Tool and Lateralus' secret "Holy Gift." <---Long but worth it.

[Big King]

I searched the forums for this, and didn't find anything so be prepared to take a trip into your left brain. This is a long read, but it is very interesting, and I promise that if you read this, and do it, you'll never listen to "Lateralus" in the same way again.

Before you get into this... I have done this. I'll post my results in the following post so you can read the article first.

ENJOY!!


Restructuring Lateralus: Tool's Holy Gift

Fans of the band Tool have to be some of the most curious and creative in rock. They are incredibly active interpreters of Tool's music and lyrics and are proud of their sense of intelligence as fans. Tool's aesthetic lends itself very well to wide ranging interpretation, dealing as it does with "alternative" views of inner consciousness, vaguely Buddhist spirituality, and other interesting philosophical inquiries such as the mutation of DNA and the concept of a Third Eye. In other words, these are not songs about your best girl and movies on a Saturday night. The band's music can best be described as drawing on the aggression and ensemble virtuosity of metal combined with the kind of tortured interiority that characterizes Radiohead's post-O.K. Computer music. Such a combination certainly sets them apart from many metal bands, and the centrality of their unusual lyrics only adds to the mystique of the band.

However, any previous interpretative theories by fans have been outdone by the recent focus on the notion that the entirety of Tool's most recent album, Lateralus, actually needs to be reordered in order to reveal a secret message dealing with moving through consciousness as a movement of along spirals: "Spiral out, keep going, spiral out" sings Maynard James Keenan toward the end of "Lateralus," the album's title track. Added to this is the tantalizing prospect that the album and its message are also influenced by the Fibonacci sequence of numbers. When plotted on a graph Fibonacci numbers form a spiral-like image. Moreover, the main riff in "Lateralus" is comprised of three different meters: 9/8, 8/8, 7/8, or: 987, which happens to be the sixteenth step in the Fibonacci sequence (as observed by Keenan himself during the writing of the song). Moreover, moreover (!), Keenan's halting vocal rhythms during the first verse of "Lateralus" correspond to Fibonacci numbers in their syllable counts:

1 (Black)
1 (then)
2 (white are)
3 (all I see)
5 (in my infancy)
8 (red and yellow then came to be)
5 (reaching out to me)
3 (lets me see)

Freaky, eh? Anyway, all this got one unknown fan to write up a big long post somewhere and to speculate that the actual order of the songs on Lateralus needed to be rearranged so as to reveal the "true" message of the album. Basically, the idea is this: Lateralus has 13 tracks (a Fibonacci number, BTW) so you place that track at the center of your new track order. The surrounding tracks are all grouped into pairs that sum the number 13 and spiraling in toward 13, then outward from it. Here's the suggested track arrangement with the two "spirals" in bold:

6, 7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 13, 1, 12, 2, 11, 3, 10

The unknown fan calls this arrangement The Holy Gift.

There are of course some "issues" with this arrangement. First, there's no explanation given for why we start with track 6. To be sure, track 6 and 7 on the album are very much a pair ("Parabol" and "Parabola," the second emerging from the first without a pause), so they should probably stick together, but why they start off things isn't really explained by the unknown fan. Also, if tracks 6 and 7 must stay together then why separate tracks 10, 11, and 12, three tracks originally conceived of by Tool as one very long song (the album artwork links these three songs visually as well)? The new arrangement also places the very strange "Faaip de Oiad" in the center of the collection. Not so much a song as a four-minute sound collage built around a supposedly real recording of an escaped Area 51 employee calling into a radio talkshow, "Faaip de Oiad" seems rather unusual at the apex of such a interpretively rich arrangement. But that's what makes this whole thing so intriguing: the entire Holy Gift arrangement is one giant interpretation, so it's not hard to continue the interpretation (as some fans already have) to be able to explain the prominent place of "Faaip de Oiad."

Is this whole thing just interpretation run amok? I think not.

After learning of the Holy Gift phenomenon, I re-ripped my copy of Lateralus, edited out the silences at the beginning and ending of each track (as advised by the unknown fan), and burned a copy of The Holy Gift. I have to say that I immediately liked the album more than before, and it's certainly entertaining to think about the alternate meaning as you listen. My enjoyment of the album increased though because the best songs (in my opinion) have fortuitously been grouped in the front half instead of being scattered across the album. The Holy Gift is in many ways a heavier album than Lateralus and the transition from one song to the next is interesting when there are no significant silences to "clear the palette." Of course, the new arrangement does make some of the shorter interludes stick out awkwardly (Tool is fond of these little soundscape interludes -- there are usually three or four of them on each album, designed, I assume, to provide a sense of large-scale contrast amidst the aggressive heavier songs that make up the bulk of the albums), but these interludes mostly occur in the second half of the new arrangement, as the original track numbers are spiraling outward, so perhaps there's something cosmic going on. Or perhaps not.

Finally, I have to say that the combination of the Holy Gift phenomenon, aided significantly as it is by digital audio technology, and the Dream Theater songwriting contest (also aided by digital technology, but in different ways) have me looking for conferences at which to present some ideas about these things. Indeed, both of these situations are very interesting think-pieces involving so many issues in popular music culture. If nothing else, I hope to feature them in my heavy metal class the next time I'm asked to teach it.

[Big King]

Here is my response...

I have done this. When you rearrange the tracks of Lateralus into the new order or the "Holy Gift" the album takes on a much more darker and flowing mood and atmosphere. The beginning and ending of some songs seem to make more sence as they seem to tie together in a much more fluid way. I always felt that when I played Lateralus it seemed like just a collection of songs that you would listen to from start to finish, but with the new order, some kind of "meaning" or "direction" seems to emerge, and it completley changes the feel of the album. At least for me there was a heightened sence of anxiousness when listening to it in the new order. This could all be just speculation driven by fanatic tool fans, but try it, and tell me what you think.

PS.
To really experience this, I suggest reordering the tracks with a cd burning program, and eliminating the 2 second pause between each track so the tracks will flow together without any pauses.

[DeadSkinMask]

I have read about this somewhere before, but have yet to try it out..seems like it would be very cool to do...good find King!

[Demfer]

I searched the forums for this, and didn't find anything so be prepared to take a trip into your left brain. This is a long read, but it is very interesting, and I promise that if you read this, and do it, you'll never listen to "Lateralus" in the same way again.

Before you get into this... I have done this. I'll post my results in the following post so you can read the article first.

ENJOY!!


Restructuring Lateralus: Tool's Holy Gift

Fans of the band Tool have to be some of the most curious and creative in rock. They are incredibly active interpreters of Tool's music and lyrics and are proud of their sense of intelligence as fans. Tool's aesthetic lends itself very well to wide ranging interpretation, dealing as it does with "alternative" views of inner consciousness, vaguely Buddhist spirituality, and other interesting philosophical inquiries such as the mutation of DNA and the concept of a Third Eye. In other words, these are not songs about your best girl and movies on a Saturday night. The band's music can best be described as drawing on the aggression and ensemble virtuosity of metal combined with the kind of tortured interiority that characterizes Radiohead's post-O.K. Computer music. Such a combination certainly sets them apart from many metal bands, and the centrality of their unusual lyrics only adds to the mystique of the band.

However, any previous interpretative theories by fans have been outdone by the recent focus on the notion that the entirety of Tool's most recent album, Lateralus, actually needs to be reordered in order to reveal a secret message dealing with moving through consciousness as a movement of along spirals: "Spiral out, keep going, spiral out" sings Maynard James Keenan toward the end of "Lateralus," the album's title track. Added to this is the tantalizing prospect that the album and its message are also influenced by the Fibonacci sequence of numbers. When plotted on a graph Fibonacci numbers form a spiral-like image. Moreover, the main riff in "Lateralus" is comprised of three different meters: 9/8, 8/8, 7/8, or: 987, which happens to be the sixteenth step in the Fibonacci sequence (as observed by Keenan himself during the writing of the song). Moreover, moreover (!), Keenan's halting vocal rhythms during the first verse of "Lateralus" correspond to Fibonacci numbers in their syllable counts:

1 (Black)
1 (then)
2 (white are)
3 (all I see)
5 (in my infancy)
8 (red and yellow then came to be)
5 (reaching out to me)
3 (lets me see)

Freaky, eh? Anyway, all this got one unknown fan to write up a big long post somewhere and to speculate that the actual order of the songs on Lateralus needed to be rearranged so as to reveal the "true" message of the album. Basically, the idea is this: Lateralus has 13 tracks (a Fibonacci number, BTW) so you place that track at the center of your new track order. The surrounding tracks are all grouped into pairs that sum the number 13 and spiraling in toward 13, then outward from it. Here's the suggested track arrangement with the two "spirals" in bold:

6, 7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 13, 1, 12, 2, 11, 3, 10

The unknown fan calls this arrangement The Holy Gift.

There are of course some "issues" with this arrangement. First, there's no explanation given for why we start with track 6. To be sure, track 6 and 7 on the album are very much a pair ("Parabol" and "Parabola," the second emerging from the first without a pause), so they should probably stick together, but why they start off things isn't really explained by the unknown fan. Also, if tracks 6 and 7 must stay together then why separate tracks 10, 11, and 12, three tracks originally conceived of by Tool as one very long song (the album artwork links these three songs visually as well)? The new arrangement also places the very strange "Faaip de Oiad" in the center of the collection. Not so much a song as a four-minute sound collage built around a supposedly real recording of an escaped Area 51 employee calling into a radio talkshow, "Faaip de Oiad" seems rather unusual at the apex of such a interpretively rich arrangement. But that's what makes this whole thing so intriguing: the entire Holy Gift arrangement is one giant interpretation, so it's not hard to continue the interpretation (as some fans already have) to be able to explain the prominent place of "Faaip de Oiad."

Is this whole thing just interpretation run amok? I think not.

After learning of the Holy Gift phenomenon, I re-ripped my copy of Lateralus, edited out the silences at the beginning and ending of each track (as advised by the unknown fan), and burned a copy of The Holy Gift. I have to say that I immediately liked the album more than before, and it's certainly entertaining to think about the alternate meaning as you listen. My enjoyment of the album increased though because the best songs (in my opinion) have fortuitously been grouped in the front half instead of being scattered across the album. The Holy Gift is in many ways a heavier album than Lateralus and the transition from one song to the next is interesting when there are no significant silences to "clear the palette." Of course, the new arrangement does make some of the shorter interludes stick out awkwardly (Tool is fond of these little soundscape interludes -- there are usually three or four of them on each album, designed, I assume, to provide a sense of large-scale contrast amidst the aggressive heavier songs that make up the bulk of the albums), but these interludes mostly occur in the second half of the new arrangement, as the original track numbers are spiraling outward, so perhaps there's something cosmic going on. Or perhaps not.

Finally, I have to say that the combination of the Holy Gift phenomenon, aided significantly as it is by digital audio technology, and the Dream Theater songwriting contest (also aided by digital technology, but in different ways) have me looking for conferences at which to present some ideas about these things. Indeed, both of these situations are very interesting think-pieces involving so many issues in popular music culture. If nothing else, I hope to feature them in my heavy metal class the next time I'm asked to teach it.

You know I was talking with people about this not too long ago, i kinda put this in the back of my head and never came around to attempt a song rearangment. But now i think it would be a cool thing to do.

Anyone know a program i can use to edit the tracks and remove the empty spots?

[NeilPeartFan]

I did this before when I had all the songs downloaded from Lateralus. The moved right into eachother, well sort of. A few had some blank spots but did elend right into eachother.

It was freaky.

[Big King]

Anyone know a program i can use to edit the tracks and remove the empty spots?


Any cd burning program like NERO should let you remove the 2 second pauses between each song.

[Demfer]

heres the original track number list for anyone that needs to know:

1. The Grudge
2. Eon Blue Apocalypse
3. The Patient
4. Mantra
5. Schism
6. Parabol
7. Parabola
8. Ticks & Leeches
9. Lateralis
10. Disposition
11. Reflection
12. Triad
13. Faaip De Oiad

Holy Gift: 6, 7, 5, 8, 4, 9, 13, 1, 12, 2, 11, 3, 10

[Demfer]

Any cd burning program like NERO should let you remove the 2 second pauses between each song.

oh great thats what i use, i'll try and figure it out in the options.

[Zebman]

When Maynard is on his death bed, and somebody asks him to reveal what Lateralus means, he's just going to laugh and say "You all are so **** obsessive, it's a **** cd about _____!" :D

Seriously, it's probably right in front of us, yet we over-complicate it.

[HardHitter]

You know I was talking with people about this not too long ago, i kinda put this in the back of my head and never came around to attempt a song rearangment. But now i think it would be a cool thing to do.

Anyone know a program i can use to edit the tracks and remove the empty spots?
WavePad. It's free. Just be sure to use COPIES of your mp3s or you will never get the originals back.

Edit - yeah nevermind, there's a "no pause between tracks" button in Nero. It's at the last step before burn, botton right. Just check the box.


And one funny note, I just put this album on before finding this thread. WHAT'S THE MEANING!?!?!?!?!

[Demfer]

When Maynard is on his death bed, and somebody asks him to reveal what Lateralus means, he's just going to laugh and say "You all are so **** obsessive, it's a **** cd about _____!" :D

Seriously, it's probably right in front of us, yet we over-complicate it.

It is simple, "LATERAL" "US". All that binds conciousness togeather.

[DaMadBlaqDrumma]

....................*tries to speak*............................*scratches head*.........................*manages to utter* what the f*c*.



i swear after reading the first post my IQ increased 5 points. From a simple album comes something really complex, i guess Tool really is math metal.

[Demfer]

Im really against the over dissection of these kinds of masterful pieces of work. Its like in English class where every book you read kinda sucks because you sit there and over analyze every bit and piece. But idono how i feel in this case with lateralus, I myself have found some pretty "Intimate" secrets which i don't even want to talk about.

[naddage555]

made a new playlist of latralus, time to try it out, do i have to skip the silence after triad?

[DaMadBlaqDrumma]

so i looked up the Fibonacci sequence and it seemed really interestin, Fibonacci must have had some bad cheese cause that is pretty cool how the sequence get larger from the previous numbers, a total mind trip

[Big King]

If you guys do do this... let us know your thoughts, and if you thought the album had a different feel or vibe to it, and if you think it's better.

[Demfer]

If you guys do do this... let us know your thoughts, and if you thought the album had a different feel or vibe to it, and if you think it's better.

I am very much enjoying listening to it in this sequence. I am getting a heaver and darker precence of sound. This arrangment is a very nice segway from what i am used too from listening to lateralus over 500 times in its "normal" order. Its a whole new monster this way.

[Johnny Destroyer]

Dudes, hate to burst your bubble, it was danny, the Gift of bob or whatever arangement WAS the original arangement. it was all Danny and his Freemasonry stuff...

[Johnny Destroyer]

its not nearly as big of a deal as you make it out to be, it was entirely intentional, and took a lot of thought. Not divine whisperings through the subconcious.

[iCe]

i'm not a tool fan, nor do i know their music, but this is rather cool concept!

[styleone]

To take off pauses in Nero, you can also select the tracks , go to properties, pause, and then enter 0.

I use this also for my band's demo, I "linked" the song, but not in a spiritual way at all, nothing comparable to Tool obviously.

[HardHitter]

Dudes, hate to burst your bubble, it was danny, the Gift of bob or whatever arangement WAS the original arangement. it was all Danny and his Freemasonry stuff...
But the beauty is you as the listener get to interpret it however you choose, no matter how it was "meant" to be done. I don't care if the entire album came with directions on how to listen to it, we are free to listen as we choose to.

[J3rst3r]

I just re-arranged the album.

I'm on Parabola as we speak...

[HardHitter]

You can just put them in that order in WinAmp and turn off shuffle too.

[Eraserhead]

Okay, I know jack about Tool or what not (personally can't stand them) but I was intrested in this and read it all. Then I did a search on Wikipedia about it and found another thing.

This thing is called "The Holy Gift right, where the track numbers should be set up in: 6,7,5,8,4,9,13,1,12,2,11,3,10

Well Wikipedia came up with another one entitled "The Lateralus Prophecy" in which its ANOTHER storyline that the track order goes like this.

6,7,5,8,4,9,3,10,2,11,1,12,13

For anyone who cares.

[A_Perfect_Tool]

The transition from Parabola to Schism to Ticks and Leeches is just amazing. the drums to Schism end on the same note that ticks and leeches starts on so thats pretty cool. It does actually sounds wayyyyyy different and I like it a lot more than how it normally is. It makes you see Tool and Lateralus from a totally different perspective.

[Demfer]

But the beauty is you as the listener get to interpret it however you choose, no matter how it was "meant" to be done. I don't care if the entire album came with directions on how to listen to it, we are free to listen as we choose to.

There was this great quote from Dave Matthews i would like to share:

"Music is art, and like in any type of art once you share it with other people, it no longer belongs to you"

meaning people are free to find connection to their lives even if the purpose lies somewhere else.

[Benji]

I've done several arrangements of Lateralus, and alternate orders of Ænima and Undertow as well. I don't want to launch into a huge post, but there's a much cooler arrangement where you need to splice tracks and put some inside others (so two sections are playing at the same time - they fit perfect, it's awesome to hear), not just re-order them and remove the gaps between tracks. If anyone else is interested, they can add me on MSN.

I recommend downloading Adobe Audition for this, especially if you want to splice the tracks. For example, "Ticks And Leeches" isn't one song, it's 'Ticks', and 'Leeches'. 'Leeches' is the very last section of the entire album, in one of the arrangements.

I love this stuff, and it was an amazing experience going through and finding a lot of these arrangements, and really refreshing listening to the album once it had been cut up and re-ordered. So if there's anyone else who is interested in it, and perhaps wants some short-cuts if they don't want to figure it all out themselves, feel free to add me on MSN; I could talk for hours on this subject.

I could also send CDs of my favourite finished arrangement to people too, alternatively.

[milk post men]

I did this, I dunno where I read it, but I know I heard about it a couple months back. Very interesting indeed. I told my ex-bandmates about (all Tool fans of course) and let them get a great new perspective on a great album.

The album (I felt) took a darker twist to it, definitely making me realize that Tool's music can be put in many different arragements and sound crazy each time. Well thats them. Really comes together well.


it was all Danny and his Freemasonry stuff...

Those Freemasons. Actually I dont think he is one, but I dont doubt the fact that this is probably part of his doing, for sure.

[Benji]

Danny is not a Freemason, but belongs to the P.U.P. Lodge that he and close friends created, taking things from numerous religious sects and spiritual beliefs. It isn't aligned with any one religion or sect.

[ConnectiveTissue]

wow d00d.

deep.

[Benji]

I'd just like to make the point again that it isn't just Lateralus that can be re-arranged, but Ænima and Undertow too. Undertow's is very simple and not that rewarding, but a fresh listen. Ænima's is 'better', in my opinion, and flows so much smoother. Particular sections playing over the top of others enhance the songs so much.

[milk post men]

In what track order did you rearragne Aenima Benji?

[Benji]

Just something to note: It wasn't just a straight re-order, you need a program that can shift parts around, make tracks begin towards the end of others, etc. Some tracks begin before the end of one song and come right in with a heavier note at a more.. appropriate time, you could argue.

As for the whole arrangement, I'd prefer not to say on here, to be honest. Clues are in the lyrics, and also the music itself, obviously.

Without giving everything away:

1. Stinkfist
2. H.
3. Eulogy

5. Third Eye
6. Forty-Six & 2

10. Pu****
11. Ænema

I will also say that Cessaro Summability is not its own track - it's very, very easy to figure out where it fits. Same case goes for (-) Ions.

I don't really want anyone saying "what makes your order right?". Nothing. But this is my order, and I really recommend it. I never claimed this is the 'right' order to listen to the album, this is one of many personal arrangements.

[Big King]

I will have to try these alternate versions that you guys have mentioned. I also think that it's cool that we can appreceiate tool's music on such a different and alternate level. It just adds to the experience IMO.

[HardHitter]

Some of the transitions are awesome in this order, but I think I'm a little jaded from living off shuffle and multiple albuums forever. I didn't get new vibes or w/e...but it was a nice change.

[Aubergine]

But idono how i feel in this case with lateralus, I myself have found some pretty "Intimate" secrets which i don't even want to talk about.

:eek: Dood...

[Benji]

Some of the transitions are awesome in this order, but I think I'm a little jaded from living off shuffle and multiple albuums forever. I didn't get new vibes or w/e...but it was a nice change.
You should try what I mentioned in my earlier posts. Just re-ordering the tracks doesn't give me much of a different vibe at all. It was only when tracks were cut up, sections played over the top of others, etc. - what I mentioned earlier - that I really had a new experience, saw the music from a new perspective. It was almost like listening to a new album. And whoever said the original arrangement is simply this Holy Gift re-ordering is incorrect - some songs on Lateralus aren't even singular tracks on the original arrangement; it's through Tool's amazing ability / vision that they were able to put them together later, to create something for the listeners to do themselves.

[luke.]

Just something to note: It wasn't just a straight re-order, you need a program that can shift parts around, make tracks begin towards the end of others, etc. Some tracks begin before the end of one song and come right in with a heavier note at a more.. appropriate time, you could argue.

As for the whole arrangement, I'd prefer not to say on here, to be honest. Clues are in the lyrics, and also the music itself, obviously.

Without giving everything away:

1. Stinkfist
2. H.
3. Eulogy

5. Third Eye
6. Forty-Six & 2

10. Pu****
11. Ænema

I will also say that Cessaro Summability is not its own track - it's very, very easy to figure out where it fits. Same case goes for (-) Ions.

I don't really want anyone saying "what makes your order right?". Nothing. But this is my order, and I really recommend it. I never claimed this is the 'right' order to listen to the album, this is one of many personal arrangements.

Windows media player 9 starts playing the next song as the previous is finishing. :)

[Benji]

Thanks for telling me, I didn't know that. It's a help, but it still won't do. Because you need to take middle and end sections out, and put them in the middle of other songs. You need to cut one track into three pieces, and spread it around the album. WMP 9 can't handle that, right? :p

[luke.]

Thanks for telling me, I didn't know that. It's a help, but it still won't do. Because you need to take middle and end sections out, and put them in the middle of other songs. You need to cut one track into three pieces, and spread it around the album. WMP 9 can't handle that, right? :p
HaHa, i don't think it will but, you could do that with Audacity or Wavepad both are from downloads.com.

[Benji]

Adobe Audition works. So does CoolEDIT Pro, seeing they're the exact same program, with different logos and names. No exaggeration.

I used Audition. But if those downloads are free (legally, unlike my Audition download), then thanks for bringing them up.