72826

I originally wasn't going to review this as this is just a demo tape, but seeing as they released this on streaming services, it gave me a reason to actually check this out legally.

Considering this is a demo tape, the production is surprisingly good. While there are some pretty odd moments, like in Hush where Maynard's voice is completely in the forefront and the instrumentals are really quiet. It's particularly odd when you think about the stylistic choices they take in later albums where they decide to make Maynard's voice so quiet that at times it's barely even audible. The fact that the instrumentals of this song were so low did hurt the song a lot for me, but it's still a pretty good demo version.

This EP consists of four songs from Opiate and two from Undertow. The two demos from Undertow are Sober and Crawl Away. Surprisingly, I think I actually prefer the demo of Crawl Away to the actual studio version. I don't know, it just grabbed my attention much more than the actual song does. Meanwhile, with Sober... I'm definitely happy with the way it turned out in Undertow. There's a weird echo to Maynard's voice which I don't know whether or not it was a choice they made or they did just fuck up that badly in recording it, but regardless it just doesn't work. Also, the lyrics in the chorus are so awkward. It may just be that I've heard the finished song so many times that I'm not used to it being different, but it just sound so... off.

If I'm honest, I think the versions of Cold And Ugly and Jerk-Off may actually be better in terms of sound quality than the ones on Opiate. I mean, sure, the ones on Opiate have the disadvantage of being performed live, but even when you take that into consideration they are by far the best sounding songs on Opiate, so I do think it is a fair judgement. I think I actually like this version of Cold And Ugly more than the Opiate one, but this version does end really abruptly. Like, it ends right in the middle of Maynard's final scream, which honestly ruined the experience for me.

In the end, while 72826 is a decent demo tape, it boils down to be just that: a demo tape. There's really no reason for me to ever listen to this again, and there really isn't a reason for anyone else to listen to it. Unless you, like me, are really excited for the new album and want to listen to their music legally, then sure, give this a shot - but ONLY if you have already experienced their later albums. I would hate for this to be someones first experience listening to Tool. It honestly really sucks that the band decided to release this on streaming services before anything else, but still, I'm happy that we're at least GETTING their albums on streaming services!