Lateralus (/ˌlætəˈræləs/) is the third studio album by American rock band Tool. It was released on May 15, 2001 through Volcano Entertainment. The album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood and The Hook, Big Empty Space, and The Lodge, in North Hollywood, between October 2000 and January 2001. David Bottrill, who had produced the band's two previous releases Ænima and Salival, produced the album along with the band. On August 23, 2005, Lateralus was released as a limited edition two-picture-disc vinyl LP in a holographic gatefold package.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling more than 555,200 copies in its first week of release. It was certified double platinum by the RIAA on August 5, 2003. On August 30, 2004, the album was certified silver by the BPI. It was also certified platinum in Australia, and double platinum in Canada. The band won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the song "Schism" in 2002. Lateralus was ranked No. 123 on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Definitive 200" list.
Lateralus emerged after a four-year legal dispute with Tool's label, Volcano Entertainment. In January 2001, the band announced that their new album's title would be Systema Encéphale and provided a 12-song track list with titles such as "Riverchrist", "Numbereft", "Encephatalis", "Musick", and "Coeliacus". File sharing networks such as Napster were flooded with bogus files bearing the titles' names. At the time, Tool members were outspokenly critical of file-sharing networks in general due to the negative impact on artists that are dependent on success in record sales to continue their career. During an interview with NY Rock in 2000, Keenan stated:
"I think there are a lot of other industries out there that might deserve being destroyed. The ones who get hurt by MP3s are not so much companies or the business, but the artists, people who are trying to write songs."
A month later, the band revealed that the new album was actually titled Lateralus (supposedly a portmanteau of the leg muscle Vastus lateralis and the term lateral thinking) and that the name Systema Encéphale and the track list had been a ruse.
Lateralus and the corresponding tours would take Tool a step further toward art rock, and progressive rock territory, in contrast to the band's earlier material, which has often been labeled as alternative metal. Rolling Stone wrote in an attempt to summarize the album that "Drums, bass and guitars move in jarring cycles of hyperhowl and near-silent death march ... The prolonged running times of most of Lateralus thirteen tracks are misleading; the entire album rolls and stomps with suitelike purpose." Joshua Klein of The A.V. Club in turn expressed his opinion that Lateralus, with its 79-minute running time and relatively complex and long songs—topped by the ten-and-a-half minute music video for "Parabola"—posed a challenge to fans and music programming alike. Drummer Danny Carey said, "The manufacturer would only guarantee us up to 79 minutes ... We thought we'd give them two seconds of breathing room." Carey aspired to create longer songs like those by artists he grew up listening to. The band had segues to place between songs, but had to cut out a lot during the mastering phase. The CD itself was mastered using HDCD technology.
Just as Salival was initially released with several errors on the track listing, early pressings of Lateralus had the ninth track incorrectly spelled as "Lateralis". The original title of "Reflection" was "Resolution" before being changed three months prior to the album's release.
The track listing is altered on the vinyl edition, with "Disposition" appearing at track 8. Because of the long running time, the double vinyl edition could not be released like the disc since the songs would not fit on each disc side in that order. By moving "Disposition" to an earlier point, the sides were balanced and could fit the material. However, this edit breaks the segue that occurs between "Disposition" and "Reflection", which, along with "Triad", are often grouped together.
Two of the singles from the album, "Parabola" and "Schism", are featured in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.
The insert is translucent and flips open to reveal the different layers of the human body. Disguised in the brain matter on the final layer is the word "God". The artwork was done by artist Alex Grey, who would later design the 3D edition cover for the followup to Lateralus, 10,000 Days.
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Maynard James Keenan; all music is composed by Adam Jones, Danny Carey, Maynard James Keenan, and Justin Chancellor.
- "The Grudge" 8:36
- "Eon Blue Apocalypse" (instrumental) 1:04
- "The Patient" 7:13
- "Mantra" (instrumental) 1:12
- "Schism" 6:47
- "Parabol" 3:04
- "Parabola" 6:03
- "Ticks & Leeches" 8:10
- "Lateralus" 9:24
- "Disposition" 4:46
- "Reflection" 11:07
- "Triad" (instrumental – song ends at 6:32, before 2:14 of silence) 8:46
- "Faaip de Oiad" 2:39
Total length: 78:51
Notes
- On the vinyl version of the album, "Disposition" follows "Parabola".
- On the first presses of US CD, "Lateralus" is misspelled "Lateralis" on the tracklist of the outer packaging.
- On the digital version, "Triad" omits the two minutes of silence at the track's end.
Lateralus sold 555,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. As of July 7, 2010, Lateralus has sold 2,609,000 copies in the US. It is ranked number 123 on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Definitive 200" list.