Opiate

Back in 1992, around the time that grunge was beginning to peak in the mainstream, Tool released their second LP, "Opiate." At a time when Pearl Jam and Nirvana dominated the mainstream, Tool began work on a post-grunge sound that was more cerebral and technically difficult than what other bands were creating.

Listening to this album, one realizes just how much Tool has changed their sound over the years. The songs are markedly less difficult to play and listen to than the churning, syncopated rhythms that they later created on "Lateralus." Which is not to say that the music here is simple, it's simply rougher and not as clean. Adam Jones's guitar and Paul D'Amour's bass bounce along to lines that might be described as groovy, as can be heard on the title track of the album, a reference to Marx's quote on religion being, "the opiate of the masses."

This sort of syncopated groove is a common thread throughout the album, and makes a presence in a big way on "Hush" and two live tracks, "Jerk-Off" and "Cold and Ugly". Putting two live songs on a recorded EP may seem a strange decision, but the energy that emerges from those live recordings carries to the other songs on the track, making this a dynamic album.

Keep your ears open. At 6:06 in the sixth song, a hidden track begins called, "The Gaping Lotus Experience."