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Ænima (pronounced /ˈɑːnɪmə/)[3] is the second studio album by progressive metal band Tool. The album was released on October 1, 1996 in CD format and in vinyl format on September 17, 1996. The album was recorded and cut at Ocean Way, Hollywood, California and The Hook, North Hollywood, California from 1995 to 1996. It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 2003.[4]
[edit] OverviewThe title Ænima, according to guitarist Adam Jones, is a combination of the words 'anima' (Latin for 'soul' associated with the ideas of "life force" and a term often used by psychologist Carl Jung) and 'enema' the medical procedure. [5] Besides being an interesting juxtaposition of words (as with the singer Maynard James Keenan juxtaposition of the words merkin and caduceus in the names of his wine businesses, Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards), it implies an ironic translation of Soul Cleansing, as an enema is an anal cleanser. This translation relates to the song meaning of the song "Third Eye" (listed below), as the third eye awakens the "life force" or anima. It is also related to the entire album as a whole as the lyrical symbolism and mathematical complexity of the music require increased awareness to understand, and are very progressive, a term associated with evolution. Another fan theory is that it relates to Ægypt, a novel recommended by the band to fans.[6] Music videos were made for "Stinkfist" and "Ænema". Promotional singles were issued for "H.", "Eulogy", and "Forty-Six & 2".[7] "Ænema" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998.[8] Several of the songs are short segues or interludes that connect to longer songs,[9] 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". Themes of the album include Egyptian mythology in a seven-pointed star symbolizing Babylon, and sacred geometry in dividing the planet into grids related to chromosomes. The band dedicated the album to the late Bill Hicks (a comedian who the band felt was going in the same direction as them) and claimed this album to be partly inspired by him. [6] The inside cover displays art featuring a painting of a medical patient with a third eye and Bill Hicks depicted as a doctor or "healer" with the line, "Another Dead Hero". Lines from Bill Hicks' standup set, "One Good Drug Story" are sampled before the song "Third Eye" and the title track "Ænema" makes lyrical references to Bill Hicks' set Arizona Bay, which is about the San Andreas fault collapsing. The title track's lyrics suggest the only way to fix L.A. is to flush it all away and advises to "Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona Bay", which is a name made up by Hicks for a theoretical bay created if the San Andreas fault collapsed, leaving parts of Arizona on the coast. The song lyrics suggest a desire for the collapse to "flush" away California, along with all of it's associations with L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology, Hollywood, heroin junkies, and gang violence. The inside jewel case underneath the c.d. shows a picture of the west coast of the United States. With the "Multi-Image" lenticular design of the jewel case, as the case is moved up and down it shows alternate images, one with the San Andreas fault connected, another with only island remnants left after its collapse. [edit] Track informationDemo versions of the songs "Pushit", "Stinkfist", "Ænema", and "Eulogy" were recorded with Paul D'Amour on bass, before he left the band. These appeared online in early 2007. Danny Carey labeled L. Ron Hubbard as the subject of "Eulogy".[10] However, Maynard has also said that his lyrics are always interpretations of the music, and it's therefore important to find your own meaning to songs [11]. There has also been speculation that the lyrics could have referred to Bill Hicks, to whom the band had a close friendship [12], and also to whom much of the album is dedicated, in artwork and quotes on the song "Third Eye". 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 things. However on several occasions, specifically on November 23, 1996 during a show at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Maynard does grant some insight into the meaning of the song. Speaking to the audience he says, "Any of you ever seen those old Warner Bros. cartoons? Sometimes there's that one where the guy is trying to make a decision and he's got an angel 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 Maynard introduced this song by referring to the shoulder angel and devil, and also said it's about a hurtful yet dependent relationship.[13] In an interview Keenan gave in December of 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. In the book, "Teachings of Don Juan, a Yaqui Way of Knowledge", the author refers to a character named H. Keenan. "Hooker with a Penis" refers to a fan who accused the band of selling out after their first EP.[14][15] "OGT" is taken to stand for "Original Gangster Tool".[16] Keenan whispers in the left channel throughout the song. At 1:41, "consume, be fruitful, and multiply" may be alluding to Genesis, which contains the phrase "be fruitful and multiply" six times.[17] During Lollapalooza 1997, a version of "Hooker with a Penis" remixed by Billy Howerdel in the form of lounge music played over the public address system between sets.[18] The segue "Die Eier von Satan" has a heavy industrial guitar played over a reversed drum beat with an unusual, irregular time signature. The lyrical component of the song is in German, performed by Marko Fox, a member of ZAUM. He is backed by a sound that resembles a hydraulic press,[19] and crowd cheering and applause that increase in volume as the lyrics are read with increasing ferocity. These combined effects make the song sound like a militant[20] German rant[21] or Nazi rally.[22] While the sound and the word "Satan" in the title may suggest to listeners that the lyrics feature aggressive or even violent content, the speaker is merely reciting a cookie recipe,[22] for hashish or Mexican cookies.[9] The song was originally translated by Gudrun Fox. According to Blair McKenzie Blake, the maintainer of the official Tool 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 magical incantation from the worm-eaten pages of some moldering grimoire."[23] This magical incantation ("sim salabim bam ba saladu saladim") is taken from the German children's song "Auf einem Baum ein Kuckuck saß".[24] According to the lyrics, the special ingredient besides this "incantation" is actually "a knife-tip of Turkish hashish". The title literally translates to "The Eggs of Satan"[20] or "The Balls of Satan," due to a German double entendre of "Eier", which means "eggs" and also serves as a slang word for "testicles". The experimentation in this song has been compared to that of Einstürzende Neubauten.[9][19][25] [26] A slow version of 'Pushit' was performed live and appears on Salival.[27] The song "Third Eye" contains samples of comedian Bill Hicks.[28] The title may be a reference to Hicks' assertions that psilocybe mushrooms could be used to "squeegee [one's] third eye clean."[29] The third eye is a metaphysical concept that implies the awakening of the spiritual self, through the activation of the chakras which initiates the kundalini awakening to do with evolution of the human brain.[30] 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."[31] [edit] Album artworkThe packaging for Ænima was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.[32] North American pressings of the CD were packaged in a custom lenticular jewel 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 the covers of fictional Tool releases. In addition, there are no lyrics in the liner notes. The special images used for the lenticular effect are:
[edit] ReceptionÆnima appeared on several lists of the best albums of 1996,[36] including that of Kerrang![37] and Terrorizer.[38] [edit] Track listingAll songs written by Keenan/Jones/Chancellor/Carey, except where indicated. Although four songs were worked on before Paul D'Amour had left, he is not listed in the liner notes.[39]
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Additional staff
[edit] Charting[edit] Album
[edit] Singles
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
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