This album is a real gem. From a band whose frontman runs around onstage often garbed in a dress and womens' hairpieces, you don't expect it, but they manage to pull it off. Both lyrically and musically, this album is a powerful tour-de-force of progressive hard rock. Frontman Maynard James Keenan's voice is heavy and strong, while the post-grunge, hard-rock guitars dredge on ahead of drummer Danny Carey's tight beats. Of course, lyrically, it's not always completely work safe, in fact, it often borders on grotesque (Stinkfist, the opener, is a metaphor that refers to the act of fisting, using it as a springboard to discuss desensitization...and of course, there's the wonderfully titled Hooker With A Penis, great for kids). If you can get past that, the lyrics transcend the vulgar and the essence therein is powerful and deep. It's consistently fantastic in its songwriting and the shifts from hard to soft, heavy to airy, and low bass to full band. This is Tool's best effort, and it's one of the best hard-rock albums ever penned.
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