Did you wait as impatiently as I did? Did you gnash your teeth as the months drifted slowly by? Did you put up the dross and settle for the regurgitated, recylcings of the "tried and true" formulaic music of the Pacific Northwest? Another helping of apathy from SoundgardenPearljamAliceinchains? Maybe a Nineinch spin off, (Marilyn Manson Filter)? Tell me how you suffered with your feeble attempts at expanding your musical palate with excursions into white soul, hip-hop, native tongue and combinations thereof. Better to abandon your musical genre altogether than to have to listen to the apathetic meanderings of stagnating artists. But something still wasn't satisfied, was it? That something still gnawed at that festering lesion which drove you to this type of music in the first place. Didn't it? Well the wait is over, children. Clean your ears, scrub your brain of any lingering aural residue and prepare to get in touch with your feminine side. Tool's third album, Aenima, is here.

Aenima is chock-full of signature Tool sounds. From their trademark guitar work, to their rumbling bass lines, to their intricate drumming, all the elements of a great Tool album are there. Oh, did I forget to mention Maynard James Keenan's singing? That's there too. Darker than before and even more disturbing. More disturbing? Yes, more disturbing, because this time around, Tool has better balanced Maynard's vocalizations. You can actually make out what he is trying to say without having to go to a friend for confirmation. Until I went to the Tool website, I only had about 75 percent of the lyrics correct. Maybe I should have stayed ignorant? Too late now. On Aenima, Maynard has been allowed to develop his vocal range. From the slightest hint of whispered admonition, to the sullen scream of rage, it's all there. On their past albums, Opiate and Undertow, Tool was content to layer Maynard's singing into the music, treating it more like an instrument and less the focus. Once you figured out what he was saying, his lyrics couldn't help but be the focus, but again, the deciphering was the hardest part. It is hard not to get caught up in the music of Tool. Aenima is no different.
 
 Not content to simply hook the listener in to a song with a catchy phrase and a repeating chorus, Tool creates multiple hooks for a given song, such as "Eulogy," a fitting tribute to the late Bill Hicks. Eschewing the time-honored tradition of repeating a hook until it's beaten into the listeners head, Tool creates a striking guitar line and then casually abandons it. This in turn is then replaced with a new hook , only to be replaced again, all with fluid ease. At the same time, you must still be paying attention to Maynard's lyrics, which are surprisingly melodic compared to the last two albums. Don't be lulled into complacency. At some point between track 8 and track 9, I began to drift off in my head. Half dozing, half tranced by track 8, track 9, "Jimmy" began with two cardiac paddles to my chest, jerking me off of the floor and completely out of my skin. That was the last time that I let that happen.
 
 So what make this album so timely? Aenima is an album with a concept of actual direction. Of progress taken by a band in order to move forward. From what the lyrics and the CD liner notes suggest, progress by any means. Nothing about Tool suggests the musical apathy that was left over from the grunge movement of the Pacific Northwest. Mind you, the apathetic sentiment in music was important in distancing music from the trivial excess of the eighties. But now that we know that we are all messed up, and what we thought was important isn't, where do we go from there? For Tool, it seems that direction/change is to be sought internally. This need for change is not individual-specific; available for some and not necessary for others, but necessary for us all if we are to progress forward. Aenima serves as a guide for one possible direction.

An intricate album overall, working readily on more than one level. This album will be easier for more people to listen to, widening Tool's recognition for musical and lyrical excellence. Something for everyone.