Lateralus
by Tool
  • Record Label: Volcano
  • Release Date: May 15, 2001
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 641 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 580 out of 641
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 641
  3. Negative: 58 out of 641

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. AmeyD.
    Mar 9, 2008
    9
    Absolute genius of an album! Lateralus pushes the boundaries of music and the person listening to it. I bought the album couple of months after its release in India, coz of its unavailibility, and still end up listening to tracks such as lateralus and reflection over and over again.
  2. DylanL.
    Jan 28, 2009
    10
    Does anyone else find it hilarious that there are basically only three different rating's on the hundreds of votes cast for this album? 10's, 9's, and 0's...Well, might as well just say the obvious, Do yourself a favor and put away your petty self-reaffirming text ammo, listen to this album...it's good for you.
  3. Dogstarr
    Mar 19, 2009
    10
    Easily the best Tool album, though Aenima is a very close second. I think this is the only really classic heavy record of the 21st Century. I'm as much a music snob as most music critics and a musician, unlike many pro critics I like heavy rock (most of them primarily like jazz and automatically drop scores on heavy stuff before even hearing it, or so it seems). I'd go as far as Easily the best Tool album, though Aenima is a very close second. I think this is the only really classic heavy record of the 21st Century. I'm as much a music snob as most music critics and a musician, unlike many pro critics I like heavy rock (most of them primarily like jazz and automatically drop scores on heavy stuff before even hearing it, or so it seems). I'd go as far as to say this is the best heavy rock album since Physical Graffiti, which makes sense, as Tool's easily the best and most imitated heavy rock band since Zeppelin. If you like heavy rock/metal/industrial, this is an absolute must have in your collection, but you probably already have it if you like heavy stuff.… Expand
  4. AlexT.
    Oct 19, 2001
    10
    If you can listen to this album all the way through and feel nothing, you have no soul.
  5. JasonD.
    Oct 5, 2001
    10
    i really enjoy this musical masterpiece!Maynard and company have done it again.I think this is the best album of2001.
  6. DamonM.
    May 24, 2001
    9
    Intense musical phrasing and lyrical genious drip from Lateralus - it's as patient as Tool's fans needed to be - this album does NOT disappoint.
  7. MattM.
    Jun 25, 2001
    10
    If you don't like it at first, just listen to it as you try to go to sleep. You'll start liking it more soon.
  8. AndrewE.
    Jul 16, 2001
    10
    Very well put together music. A stir of emotion that gets you thinking in every song. Some are even disturbing, like FAAIP DE OIAD. It was crazy, but genius within itself as the entire CD is. If you look up the latin names of songs you can understand the whole meaning to the CD itself. Which is a good thing to have a relation between the song name and what is in the song. ^_^
  9. MarcD.
    Jul 30, 2001
    10
    Better than their other albums combined. Beautiful.
  10. misterT
    Jul 6, 2001
    10
    anyone who gave this album anything less than a 7 must have only listened to it once. maybe a dj and some creed vocals would get better reviews?
  11. DaveN.
    Aug 23, 2001
    10
    Pure musical wizardry and meditational fodder, this is another leap forward for Tool. This band consistently demonstrates a hardcore effort to push beyond the expected, and further challenge their listeners to understand music of greater complexity than the norm. Does anyone else hear Queensryche in this album? ... not that their is anything wrong with that.
  12. ScottZ.
    Jan 22, 2002
    10
    Good Music
  13. DavidT.
    Jan 24, 2002
    10
    un-fucking-believable
  14. JaepilS.
    Jan 7, 2002
    10
    No need to ramble on about how I feel about this masterpiece. Just buy it or you're missing a chance to develop a possible brand new view on music. If Dream Theater is on the light side(heaven), Tool and this CD is right from the core of hell.
  15. BarrR.
    Apr 29, 2002
    10
    Auditory brilliance. Nothing short of a masterpiece. I have spun this disk a few thousand times and it still manages to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.
  16. RamiF.
    May 14, 2002
    10
    You dont find such an album in stores everyday. This is a master artwork by maynard. Its more than just songs. Its more like a religion or a science.
  17. WayneB.
    Aug 29, 2002
    10
    I'm not a Tool fan. Never heard any of Tool's songs. I'm a rapidly-approaching-middle-age Pink Floyd fan and I had given up all hope for the future of music. But I kept reading good things about Lateralus and one day on an impulse I clicked the "Add to cart" button. Oh my God. This is amazing stuff. It's on the fringe of my style of music but I recognize good I'm not a Tool fan. Never heard any of Tool's songs. I'm a rapidly-approaching-middle-age Pink Floyd fan and I had given up all hope for the future of music. But I kept reading good things about Lateralus and one day on an impulse I clicked the "Add to cart" button. Oh my God. This is amazing stuff. It's on the fringe of my style of music but I recognize good songwriting and skilled, polished, high-precision musicianship when I hear it, and regardless of the genre that's what earns my highest admiration. Beyond that the quality of the recording takes it to the next level. These guys are smart enough to keep their hands off the dynamic range compression knob that has sucked the life out of just about every CD released in the past ten years. Listen to it on a big stereo system with big speakers and a big subwoofer, and let the bass (on tracks 9, 11, 12 especially) kick your ass!… Expand
  18. RobertN.
    Aug 9, 2002
    10
    With Pink Floyd and TOOL CDs, what more could one ask for . . . perhaps to be enlightened (the next best thing).
  19. DavidO.
    Nov 22, 2003
    10
    This album is a cornerstone of musical creation, an absolutely marvolouse journey of mesmeric brillience. Its poetry.
  20. EricH
    Jan 18, 2003
    10
    Lateralus ranks among the greatest albums in the history of Rock music. I'm speaking along the lines of Dark Side of the Moon, Houses of the Holy, Paranoid, Master of Puppets, OK Computer, Dirt, .... Where the hell is Dream Theater these days anyways? I wonder if they ever cleaned all of the hornets out of their heads? Guitar solos are so so very a thing of the past. And thank god Lateralus ranks among the greatest albums in the history of Rock music. I'm speaking along the lines of Dark Side of the Moon, Houses of the Holy, Paranoid, Master of Puppets, OK Computer, Dirt, .... Where the hell is Dream Theater these days anyways? I wonder if they ever cleaned all of the hornets out of their heads? Guitar solos are so so very a thing of the past. And thank god for that! I hope and pray that Tool will have a legacy of many good albums to appreciate over the years like the greats before them.… Expand
  21. jimbob
    Dec 15, 2003
    10
    very good can't see much improvement
  22. FatachiW
    Oct 22, 2003
    8
    Let's face it: Tool is one of the weirdest bands on the face of the earth, but, boy, do they know how to rock! (much better than most of the bands on the radio these days......)
  23. JoelG
    Dec 2, 2003
    10
    it puts you in a difrent state of mind
  24. carriec
    Oct 5, 2003
    10
    It is amazing! They are true geniuses.. the elaboration is flawless and perfect
  25. JasonE
    Mar 12, 2003
    10
    Tool's ludicrous amount of talent has led them to get better and better with each album. Danny Carey is simply the best drummer. Period. He is by no means a rhythm section, and has given rise to the wonderful concept of "lead drummer". They have surpassed all of their influences and predecessors to rise to the forefront of music as the most talented and intellectaully stimulating Tool's ludicrous amount of talent has led them to get better and better with each album. Danny Carey is simply the best drummer. Period. He is by no means a rhythm section, and has given rise to the wonderful concept of "lead drummer". They have surpassed all of their influences and predecessors to rise to the forefront of music as the most talented and intellectaully stimulating musiciansof the modern era. Dream Theater, while possessing a great deal of technical proficiency, is far too concerned with the Berkley-induced obsession with "the 95th note" to produce music with anything like Tool's feeling. In short, they have no souls. … Expand
  26. AdamS
    Apr 9, 2003
    10
    Tool is all that is significant, only seen with patience...it's an inner process, listen with the ears of an artist...you shall become one as well...sure of course it's not some blarring blahahhahaaaaaaaaa kind of band, where's the musical head within that..where's the real face behind that now..? c'mon now, pull your head out of your asses if you can't even Tool is all that is significant, only seen with patience...it's an inner process, listen with the ears of an artist...you shall become one as well...sure of course it's not some blarring blahahhahaaaaaaaaa kind of band, where's the musical head within that..where's the real face behind that now..? c'mon now, pull your head out of your asses if you can't even recognize Tool as one of the most phenominal bands alive yet...no other will match them, sure you could say that about every lame ass band such as P.O.D. but who's going to be remembered... … Expand
  27. jareds
    Jul 21, 2003
    10
    pitchfork sounds like he's wanking sludge! whens the next album? where are they going to go with it? i want it!
  28. GaborA
    Feb 20, 2004
    10
    Some critics say that tool is some kind of dark angry death march. The truth is that Tool has dug so far down into the darkness that they have errupted from the otherside into the brightest of light. Lateralus reaches that deepest part of your brain where the light lives but at the same time never stops pleasing the ears. Perfect in every way.
  29. Chimp
    May 22, 2004
    10
    Lateralus is the type of album that could redifine music if corporations like clear channel didnt exist. No, you wont see these songs on TRL. But this is truly original music, geniusly composed. The reviewers say that tool decides to do "show-offy" displays instead of how it should be done. No, it is not show-offy. Yes, the basic minimum of all the songs is about 6 minutes, and the album Lateralus is the type of album that could redifine music if corporations like clear channel didnt exist. No, you wont see these songs on TRL. But this is truly original music, geniusly composed. The reviewers say that tool decides to do "show-offy" displays instead of how it should be done. No, it is not show-offy. Yes, the basic minimum of all the songs is about 6 minutes, and the album is 1 minute short of the maximum for a disc, compared to other groups that will do 30-40 minute albums. The basic message is: Tool does not conform to society in any way. … Expand
  30. StevieJ
    Jun 12, 2004
    10
    absolutley mindblowingly awesome
Page:

Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Best Album of 2001
1
#1 Most Discussed Album of 2001
6
#6 Most Shared Album of 2001

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
  1. Wall of Sound
    83
    A 79-minute sonic sojourn of hard rock delivered with an arty, fusion-conscious sensibility rooted most obviously from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Jane's Addiction.
    Read full review
  2. Q Magazine
    80
    Ultimately, it's Tool's experimental, borderline progressive, edge that proves most rewarding. [Aug 2001, p.141]
  3. Dot Music
    90
    It is dense, it is long, it is complicated. It is also a magnificent triumph of artistry over blind anger.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »