| Ænima | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 17, 1996 (1996-09-17) | |||
| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 77:18 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | David Bottrill | |||
| Tool chronology | ||||
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Ænima (/ˈɑːnɪmə/AH-ni-mə)[4] is the second studio album by the Americanrock bandTool. It was released in vinyl format on September 17, 1996, and in compact disc format on October 1, 1996,[5][6][7] throughZoo andVolcano Entertainment. The album was recorded and cut atOcean Way Recording inHollywood and The Hook inNorth Hollywood in 1996.[8] It is the first album by Tool to feature bassistJustin Chancellor, who replaced original bassistPaul D'Amour the year prior. The album was produced by David Bottrill.
The album debuted at No. 2 on theBillboard 200 chart upon its initial release, selling 148,000 copies in its first week.[9] It was certifiedtriple platinum by theRIAA on March 4, 2003.[10] The album appeared on lists of the best albums of 1996 inKerrang![11] andTerrorizer.[12] The track "Ænema" won theGrammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998. In 2003,Ænima was ranked the sixth most influential album of all time byKerrang![13]Rolling Stone listed the album at No. 18 on its list of The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.[14]
Ænima is Tool's first studio album with formerPeach bassistJustin Chancellor.
The titleÆnima is a combination of the words 'anima' (Latin for 'soul' and associated with the ideas of "life force", and aterm often used bypsychologistCarl Jung) and 'enema', the medical procedure involving the injection of fluids into therectum.[15]
Promotional singles were issued, in order of release, for "Stinkfist", "H.", "Ænema" and "Forty-Six & 2" with just the first and third receiving music videos.[16]Several of the songs are shortsegues or interludes that connect to longer songs,[17] pushing the total duration of the CD towards the maximum of around 80 minutes. These segues are "Useful Idiot", "Message to Harry Manback", "Intermission", "Die Eier von Satan", "Cesaro Summability", and "(-) Ions".
The liner notes included referencedissociativeanesthesia andketamine as well asTimothy Leary, "futants",ritual magic, andreligious fundamentalism. The band dedicated the album to comedianBill Hicks, who they felt was going in the same direction as them, and said this album was partly inspired by him.[18] The inside cover displays art featuring a painting of a disabled patient that shows a resemblance to singerMaynard James Keenan and Bill Hicks depicted as a doctor or "healer" with the line, "Another Dead Hero".
BassistPaul D'Amour worked on "H.", as he is credited as a co-songwriter onASCAP's website.[19]
Speculation has surrounded the song "H." The "meaning" of this song has seldom been detailed by the band, as they do not regularly comment on such matters. However, on several occasions, specifically on November 23, 1996, during a show at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Keenan did grant some insight into the meaning of the song. Speaking to the audience, he said, "Any of you ever seen those oldWarner Bros. cartoons? Sometimes there's that one where the guy is trying to make a decision, and he's got anangel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Seems pretty obvious, right? The angel is trying to give him good advice while the devil is trying to get him to do what's bad for him. It's not always that simple, though. A lot of times they're not really angels or devils, but friends giving you advice, looking out for your best interest but not really understanding what's going to be best for you. So it kind of comes down to you. You have to make the decision yourself. This song is called 'H.'" The song was discussed live during a few other shows around this time, one example being on February 23, 1997, when Keenan introduced this song by referring to the shoulder angel and devil, and also said it is about a hurtful yet dependent relationship.[20] In an interview Keenan gave in December 1996, he commented, "My son's name is Devo H. That's all I'll say." It is also of note that the song's working title was "Half Empty", as it was introduced during a mini-tour of California by the band in December 1995.
The track "Useful Idiot" features the sound of the needle skipping at the end of a gramophone record growing louder as the track progresses. The track was set at the end of side 1 of the vinyl versions ofÆnima as a joke to fool those who owned the version. The song (on vinyl) not only ends in alocked groove, which requires manual lifting of the needle to end playback, but also continues on the run-in groove of side 2.
"Message to Harry Manback" features calming piano music and the background noises of seagulls while a profanity-laden message from an answering machine plays. The person who left the message was a visiting Italian friend ofGreen Jellÿ member Gary Helsinger. Helsinger and Keenan were roommates at the time of the incident and Helsinger had earlier ejected the guest from the apartment for eating most of their food and running up an excessive phone bill. The name "Harry Manback" is a reference to a comedy routine by Bill Hicks. A follow-up message from the same guest became "Message to Harry Manback II", found onSalival which features strings instead of piano.
"Hooker with a Penis" refers to a fan who accused the band ofselling out after their first EP.[21][22] "OGT" is taken to stand for "Original Gangster Tool".[23] Keenan whispers in the left channel throughout the song. At 1:41, "consume, be fruitful, and multiply" may be alluding toGenesis, which contains the phrase "be fruitful and multiply" six times.[24] DuringLollapalooza 1997, a version of "Hooker with a Penis" remixed byBilly Howerdel in the form oflounge music played over thepublic address system between sets.[25]
During 1996 concerts, Keenan told audiences that the song "Jimmy" is the sequel to "Prison Sex", and how it is about getting through the abuse.[26] It is preceded by "Intermission", a short organ adaptation of the opening riff of "Jimmy".
The fourth segue is thespoken word track "Die Eier von Satan". It is introduced by a distorted bassline giving way to heavy guitar, starting at the :23 mark and lasting only ten seconds, playing a single chord inDrop C tuning over a reversed drum beat in9
8 meter. The lyrics are performed in German by Marko Fox, bass player forZAUM and SexTapes. He is backed by a sound that resembles ahydraulic press,[27] and crowd cheering and applause that increase in volume as the lyrics are read with increasing ferocity, with the greatest emphasis on the line "Und Keine Eier" ("And no eggs") which is repeated like acatchphrase. These combined effects make the song sound like a militant[28] German rant[29] orNazi rally.[30] While the tone is aggressive, the speaker is merely reciting a recipe for aMexican wedding cookie.[17][30] The song was originally translated by Gudrun Fox. According to Blair McKenzie Blake, the maintainer of Tool's official website, "Die Eier von Satan" originally were cookies that "Marko Fox's grandmother used to bake for him as a child, without using eggs as an ingredient. The substitution for eggs is a magicalincantation from the worm-eaten pages of some molderinggrimoire."[31] This magical incantation ("sim salabim bamba sala do saladim") is taken from the German children's song "Auf einem Baum ein Kuckuck" and popularized byHarry August Jansen.[32] According to the lyrics, the special ingredient besides this "incantation" is "a knife-tip of Turkishhashish". The title is a play ondeviled eggs, translating to "The eggs of Satan" in English[28] or "Theballs of Satan", due to a Germandouble entendre of "Eier". So far the only time it has been performed live in its entirety was on December 19, 1996, at theUniversal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The track has been compared to the work of industrial and experimental artists such asEinstürzende Neubauten,Rammstein andTom Waits.[17][27][33][34]
"Pushit" was titled as a single word to emphasize the ambiguity of the pronunciation in regard to the "s" word (push it on me/push shit on me). An alternate version of "Pushit" was performed live, including anAloke Duttatabla solo, and appears onSalival.[35]
The song "Third Eye" contains samples of comedian Bill Hicks.[36] The title may be a reference to Hicks' assertions thatpsilocybe mushrooms could be used to "squeegee [one's] third eye clean."[37] A goal of the album as a whole was to "open people up in some way and help open their third eye and help them on a path."[38]
"Ænema" makes lyrical references to Bill Hicks' setArizona Bay, in which theSan Andreas Fault collapses, purging the continent of Southern California and the Baja Peninsula which would give Arizona its own oceanfront. This is further illustrated in the lenticular map under the CD tray. The alternate spelling for the song emphasizes the "enema" portion of the combined title also used for the album; in this way, it differentiates the meaning of the song (with California's collapse seen as a 'flushing out' for the country) from the meaning of the album (the "anima" emphasis indicating a spiritual, Jungian focus for the album in its entirety) while retaining the song's placement as the title track, though the differing spelling and pronunciation marks a different approach from other Tool albums that are named directly after songs (Opiate,Undertow,Lateralus andFear Inoculum) or sections of songs (10,000Days).[39][40]
Many regional versions stated the track times for tracks 3 and 4 in reverse. This is noted on all pressings from Australia, UK, and Europe.
The packaging forÆnima was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Recording Package.[41] North American pressings of the album were packaged in a customlenticularjewel case (called a "Multi-Image CD case" in the liner notes) for the cover and interior disc tray. The cover art and other images in the liner notes can be set behind the lenticular "lens" to create an effect of sequential animation. European pressings of the CD featured a standard case, and the insert contained a catalog of sixteen fictional and humorously titled "other albums available by Tool".
The special images used for the lenticular effect are:
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[45] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [46] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[47] |
| Houston Chronicle | [48] |
| Los Angeles Times | [49] |
| Pitchfork | 7.9/10[50] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [51] |
| Spin | 5/10[52] |
| Q | [53] |
| USA Today | [54] |
Upon its release,Ænima was met with generally favorable reviews by mainstream music critics, citing the band's innovation and ambitions within the album's sound. Jon Wiederhorn ofEntertainment Weekly said that it was "one of 1996's strangest and strongest alt-metal records",[47] whileUSA Today'sEdna Gundersen wrote that "Tool moves to the front of the alterna-metal shop on its third and best release".[54]Los Angeles Times writer Sandy Masuo found that the band had successfully incorporated exotic instrumentation andsampling into their "raw, gripping rock" to give it "an even more exhilarating edge".[49]David Fricke ofRolling Stone said that Tool "shove their iron-spike riffing and shock-therapy polemics right up the claustrophobic dead end of so-called alternative metal in the name of a greater metaphysical glory", calling the album "very admirable" and "even a bit impressive".[55] In a retrospective review ofÆnima,AllMusic writer Rob Theakston stated that on the album, "Tool explore theprogressive rock territory previously forged by such bands asKing Crimson. However, Tool are conceptually innovative with every minute detail of their art, which sets them apart from most bands".[8]
Among mixed reviews,Chuck Eddy ofSpin found that while Jones had progressed as a guitarist, Keenan's vocal range remained limited: "[He] only knows how to get intense by turning ugly; his vocals stretch only toward bullying low notes. In his upper register, instead of soaring, he settles for just mumbling blandly".[52]Greg Kot, writing inThe New Rolling Stone Album Guide, found it inferior to later Tool albums: "WithÆnima, the band's ambitions nearly get the best of them. The increasing density of their relentlessly downcast music, augmented by occasional electronic noises, begins to feel ponderous. 'I've been wallowing in my own chaotic insecure delusions,' Maynard James Keenan mutters, and the music indulges him. The claustrophobic production doesn't help."[51]Robert Christgau ofThe Village Voice dismissedÆnima as a "dud".[56]
The album appeared on lists of the best albums of 1996 inKerrang![11] andTerrorizer.[12] The track "Ænema" won theGrammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998. In 2003,Ænima was ranked the 6th most influential album of all time byKerrang![13] In 2006, it placed 14th on a Guitar World readers poll that attempted to find the best 100 guitar albums.[citation needed] In 2014, readers ofRhythm voted it the third greatest drumming album in the history of progressive rock.[57]
All lyrics are written byMaynard James Keenan; all music is composed byAdam Jones,Danny Carey, andJustin Chancellor, unless otherwise noted[58]
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stinkfist" |
| 5:11 |
| 2. | "Eulogy" |
| 8:28 |
| 3. | "H." |
| 6:07 |
| 4. | "Useful Idiot" | 0:38 | |
| 5. | "Forty Six & 2" | 6:04 | |
| 6. | "Message to Harry Manback" | 1:53 | |
| 7. | "Hooker with a Penis" | 4:33 | |
| 8. | "Intermission" | 0:56 | |
| 9. | "jimmy" | 5:24 | |
| 10. | "Die Eier von Satan" (German: "The Eggs of Satan") | 2:17 | |
| 11. | "Pushit" |
| 9:55 |
| 12. | "Cesaro Summability" | 1:26 | |
| 13. | "Ænema" |
| 6:39 |
| 14. | "(-) Ions" | 4:00 | |
| 15. | "Third Eye" | 13:47 | |
| Total length: | 77:18 | ||
Samples
Tool
Additional personnel
Production
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[79] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[80] | 3× Platinum | 300,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[81] | Gold | 7,500‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[82] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[83] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
...from its triple-platinum 1996 release, "Ænima."
..."Die Eier Von Satan" being an interesting attempt at Einstürzende Neubauten-type experimentation, and the lyrics being a recitation in German of a Mexican wedding cookie recipe.
...rhythms of "Die Eier Von Satan," which sounds like a hydraulic press. The song diverges briefly from the usual Tool sound, showing experimentation in an apparent homage to Einstürzende Neubauten, a German prototype to similarly revolutionary music.
..."Die Eier Von Satan, or "The Egg of Satan," which sounds like A militant German speech.
...a German rant on "Die Eier von Satan," ...
Die Eier von Satan from 1996'sAenima sounds like a Nazi pep rally But is really a megaphone recitation of a cookie recipe in German...
"Die Eier Von Satan" and is as hokee lokee as any Tom Waits or Einsterzende Neubaten tip of the ice pick could ever be.
"Pushit" is a chilling bad-love song in which we don't know if the narrator is victim...
"Pushit" was slowed and bent into a somber mood piece...
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| Other songs | |
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