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Dot Music

It is dense, it is long, it is complicated. It is also a magnificent triumph of artistry over blind anger.

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Wall of Sound

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.

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E! Online

Lateralus takes the L.A. band over the edge with elongated musical movements that simmer under heavy-duty distortion, Middle Eastern percussion and freakish guitar-and-drum time signatures that will make musical mathematicians (i.e., prog-rock dorks) as excited as the kids in the mosh pit.

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Q Magazine

Ultimately, it's Tool's experimental, borderline progressive, edge that proves most rewarding. [Aug 2001, p.141]

Rolling Stone

So much of Tool's third full-length studio album makes so little sense at first. But that is one of Lateralus' most endearing qualities: It rolls out its pleasures and coherence slowly, even stubbornly.

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CDNow

Tool has made an album that's undeniably its own, yet one which adds layers of subtlety, texture, and meaning that move its sound forward into complex new territory.

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Sonicnet

The band continues to rock in the Rush/Metallica eight-minute flexathon tradition: it may impress you with individual lines, but in the end, it excels mainly at musical gymnastics.

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Spin Cycle

"Lateralus" is primarily a collection of puzzling time changes, haunting vocals and beyond-intricate percussive patterns that create a theme rooted more in Eastern philosophy than in rock and roll.

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New Musical Express

They're the metal Radiohead. Though it's definitely a million times more metal than anything the Oxford miserablists have recorded, 'Lateralus' still easily contains the same amount of misery and self-obsessed navel-gazing.

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Alternative Press

Lateralus could have been released four years ago, for all the sonic progression that's contained (or not contained) within its 79 minutes. [Jul 2001, p.57]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Tool's songs are long because the band takes its time, resisting show-offy displays of speed in favor of texture and minimalist mood, borrowing key elements from Far Eastern music and industrial rock along the way.

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Neumu.net

Research has led me to conclude that the correct, and possibly only, way to fully appreciate this album is at extremely high volume on a decent hi-fi whilst massively stoned out of your gourd.

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Entertainment Weekly

The music has a clean, fluid flow but sounds thin-blooded and far less visceral -- freeze-dried -- next to newer, younger Ozzfest regulars, like Staind, who have followed in Tool's wake. [25 May 2001, p.77]

Blender

Lateralus sounds like Black Sabbath jamming with Genesis at the bottom of a coal shaft. [Jun/Jul 2001, p.115]

Pitchfork

Now, with the early new century demanding "opuses," Tool follows suit. The problem is, Tool defines "opus" as taking their "defining element" (wanking sludge) and stretching it out to the maximum digital capacity of a compact disc.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 396 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Joe H gave it a10:
This is the album I keep coming back to over and over and over again! My CD collection would never be complete without this album and to this day, it is the only album to which I continuously listen. Each and every song is a testament to how talented Tool is. Listen to this album!

Dogstarr gave it a10:
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.

Dylan L. gave it a10:
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.

Patrick S. gave it a10:
About as perfect as an album can get. There isn't much on this album that could really change for the better, and it's not often that you can say that about an album.

Cian H gave it a10:
Quite possibly the greatest album ever recorded, it takes time to find the sweet spots but it's oh so worth it. Genius.

Marshall B. gave it a1:
Painfully boring, meandering garbage.

Bryan gave it a10:
Great album..... I have no idea how pitchfork does there reviews (some are good, some are wayyyy off). This is one of the greatest albums I've heard.

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