find a center in you
I will chew it up and leave
Trust me
Trust me
Trust me
Trust me
Trust me
Why can't we not be sober?
I just want to start things over
And why can't we sleep forever?
I just want to start this over
Why?
I want what I want
I want what I want
I want what I want
I want what I want
04 Bottom (07:15)
Compassion is broken now
My will is eroded now
Desire is broken now
And it makes me feel ugly
I'm on my knees and burning
My piss and moans are fueling
That set my head on fire
So smell my soul that's burning
I'm broken
Looking up to see the enemy
And I have swallowed the poison you're feeding me
But I survive on the poison you're feeding me
And it's leaving me
Guilt fed
Hatred fed
Weakness fed
It makes me feel ugly
On my knees and burning
My piss and moans are fueling
That set my head on fire
I'm dead inside
Shit adds up [repeat 4x]
At the bottom
If I let you, you would make me destroy myself
In order to survive you
I must first survive myself
I can sink no further
And I cannot forgive you
There's no choice but to confront you
To engage you
To erase you
I've gone to great lengths to expand my threshold of pain
I will use my mistakes against you
There's no other choice
Shameless now
Nameless now
Nothing now
No one now
But my soul must be iron
Cause my fear is naked
I'm naked and fearless
And my fear is naked
Dead inside [repeat 4x]
Nameless now
Shameless now
Nothing now
No one now
Shit adds up [repeat 4x]
As you see my naked now
Fearless now
Naked now
Fearless now
Shit adds up [repeat 3x]
It leaves me
Dead inside [repeat 4x]
Hatred keeps me alive
Loneliness keeps me alive
Weakness keeps me alive
Guilt keeps me alive
At the bottom
05 Crawl Away (05:30)
Crawled away from me.
Slipped away from me.
I tried to keep ahold,
But there was nothing I could say.
Slid away from me
Crept away from me
Tried to keep you down
But there was nothing I could say.
What you try to say
Is you don't wanna play.
What you want and what you need
Don't mean that much to me.
I can see your back is turning.
If I could I'd stick the knife in.
You crawled away from me.
Slipped away from me.
I tried to keep ahold,
But there was nothing I could say.
Slid away from me
Crept away from me
I tried to keep you down
But there was nothing I could say.
What you tried to say
Is you don't wanna play.
But what you want and what you need
Don't mean that much to me.
I can see your back is turning.
If I could I'd stick the knife in.
This is love.
This is love,
This is my love for you,(x5)
This is my love.
Say you won't go.
Say,
Get up.
Get up.
Say.
Get up,
Get up,
Get up,
Now!
What you try to say
Is you don't wanna play.
But what you want and what you need
Don't mean a fuck to me.
I can see your back is turning.
If I could I'd stick the knife in.
06 Swamp Song (05:32)
My warning meant nothing
You're dancing in quicksand
Why don't you watch where you're wandering?
Why don't you watch where you're stumbling?
You're wading knee deep and going in
You're wading knee deep and going in
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a stupid
Belligerent fucker
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a dumb-ass
Belligerent fucker
I hope it sucks you down
Down
Down
Down
My warning meant nothing
You're dancing in quicksand
Why don't you watch where you're wandering?
Why don't you watch where you're stumbling?
You're wading knee deep and going in
And you may never come back again
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a stupid
Belligerent fucker
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a dumb-ass
Belligerent fucker
I hope it sucks you down
My warning meant nothing
You're dancing in quicksand
Why don't you watch where you're wandering?
Why don't you watch where you're stumbling?
You're wading knee deep and going in
And you may never come back again
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a stupid
Belligerent fucker
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a dumb-ass
Belligerent fucker
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks you, fucker
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks you down
Wandering, wandering
No one even invited you in
Still stumbling
Suffocate, suffocate
Why don't you get away?
Wandering around and wandering
No one even invited you in
You're still stumbling
Suffocate, suffocate
Why don't you get out while you can?
No one told you to come
My warning meant nothing
You're dancing in quicksand
Why don't you watch where you're wandering?
Why don't you watch where you're stumbling?
You're wading knee deep and going in
And you may never come back again
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a stupid
Belligerent fucker
This bog is thick and
Easy to get lost in
'Cause you're a dumb-ass
Belligerent fucker
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks you, fucker
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks
I hope it sucks you
07 Undertow (05:22)
Two times now (times now)
I've been struck down by a voice that
Speaks from deep beneath the endless water
It's twice as clear as Heaven
Twice as loud as reason
Deep and rich like silt on a riverbed
And just as never-ending
The current's mouth below me
Opens up around me
Suggests and beckons all while swallowing
Surrounds and drowns and sweeps me away
But I'm so comfortable
Too comfortable
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
You're saturating me
How could I let this bring me back to my knees?
Third time now (time now)
I've been baptized by a voice that
Screams from deep beneath the cold black water
It's half as high as Heaven
Half as clear as reason
Clear and black like silt on a riverbed
Just as never-ending
The current's mouth below me
Opens up around me
Suggests and beckons all while swallowing
Surrounds and drowns and wipes me away
But I'm so comfortable
Too comfortable
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
Shut up
You're saturating me
How could I let this happen?
Why don't you kill me?
I am weak and numb and insignificant
How could I let this bring me back to my knees?
Euphoria
Euphoria
Euphoria
Euphoria
I'm back down
I'm in the undertow
I'm helpless and I'm awake
I'm in the undertow
Awake down beneath the undertow
There doesn't seem to be a way out of the undertow
Euphoria
09 Flood (07:46)
Here comes the water.
All I knew,
All I believed,
Crumbling images,
No longer comfort me.
I scramble to reach higher ground,
Order and sanity,
Something to comfort me.
Take what is mine,
Hold what is mine,
Suffocate what is mine,
Bury what's mine.
Soon the water will come
And claim what is mine.
I must leave it behind,
And climb to a new place now.
This ground is not the rock I thought it to be.
Thought I was high,
Thought I was free.
Thought I was there
Divine destiny.
I was wrong.
This changes everything.
Running away,
Running away,
I'm running away,
Running away,
I'm running away,
Running away,
I'm running away,
Running away.
I take what is mine,
Hold what is mine,
Suffocate what is mine,
Bury what's mine.
Soon the water will come
And claim what is mine.
I must leave it behind,
And climb to a new place.
Water's rising up on me.
The water is rising up on me.
Thought the sun would come deliver me,
But the truth has come to punish me instead.
Grounds break down right under me.
Cleanse and purge me
In the water.
10 Disgustipated (15:49)
And the angel of the Lord came unto me,
Snatching me up from my
Place of slumber,
And took me on high,
And higher still until we
Moved in the spaces betwixt the air itself.
And he bore me unto a
Vast farmland of our own midwest,
And as we descended cries of
Impending doom rose from the soil.
One thousand, nay, a million
Voices full of fear.
And terror possessed me then.
And I begged,
"Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?"
And the angel said unto me,
"These are the cries of the carrots,
The cries of the carrots.
You see, reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day
And to them it is the holocaust."
And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat
Like the tears of one millions terrified brothers
And roared,
"Hear me now,
I have seen the light,
They have a consciousness,
They have a life,
They have a soul.
Damn you!
Let the rabbits wear glasses,
Save our brothers...can I get an amen?
Can I get a hallelujah? thank you, Jesus.
This is necessary
This is necessary
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on
This is necessary
This is necessary
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life
It was daylight when you woke up in your ditch.
You looked up at your sky.
That made blue be your color.
You had your knife with you there too.
When you stood up there was goo all over your clothes.
Your hands were sticky.
You wiped them on your grass,
So now your color was green.
Oh Lord, why did everything always have
To keep changing like this?
You were already getting nervous again.
Your head hurt and it rang when you stood up.
Your head was almost empty.
It always hurt you when you woke up like this.
You crawled up out of your ditch unto your gravel road
And you began to walk
And waited for the rest of your mind to come back to you.
You could see the car parked far down the road
And you walked toward it.
If God is our father, you thought,
Then Satan must be our cousin.
Why didn't anyone else understand these important things?
When you got to your car,
You tried all the doors,
But they were locked.
It was a red car and it was new.
There was an expensive leather camera case laying on the seat.
Out across your field
You could see two tiny people walking by your woods.
You began to walk towards them.
Now red was your color and of course,
Those little people out there were yours too
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di alex1
Undertow è l'essenza di una catarsi all'inverso che vede, all'orizzonte, non la redenzione ma la completa simbiosi con lo stesso male che ci affligge.
Una spaventosa esplosione avvolgerà tutto questo nel fumo della più tetra esistenza se non lo salverete prima che sia troppo tardi.
Di Skillfactory
Il suono dà l’idea di un sub che ha finito l’ossigeno o a cui è stato tranciato il tubo del respiratore.
Maynard imitava il verso della pecora per accusare l’audience di comportarsi come un gregge.
Di Uomodimerda
Se questo disco fosse un lassativo a quest'ora avrei cagato anche l'anima.
Dopo questo disco il resto vi sembrerà inutile e superfluo.