«Ænima» is Tool’s second album and it was released on 17 September 1996 by Zoo and Volcano. It was recorded at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood and at The Hook in North Hollywood, with the band and David Bottrill producing. It is the first album with bassist Justin Chancellor, who replaced Paul D’Amour.
“`Country: USA
Style: Progressive metal
For fans of: A Perfect Circle, Deftones, Karnivool
The title joins «anima», which means soul in Latin, with «enema». The album is dedicated to the comedian Bill Hicks, who inspired the band, and the inner sleeve carries a painting of Hicks as a «healer» with the line «Another Dead Hero».
Between the proper songs there are short passages that tie them together, such as «Useful Idiot» and «Cesaro Summability». On vinyl, «Useful Idiot» ends with a locked groove that has to be lifted by hand to stop.
«Die Eier von Satan» sounds like a German war chant, but the lyrics are a recipe for Mexican biscuits. «Jimmy» is a continuation of «Prison Sex», and «H.» is about a relationship that hurts.
The album is regarded as one of the peaks of progressive and alternative metal, with a sound that moves between heavy riffs, quiet passages and experimental ideas.
«Stinkfist», «Forty Six & 2» and «Ænema» stand out, the last of them winning the Grammy for best metal performance in 1998.
The album runs almost 78 minutes, entered the Billboard 200 at number 2 with 148,000 copies in its first week and went triple platinum in the United States. In 2017 Rolling Stone ranked it 18th among the 100 greatest metal albums, while in 2003 Kerrang! placed it among the six most influential albums of all time.
See also: Rush: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson introduced the Neil Peart documentary | Metal Territory and Review of Karnivool – In Verses | Metal Territory.
