My Tool Top 10: #3 Third Eye

I’ve been a little busy of late, so my Tool Top 10 has been on the backburner, however now that things are settling down, it’s time to work towards the top 3! I don’t think my top 3 will come as a surprise to many of you, though perhaps the order may. Anyway, number three is fittingly Third Eye.

There were plenty of eye opening moments for me on Aenima. As a rock and metal fan who’s musical experience didn’t range much past Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Faith No More and Guns n’ Roses, Third Eye was a song that revealed a world of progressive music that previously I hadn’t heard. It’s a long winding track that shows a range of musical dynamics, and one that after first listen left me thinking “what the fuck is this?”. Aenima was for me an album that took a while to grow on me, and once I’d embraced this song, I had embraced the album, and at the same time understood what Tool were about.

Musically it’s a strong one – Danny and Adam both stretch their legs in the final stanza of the song, and Maynard’s vocals are some of his finest. It’s a great live track as well, you need only listen to Salival to hear Tool play it at their peak.