The moment I like a song the most is when there is a change of rhythm, a change of intensity. Tool is one of the best bands to achieve this because they not only have these changes but they also create the atmosphere, they kinda prepare the listener for it. And I said kinda because they use odd tempos, so you’re aware of what is coming next but the exact moment of changing is almost all the times unknown.
Toolgasm is a “place in a Tool song or album where the listener achieves maximum listening pleasure. This word is actually used pretty much in the Tool community, as you can see it is on the webpage of Urban Dictionary. By the way, this might sound like crazy to you, but when listening to music, the human brain releases endorphins, dopamine, and its “pleasure center” is activated, these also happens during a sexual orgasm.
For the rank, I considered only LPs of Tool. Those are Undertow, Ænima, Lateralus, 10 000 Days, and Fear Inoculum. I left the EP and Live album
A suggestion that I would like to make is to listen to the whole songs in order to appreciate the transitions as they are supposed to. It’s cool to hear them by themselves, but the whole song prepares the listener for the transition, and that adds so much value to the experience in my opinion.
Ranked from less to more favorite, here they are:
10 -The Pot This more than a transition is a step in, step in for Adam. Check out how cool it sounds when having just the bass and drums behind and then the energetic guitar steps in. It is so simple but yet it sounds so damn good. This change makes The Pot to be quite different from the other songs.
9 – Ænima At the end, when you think the song goes off, it’s the time you actually have to learn how to swim.
8 – Fear Inoculum What I admire about the opening track of the latest Tool album is that it goes in crescendo the whole song. The intensity grows in every phase and the Toolgasm happens when there’s no room forgoing any further and the guitar solo kicks in.
7 – Pneuma The fan’s favorite track of Fear Inoculum has a guitar riff that repeats in several parts, and there is a lot of things going on, and when I mean a lot of things I mean (video showing the parts). For me, the best part of this one is when you hear that guitar riff after having experienced all the other parts.
6 – Rosetta Stoned How many cool transitions have Rosetta Stoned? A lot! I think this one is the coolest one though.
5 – The Grudge The opening track of the third album, Lateralus is a mix of sounds that makes you “lost” in some way, I remember the first time I listen to it, it was not easy to digest, but in a good way. Then, this transition awakes you and you start to headbang immediately.
4 – Lateralus Out of the list this is the only transition that has a change from loud to a quieter part. This change from heavy and explosive guitars sounds so good that it was unthinkable to leave this one behind.
3 – Jambi This is one of my favorites transitions. This part when Maynard’s voice disappears, there’s an explosion and the synth sounds that come afterward blow my mind every single time.
A quick tip: my neighbor suggested me to use Shine On You Crazy Diamond for sleeping, my kid. Pink Floyd didn’t work, but Jambi relaxes him like no other song. So if you’re desperate father that sleep just a few hours, if any, try this song 😀
2 – Parabol-Parabola Without a doubt, this is the fan’s favorite transition, or surely the most popular one. Parabol makes the job of the opener pretty damn good. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the sky trip friend.
1 – Invincible My favorite transition is located on the song Invincible. I remember having heard this part for the first time, I had goosebumps. Somebody commented on Instagram that this one was kinda basic (or something like that), maybe he’s right, but in transitions, and in music really, sometimes simplicity works best. With no further ado, here it is.
What is yours?