7empest

[basejumper]

Man I just love the spot at 10:35 where Danny just wails on that cymbal!

[Shed523]

It’s great realizing that a “Tempest” is “a violent storm” then going over the lyrics and finding the interplay between Maynard seemingly directing these lyrics at an individual or specific person while using words relating to nature and the true meaning of the word “Tempest”.

[specialk]

Seriously, starting at 10:30, Danny's drums, Adam's guitar, Justin's Bass immediately following slightly angry Maynard -- its just awesome. Then at about 11:11, we have three incredible musicians going balls-to-the-fuckin'-wall all at the same time. I still get shivers right there. This song could be twice as long and I would still be happy with it. As much as I love all the other songs on the album, 7empest on FI is like Third Eye off of AEnima, its just on a different level.

[rshforgothispw]

Seriously, starting at 10:30, Danny's drums, Adam's guitar, Justin's Bass immediately following slightly angry Maynard -- its just awesome. Then at about 11:11, we have three incredible musicians going balls-to-the-fuckin'-wall all at the same time. I still get shivers right there. This song could be twice as long and I would still be happy with it. As much as I love all the other songs on the album, 7empest on FI is like Third Eye off of AEnima, its just on a different level.

Great way of looking at it. I still go to descending the most - I kind of like saving this song for when I go full album, and it really does finish it off the same way as Third Eye.

[ziggy23]

[tys0n]

7empest cover - 4 minutes 15 seconds

yeah, nah

[Busty McCracken]

Loving the call back to Jerk Off at the 5 minute mark in this. Has a similar tempo and pattern to 3:30 of jerk off without ripping it off. The amount of call backs to their earlier work without ripping themselves off on this album is great.

I'll always welcome new tool coz they never disappoint but if this does end up being their swansong, will be a fitting conclusion to finish it with a song that is so heavily influenced from opiate / undertow days.

[fractal-machine]

[rinkwhopper]

What is the sound he makes right after Maynard says “fuck”? Is it another word?

[tys0n]

Holy shit that's an old meme

[Specter]

What is the sound he makes right after Maynard says “fuck”? Is it another word?

Sounds like an “ugh”.

[tys0n]

eck

[children]

Sounds like a hype crowd is reacting to Maynard saying fuck..lol

[Shed523]

Best song on the album! Fuck! Best song by TOOL.
Holy Fucking Shit! Best song eva!
7empest is just that (at first). This song is just too much at first, a violet storm of music being hurled at you constantly changing direction and intensity!
Then you find yourself within the madness. What a journey following the different instruments through this song each shinning its own light.
Did a little back listening and while knowing those other epic songs like my own hearing them along with 7empest was something. Third Eye, Push It, Lateralus, Reflection, Rosetta Stoned, 10,000 Days, and Now 7empest, Descending, Invincible Fucking Pneuma! How could one not be completely satisfied and still yet to see all this live!
Oh ya that Bass line during the solo is pretty cool!

[children]

Each song is like a whole album in itself with the amount of listenability you get out of it. People don't know what they're missing. It's puzzling that there are people who like Lateralus and 10k days but don't like FI. I get that Tool is not for everyone, but this should be exactly what a Tool fan would like. Even if Maynard's voice isn't to your liking (which I think is crazy because he is singing better than ever) the drums and bass alone are so goddamn good! How could a person who likes Danny Carey's drumming not like that this record?

[gamebounty]

Amazing song. Really fascinated by the lyrics. It seems similar to Jerk Off or something at first: critical energy being directed at some person or thing other than ourselves. This seems to be the interpretation everyone vibes with. I think it works too, but I like to dig deeper. The mischievous little "7" is something I think is interesting. Adam has stated that they use 7 as a symbol for positivity and divinity. So what are they trying to say here? This evil tempest that we are critical of is also divine? That also works. Everything that exists is a facet of one giant holy diamond. The 7 could also be a troll joke, or the entire song could be a call to self destruct. "Fuck keeping it together, fall apart and ruin your life!" Kinda funny. It's also interesting that at the start of the song Maynard is the one trying to stay calm. Is he the tempest?

Ultimately I think the lyrical themes are more akin to Cold and Ugly, or Leary's monologue in Third Eye live. We go around pretending to be calm and acting like we know why we are here, but inside we are scared and wild. Acknowledge and embrace that. We have to if we are going to 7ranscend (had to).

[Boldizar]

The Tempest isn't an evil force. It is a natural reaction to unchecked 'negativity' of sorts. The songs starts out pointed at a generic idol of corruption, docuhbagery, malevolence etc, but the song steps backwards to discuss the meaning of this kind of behavior going on unchecked, personally and inter-personally. The Temptest will be just that. It is. It doesn't judge, it is necessary. And when it comes, it is already too late. You cannot apologize with it and claim that you didn't understand. If anything the Tempest is a net positive force, cleansing.

Mockingbeat seems to tie directly to this idea as well, being a sort of representation of calm aftermath.

[M0G]

Each song is like a whole album in itself with the amount of listenability you get out of it. People don't know what they're missing. It's puzzling that there are people who like Lateralus and 10k days but don't like FI. I get that Tool is not for everyone, but this should be exactly what a Tool fan would like. Even if Maynard's voice isn't to your liking (which I think is crazy because he is singing better than ever) the drums and bass alone are so goddamn good! How could a person who likes Danny Carey's drumming not like that this record?

Excellent post. I am fine with people not liking the album, although some of the scores I have seen given simply are not accurate. The level of song writing and the performance these four give merits at minimum a reasonable score for music written at this level. I understand it may not necessarily be the Tool album some hoped for and I respect that, but seeing people (albeit a minority) give the album a 2, 3, 4..etc...is beyond puzzling it is irresponsible and is quite frankly incorrect. If that bothers anyone I give no fucks.

As for Maynard's voice I agree it is superb. I had issues with the approach he took with Fear Inoculum (song) at first because the approach reminded me of Puscifer and in general I am not a fan but after I pulled emotion out of the equation and listened to the song in analytical way I quickly realized how wrong I had it. Musically that song is fucking fantastic and the approach Maynard took actually fits perfectly.

As for 7empest it is aptly named. This is one epic monster of a song. Unrelenting. Probably Adam's finest moment on guitar with Tool.

I think Tool was damned no matter what with some people. You have a camp that claims rehashed ideas and the album sounding too much like prior albums and then you have a camp that complains that the songs are too long, that there isn't enough Maynard or enough catchy riffs, almost as if they were indeed looking for a part two.

Puzzling indeed

[gamebounty]

The Tempest isn't an evil force. It is a natural reaction to unchecked 'negativity' of sorts. The songs starts out pointed at a generic idol of corruption, docuhbagery, malevolence etc, but the song steps backwards to discuss the meaning of this kind of behavior going on unchecked, personally and inter-personally. The Temptest will be just that. It is. It doesn't judge, it is necessary. And when it comes, it is already too late. You cannot apologize with it and claim that you didn't understand. If anything the Tempest is a net positive force, cleansing.

I like that better than what most people are coming up with. That kind of reminds me of a passage from Kafka on the Shore.

“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. There's no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That's the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.

An you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You'll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.

And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.”

One of my favorite books.

[hellboy]

I agree 7empest sounds just like Sandstorm

[Boldizar]

I agree 7empest sounds just like Sandstorm

[ms2r]

I wanted to do a serious post but that just ruined it. Good.


Anyway. How dark and aggressive 7empest may start the end part of the song is a pretty positive sounding sound.

[children]

The Tempest isn't an evil force. It is a natural reaction to unchecked 'negativity' of sorts. The songs starts out pointed at a generic idol of corruption, docuhbagery, malevolence etc, but the song steps backwards to discuss the meaning of this kind of behavior going on unchecked, personally and inter-personally. The Temptest will be just that. It is. It doesn't judge, it is necessary. And when it comes, it is already too late. You cannot apologize with it and claim that you didn't understand. If anything the Tempest is a net positive force, cleansing.

I like that better than what most people are coming up with. That kind of reminds me of a passage from Kafka on the Shore.

“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. There's no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That's the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.

An you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You'll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.

And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.”

One of my favorite books.

Great post. This actually makes me appreciate the song way more. I am always looking for connections like this to give my imagination more to work with so the music can get me to a place where it becomes more than just a song and becomes something that represents a specific concept or meaning that holds actual truth, like a tool to navigate your life and understand how reality operates.

I have spent a lot of time looking through the website songmeanings.com (and to a lesser extent songfacts.com) to find alternate theories and interpretations of songs and comments like yours are exactly what I look for. Thank you!

[Shed523]

So I was humming the clean intro guitar part the other day but I kept humming a different riff and knew it was on Undertow. So I when back and went through some songs and it was Flood during the verse. Different but definitely similar. A lot of throw backs on FI and I’m loving it!

[ToolFanFromWayBack]

So I was humming the clean intro guitar part the other day but I kept humming a different riff and knew it was on Undertow. So I when back and went through some songs and it was Flood during the verse. Different but definitely similar. A lot of throw backs on FI and I’m loving it!

I have had a few of those moments as well. I hear bits and pieces of past songs sneak in to the current ones. I feel like the innards of the new songs are expansions on themes that were only lightly touched on in their original forms.