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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
If you’re wondering whether ‘Fear Inoculum’ was worth the wait, then the answer is yes. If you’re wondering whether it’ll touch your heart, soul and spirt, the answer is also so.
100
An album that pushes and challenges its creators and its audience in new ways, the finer details of which will probably take another 13 years to fully unwrap and appreciate.
100
A modern masterpiece, Fear Inoculum is a welcome addition that further develops and progresses the already legendary discography of Tool. The record is a journey, with each song ending so far from where it started, often concluding in a manner that begs the question, how did we get here?
91
Fear Inoculum lives up to its daunting expectations with songs that showcase Tool in peak performance as musicians and compositional arrangers.
90
Considering the long gap between albums, there was a lingering fear that they couldn't live up to their own hype or legacy. Fortunately, Tool managed to improve and perfect their sound even further, resulting in one of the strongest statements in their catalog.
90
Keenan was accurate to say that Fear…. would require patience to ingest, being a massive, compelling piece of music that unfolds beautifully and balances Tool’s unique style with plenty of rewarding new elements. Any fears that they would not live up to their past can be abated; Fear Inoculum is truly groundbreaking and one of the best albums of the decade.
90
Ultimately, Fear Inoculum is a record that will never lose its potency; it'll be passed down from this generation to the next, and the generation after that. And, crucially, the Tool back catalogue retains its prestige and indispensable greatness.
83
All the hallmarks of the band's last two albums — 2001's Lateralus and 2006's 10,000 Days — are revisited and reinvented.
80
Fear Inoculum is a legacy album that shows the band are not some rock relic but undisputed masters of metallic churn.
80
Fear Inoculum represents the best of what Tool are capable of doing in 2019, the very tip-top version of themselves. They didn’t phone it in. It’s focused, it’s grand, and it was worth the wait.
75
Fear Inoculum is a massive, sprawling opus of record that transports the listener to realms previously unimagined—exactly what you’d want in a Tool album, especially after waiting this long.
70
Fear Inoculum already feels like an event—It's the kind of grand statement that will equally delight and confound, where Tool allows themselves to highlight their technical prowess with uncompromising integrity. Though the lengthy tracks convey great character and complexity, it's best to experience its ambient soundscapes and strapping guitars with a full, uninterrupted listen.
70
Tool's Fear Inoculum meets nearly every expectation admirers could have and ranks as a worthwhile extension of the band's legacy.
70
A formal masterpiece that should stand the test of time — either as a defining record of its era, or a monumental relic of an art form that had its day.
70
Musically, Tool have taken the best of Lateralus's dynamism and the heaviness of 10,000 Days to explore the middle ground with great length on Fear Inoculum.
60
The majority of Fear Inoculum’s songs are more or less interchangeable, achieving the same overall effect in slightly different ways. And like the interminable wait for the album itself (and this review of it), virtually every song takes too damn long to get to where it’s going.
60
If Fear Inoculum is your first taste of Tool then you may well be very happy with this album. But if you’re more familiar with what they’re capable of then it’s hard to not feel at least a bit disappointed after waiting 13 years for it.
60
If nothing else, the band deserves credit for releasing an album as challenging and incrementally rewarding as this.
54
The prog metal band’s fifth album is exactly what you’d expect from a project over a decade in the making: a more mature, sometimes exciting collection that feels both overworked and undercooked.
40
Tool’s comeback album Fear Inoculum is insufficient not only by the immaculate standards of the band’s past work, but by the standards of rock and metal music at large.
TOOL IS ONLINE.
No matter what the consensus is for this album, having an iconic band or artist from the past make a grand return to music is not something every fan gets to witness in a lifetime. In an era where music has evolved into streaming platforms and music demographics have changed, Tool chose to return, to warm people's hearts and fulfill a promise that's been 13 years overdue.
So, as a fan of several subgenres of metal and a new Tool fan, I was DEFINITELY looking forward to some ... read more
No matter what the consensus is for this album, having an iconic band or artist from the past make a grand return to music is not something every fan gets to witness in a lifetime. In an era where music has evolved into streaming platforms and music demographics have changed, Tool chose to return, to warm people's hearts and fulfill a promise that's been 13 years overdue.
So, as a fan of several subgenres of metal and a new Tool fan, I was DEFINITELY looking forward to some ... read more
IT TOOK 13 YEARS TO MAKE!
IT'S ALL RELATED TO THE NUMBER SEVEN!
IT CURES CANCER AND REVERSES THE DAMAGE OF AIDS!
THIS ISN'T AN ALBUM, THIS IS A EVENT AND A EXPERIENCE!
THEY JERK OFF TO THE FIBANACHI SEQUENCE!!!!!!!!
But does it slap tho?
That was the only question I had for this record, does it slap? And going into this album, this question was growing more questionable. Tool has been a band that I never got into, despite the fact that literally everyone on the face of the earth has at one ... read more
IT'S ALL RELATED TO THE NUMBER SEVEN!
IT CURES CANCER AND REVERSES THE DAMAGE OF AIDS!
THIS ISN'T AN ALBUM, THIS IS A EVENT AND A EXPERIENCE!
THEY JERK OFF TO THE FIBANACHI SEQUENCE!!!!!!!!
But does it slap tho?
That was the only question I had for this record, does it slap? And going into this album, this question was growing more questionable. Tool has been a band that I never got into, despite the fact that literally everyone on the face of the earth has at one ... read more
what is wrong with you, fantano????
The long awaited TOOL album is here! And it is absoulutely amazing. After 13 years of waiting for new music from the band, it was worth it. TOOL's newest album is a masterpiece and it's their best yet. Not gonna lie, I was sort of worried for the new TOOL album when 'Fear Inoculum', I mean the song isn't that bad, but after waiting 13 years, this is what we get? But when I listened to the album, I was surprised. Because these songs are ahead of it's time, I ... read more
The long awaited TOOL album is here! And it is absoulutely amazing. After 13 years of waiting for new music from the band, it was worth it. TOOL's newest album is a masterpiece and it's their best yet. Not gonna lie, I was sort of worried for the new TOOL album when 'Fear Inoculum', I mean the song isn't that bad, but after waiting 13 years, this is what we get? But when I listened to the album, I was surprised. Because these songs are ahead of it's time, I ... read more
After thirteen long years, Tool finally release their highly anticipated follow-up to 2006's 10,000 Days. I am luckily a relatively new fan to these guys having only heard their previous albums for the first time back in January of this year, so I am lucky enough to have not waited as long as others, but being apart of the fanbase for the few months that I have been, it was clear just how excited and fed up people were with the constant promises the band gave of this albums existence without ... read more
I think this is what older Tool sounded like to the people who hate on it for being pretentious and boring. This album bleeds pretension and is nothing new, just more of the same, from Tool. I hate to say it, but Tool just dropped some... mid.
fav tracks: Chocolate Chip Trip (Honorable Mention: Culling Voices)
least fav tracks: Pneuma, Descending
fav tracks: Chocolate Chip Trip (Honorable Mention: Culling Voices)
least fav tracks: Pneuma, Descending
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Track List
- Fear Inoculum
- Pneuma
- Litanie contre la Peur
- Invincible
- Legion Inoculant
- Descending
- Culling Voices
- Chocolate Chip Trip
- 7empest
- Mockingbeat
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | Metal Hammer |
| #1 | / | Revolver |
| #1 | / | Spill Magazine |
| #2 | / | Kerrang! |
| #3 | / | Good Morning America |
| #6 | / | Gaffa (Denmark) |
| #8 | / | BrooklynVegan |
| #8 | / | Gigwise |
| #10 | / | Consequence of Sound |
| #11 | / | OOR |
More Lists
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2y
Since the negative big reviews, the community score drop a lot in few days (around 84-81 then stabilize around 78 at the beginning to now 73 !!!). Coincidence ? I would like to see some low score point of view because curiously I don't see many negative review despite this huge drop.
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Added on: July 21, 2019