After their short 6 song debut CD "Opiate", Tool got the exposure they needed to come up with Undertow, my favorite of the four Tool CD's. Definitely rock, Undertow is still a moodier, mellower CD than the thrash and head-banging I usually listen to, but pure and true to fans of the rock genre. Released in 1993, Tool's Undertow was part of the refining process that brought metal back from the grips of the measured and more sorrow-ridden grunge tracks that grew out of the 80's. Melancholy and darker than their later works, with a touch of the de-tuning that Korn brought out of the closet for our metal-listening pleasure, Tool was smack dab in the middle of the 90's rebirth of rock and metal. This is one of my favorites for just kickin back and relaxing, nice background for reading, writing, or hot-tubbing. My favorite song would have to be Sober, which is a little mellower than the rest of the songs but has such a catchy melody that it seems to be the one that sticks in my head the longest. Prison Sex and Intolerance are also catchy, thrumming tunes; while Swamp Song and Flood are the darkest and moodiest of the collection. Surprisingly, the song the CD was titled after, Undertow, is not a favorite. It just seems to lack the life that Maynard James Keenan pumps into the rest of the tracks. Disgustipated seems to have two faces, on some of the comments I have seen it has long drawn out silences, but on my CD it wound out being only one second of silence and that's it; so I really don't have any comments on that particular track. All in all, Tool's Undertow is a piece I consider a "must have" mood CD for those times when you are feeling a bit bleak and depressed, but not ready to give up the fight just yet. Enjoy!
