TOOL'S GONNA TOOL // TOOL - Ticks & Leeches // Composer Reaction & Analysis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on TOOL - Ticks & Leeches (Audio)
ORIGINAL VIDEO // • TOOL - Ticks & Leeches...
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0:00 Intro
00:47 Reaction
08:58 Analysis - Some Wild Drumming Ideas
12:57 Analysis - Unexpected, Passionate Vocals
20:23 Analysis - An Awkward Middle Section
24:50 Analysis - It's An Angry Song
26:00 Analysis - Lyrical Dive
36:49 Outro
#reaction #tool #alternativemetal
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As the story goes, Tool finished Lateralus and the record company wouldn't go to release without a heavy, radio friendly hit. There was a lot of back and forth that got worse and worse but the label wouldn't budge. So this song became Tool's angry and affronted response. There's a reason why this song sticks out so much from the rest of the themes and sonic qualities of the Lateralus album. Rumor also has it that Danny recorded it in a single take. It was hard and heavy and fast and COULD have seen radio play, except tool squashed that idea with the long, ambient middle section. I generally think of it as the eye of the storm, one that is emotionally driven and not necessarily musically driven. Hurricane in, calmness, then the most intense part of the hurricane after. To me, its a great period of emotional refrain to consider what got you so angry, then to blast back into it to expend the anger. ALso, there is a lot of very deep in the mix subtle vocal stuff going on that is like an inner monologue of sorts. Ok, on to the drumming. The use of the cymbal and high hats as a sonic expression of the ticks and leeches and other buzzing insects that suck you dry is phenomenal, and before he starts on that, he's fully on toms and bass drums and some snare so that the sudden percussive switch is undeniable. I also love how at 0:57 he stops all drums for a single beat as the introduction for the bass to come in. The song is full of small drum ideas like that which make it incredibly dense and rich. Took me years to hear them all. Vocally, Maynard has 4-5 different modes he operates in within Tool. I think you've only analyzed Tool songs that operate in 1 or 2 of these modes. We need to find ways to get songs like The Pot, Eulogy, The Patient, and Wings for Marie Pt1/2 especially so you can get a better idea of his vocal stylings.
Surely that's more than one paragraph.
Sweet, now I dont have to say all of this. Thanks! Lol.
Maynard, always the master of the double entendre, uses the phrase. “suck me dry” in such a brilliant manner. He’s not only stating that the record company is sucking him dry but also that the record company can suck him dry.
Yes, all this 👆
I think the story behind this song was that the label was upset that Lateralus didn’t have a heavy song on it like previous albums and asked them to do one. So the wrote this on short notice and why Maynard wrote the lyrics the way he did. Basically he was calling the label a bunch of ticks and leeches trying to juice them for music that they weren’t interested in doing but had to.
This song also led Maynard to stop screaming as well as over the years of doing screams in the 90s and this song had nearly blown his vocal cords out. It’s a simple (minus drums) but impressive song to be written on short notice.
To my understanding, the blowout was only temporary. Maynard’s vocal decline in subsequent years was, I would guess, due to a lack of training and cumulative damage from wine consumption more than anything. His performances in the past few years have been very strong, even rivaling some from his golden era.
The slow burn was to make the song non radio friendly. So I’ve been told
yeah this IS one of the only Tool song with vocals like this (Hooker With A Penis comes to mind), and yeah I think he was using a certain microphone that helps distort it as well which I think he used live the very rare times they've performed this song (because it ruins his voice). Like others said this was a direct message to the record execs they were having issues with. the final lyrics "is this what you wanted, is this what you had in mind? cuz this is what you're getting!". they famously had major problems with their label and were in court battles with them for many years which is one of the reasons why there was a 13 year wait between the last 2 albums.
Isolating the vocals of this song show that no added distortion was given, in the studio, by a microphone. In this case, Maynard’s screaming is a phlegmy fry that is indeed quite natural.
And the majority of Tool tracks have screaming from Maynard, though not necessarily fry screams. The Opiate EP, Undertow, and Aenima each showcase Maynard’s screaming/belting ability quite thoroughly (a grungy, alt-rock/alt-metal departure from Tool’s later work that Critical may enjoy, perhaps?)
Danny could've chosen to play something that went with the guitars... but instead he chose VIOLENCE!
The drum beat came first, they wrote to Danny, so..
My favourite Tool song. Great reaction and analysis
Heard DC say on an interview that he don't play the beat, he plays the song. Also love his tribal influences.
I used to think the middle section was ok to listen to but far too long and it kinda messed up the song. But it has grown on me over time.
So, there’s the whole story behind the song that it’s supposedly a diss track to the band’s controlling record company asking for a hit, and they used this middle section to “ruin” the song for the radio. They were having trouble with their record label at the time, but I think this story may be a myth. I also don’t think that’s a very compelling reason for this middle section being here. The reason is deeper than that imo. You need album context to really get what the point of it is.
This album is all about transformation. It’s very spiritual and introspective. It’s about letting go of egoic attachments and becoming attuned with reality and true humanity. This song flies in the face of that. Some people see this as a flaw, and I would too if the song wasn’t self aware. But it is. Tool was mad at someone (it could be for any reason), and they just had to get it out there despite their messaging on the rest of the album. They were showing the raw, real side of themselves in spite of all their lofty spiritual ambitions. And that’s life. Sometimes you’re gonna get mad and blow up; sometimes you’re gonna mess up. I think the middle section is self-aware of that. It’s a moment of reflection. When you’re flying off the handle, take a moment to step back and think about what you’re doing.
After this song, the album goes straight into Lateralus as if nothing just happened, and that’s the most spiritual and transformation focused song on the album. It feels like a disconnect, but it really isn’t. Through self-reflection and letting go of grudges (the theme of the album opener The Grudge), you must quickly move past failures such as petty human rage or you risk derailing your spiritual journey. As strange as it seems, that’s the the message of Ticks and Leeches in the middle of this album, and that’s the message of this quiet moment in the middle of Ticks and Leeches.
That’s also why the song feels inappropriately angsty; because it *is* inappropriate in the sense that it’s inappropriate to express this kind of anger at the wrong time like in this case. You have to accept it as a part of you to be used only for appropriate contexts (like say, when you need to defend someone you love), and continue to grow as a person. That’s also tied to the concept of integrating the shadow, which is heavily explored on their previous album Aenima.
Their first ep is about half an hour and half of it is live as it was cheaper to record. Might be an idea for a live stream? I wouldn't say Maynard was ever a screamer, but he did use to scream more.
At some point I saw an interview where he said screaming every night was easy, singing was easy, but going back and forth was damaging.
I think his screaming was quite loud and physical and recording this blew his voice out for a couple of weeks
There are studio versions of those live songs.
As far as the drums, it's pretty straightforward for tool. A lot of fun to play and some good screams
Yes! Probably my favorite Tool track from a drumming perspective. Just stunning stuff from Danny, moving from one killer rhythmic idea to another with such great pacing and structure in terms of how he uses different parts of the song to characterize different sections of the song. It also works superbly in the context of the album, coming after the more meditative/laid-back duo of Schism and Parabol/Parabola. This was by far the most aggressive track on the album, though even here there's that long slow-burn section that just erupts that cataclysmic climax. It's a shame Tool's not really your jam as there isn't another band that hits for me like they do. Easy top 10 all-time.
As far as the musical justification of the middle section, I see it as an aural depiction of being "sucked dry" by the "ticks & leeches." Tool did have a lot of this kind of "angsty" music on their first album, Undertow, and a bit of it on Aenima. This was probably their last track they ever wrote in this mode.
I cannot fathom calling Parabola laid back lol. It’s probably the hypest song they ever wrote.
@@j.prt.979 Parabola is fairly energetic (though at its most energetic it's just slightly-above-mid-paced), but it's energetic in an uplifting/lighter way compared to T&L.
@@jonathanhenderson9422 That’s not laid back, though.
@@j.prt.979 It's pretty laid back tonally, but it's just semantics at this point. I think you know what I meant.
What was up witz the audio in the light section? Is the song file defect or is the upload?
That’s just what it sounds like on the song.
Supposedly the drum track is one play through.
And at some point, you can hear danny say, "Mother f... er" cause the other band members were trying to make him laugh and mess him up.
26:36 the second diss track from them
If he wants to hear old Maynard, he should listen to their original diss track: Hooker with a Penis
Really need to find a way for you to listen to more from Aenima and Undertow.
I don't see a reaction for The Grudge on this channel. This might be a good introduction for hearing Maynard scream well. Or even The Pot.
In terms of making a dis track that's meant to be a single for win-win...I don't think that's what this single is meant to be. I think the point was to give them a "hard" song thats not radio friendly as the ultimate f-off. Is this what you wanted? Too bad, it's what you're getting.
Personally I love this song. Did from minute one. Sometimes stupid rage is all you got and it's gotta come out.
For a different kind of emotive song from Maynard, I'd suggest Potions from Puscifer. And/or Wings for Marie from 10000 Days.
Please review death grips disappinted feat justin chancellor (tools bassist)
If you want to see a good drum cam example of this song, check out Dan Kews cover
John
Yeah Maynard cries a lot 30:25
Go back to the first EP ,u might find the vocals more to your taste.
Anything after Ænima is filler 26:04
SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT. Maynard ain’t a role model
Song is so boring and the middle just feels so unnecessary. The whole song is cheesy 🤷
Edgy comment innit?
Your threshold for edgy is wildly low. It's okay for other people to have opinions.
@@user-vx5le4te2ccalling this song cheesy is cheesy
well good for you !!!
@@viking_nor oh, but I'm rubber and you're glue, haven't you heard?
Best part about tool fans is how predictable reactions are to someone disliking something by the band.
This song is certainly no hooker.