siLLy puPPy After releasing the demo “72826” we get TOOL's first official release OPIATE in the form of a 26 minutes plus EP. TOOL has had the same exact lineup from the beginning with Maynard James Keenan on vocals, Adam Jones on guitar and Danny Carey on drums. The sole exception is that Paul D'Amour handles bass duties on OPIATE and the follow-up first full length album “Undertow.”

The template of TOOL's unique sound has already fully blossomed here. Although this is more straight on hard groove rock, it is nonetheless the basic sound which would unfold itself into their more popular progressive albums that would begin with “Aenima.” Unfortunately despite being a fairly consistent and pretty good album, it seems a little generic compared to the much more ambitious efforts that came later. However, I really like having this album in my collection just because it delivers that raw energy of an early ambitious band greasing its wheels for the big time.

Despite being a short EP there is a hidden 7th track which begins 6 minutes and 6 seconds after the final title track called “The Gaping Lotus Experience.” A very good but not outstanding first effort for TOOL. Of course, everyone knows the best of this band was a few years away.

AtomicCrimsonRush A beginning for Tool?

"Opiate" is the first Tool release and is a fair EP that got them into the music scene where they would eventually make an indelible impact. This is not prog metal as they would become but still rocks hard, and features wonderful riffing from Adam Jones and Maynard Keenan's inimitable vocal style. The tracks are far shorter and concise than they would release on subsequent albums, and sound more like alternative nu- metal than the complex musicians they would develop into. The songs are exuberant and exciting showing a band in their development stage, that were aggressive, darkly innovative, and wanted to conquer.

They would have to wait till "Aenima" to make a significant impact but this EP is rather endearing. 'Hush' and 'Part of Me' are heavy and have the signature Tool sound. The live tracks are intriguing showing an early immature Tool, and have some amusing introductions especially on 'Jerk-Off', one of the better tracks.

The longest track is the 8:28 minute 'Opiate/ The Gaping Lotus Experience', that musically is excellent but I feel offended by the lyrical content, especially the ghost track. Overall an EP showcasing the beginning of Tool, who would develop into one of the most inspirational bands over the next 8 years.

UMUR "Opiate" is the official debut release by US alternative rock/metal act Tool. The 6 track, 26:54 minutes long EP was released in March 1992 by Zoo Entertainment.

Tool´s take on post alternative rock/metal is very unique. It´s a highly rythmic experience listening to the band´s music. Bass, drums and guitar are the simple foundation on which Tool build their music. On top of that Maynard James Keenan passionate vocal delivery almost act like an extra instrument. One moment aggressive and raw, the next minute sensitive and emotional. On "Opiate" he is mostly aggressive though. The more subtle vocals of later recordings are not that dominant here.

The EP features 4 studio and 2 live recordings which are more or less in the same vein. Pretty decent aggressive alternative rock/metal. "Opiate" isn´t necessarily a good place to start if you are new to Tool but the quality of the release is allright and a 3 star rating is deserved.

The Angry Scotsman Tool, one of the biggest bands in metal/prog/art rock today, with their unmistakable sound. When I'm driving I can always tell when it is Tool on the radio by literally the first few notes. However, "Opiate" was recorded in the bands early days and is a far cry from their later work. This is a straightforward metal album. It is filled with angst and anger, and the lyrics are nothing close to their future works.

Maynard James Keenan does display some of his great vocals, but he is mostly screaming on this EP. The guitar work is pretty very rooted in 90's alternative metal, pretty heavy. There is some great bass work as well, and Danny Carey plays some great drums. Granted, it is pretty solid metal...but he STILL manages to lay down some great beats/rhythms and not to mention some intense double bass.

Sweat: This song begins a heavy guitar riff and some sweet bass. This song is pretty heavy and sounds like generic metal. However, there is some great drumming and Keenan sings in a less harsh style. The lyrics are some of the best on the album, pretty metaphorical.

Hush: GREAT bass intro, followed by some unique drumming. We soon go into another metal riff and some intense screaming. This is pretty much the song. Personally, I like how it sounds and just LOVE Maynard's vocals, (even if they are angry). While the lyrics may leave much to be desired, (a lot of anger and swearing) there may be more to it then it appears. The song is about censorship, ("I can't say what I want to, even if I'm not serious", "People tell me what to say, what to think, and what to play") and has a very sarcastic tone. Maynard explains how he can't say what he wants, even if he's just kidding like, "...why don;t you go kill yourself!". A very tongue in cheek song, I love it!

Part of Me: This song appears to deal with self-identity. Throughout Keenan says this person is, "just a part of me" and how, "I know you better than I know myself" Personally, my least favorite song on the album.

Cold and Ugly: A live song that begins quite humorously. This song deals with a woman who is scared and James saying he is afraid as well. A short, simple song.

Jerk-Off: Another live song with an...interesting speech by Maynard. This song has a cool sounding guitar riff. This song has my favorite lyrics on the album. They deal with the concept of right and wrong, but it does not seem to apply to some people, "Jerk-Offs". Maynard than angrily, but eloquently in a way, deduces that if their is no right or wrong, and punishment is only for those who get caught..he should take things into his hands and, "shoot you myself!" I love this song and lyrics!

Opiate: After a cool little intro, this song really kicks in. I think musically, this may be the most progressive song. I am not saying it is one, but I think you can hear it coming out. That being said it is another basic metal song and quite angrily criticizes religion. This song contains a hidden track, "The Gaping Lotus Experience". This song is very different from the album. It is a very psychadellic and trippy song dealing with friends and their actions when on drugs. It is hilarious!

Overall, this is an alternative metal release. You can hear a bit of technicality, ( a bit) and while the lyrics may seem crude they are in their own way pretty intelligent. Good debut effort and while it sounds nothing like the Tool we all know, it is a good release.

Three and a Half Stars

Phonebook Eater 6/10

"Opiate is a pretty good but not essential EP.

Tool's first effort is, like many many bands, just an EP, where not much is said and proven. It is very immature indeed, and the songs are some of these songs are kind of banal. However, some of these songs are true Tool classics, in a way, even though their dark and majestic style is yet to rise, even though they're much more heavy metal than prog. That is why I recommend this especially to heavy metal fans, who will surely enjoy this.

The album starts with"Sweat", with a strange intro. The song's riff is very dark, and Maynard's voice is excellent as always.

"Hush" is a very energetic song, excellent, one of their best songs of the band's first era. Catchy, very enlivened, and sure pretty cheerful, respect to the other Tool songs.

"Part Of Me" is one of the briefest Tool songs (if we don't count all the intermission songs like Faaip De Oiad, Lost Keys etc.), but this doesn't mean it's a weak song. Quite the contrary, it's a great, catchy tune, very nice to listen to.

the two live songs aren't really goos in my opinion, I'm not crazy about the melody, and consequently they bore me a bit.

the title track is interesting in many ways, and shows some first signs of what Tool will eventually become. It is, indeed, the only prog song in this album.

An pretty good EP, not essential, but still interesting and enjoyable. However, I recommend it only to Tool fans.

Stooge Much of the music on Opiate fits more into the alternative metal bracket of music as opposed to the progressive rock/metal tag they are often branded with. Keep that in mind if you plan on exploring this EP.

“Sweat” starts the EP in a groovy way. It’s a solid tune, but not spectacular. Same thing goes with the following track, “Hush”. Probably catchier than the first track, but I’m not particularly attached to it either.

I’m much more impressed with “Part Of Me”, which has some more creative rhythms driven by some creative playing by drummer Danny Carey. Not as predictable as the first two tracks, which is a good thing in my opinion.

The following two tracks are live recordings. They sound rather nice in the live setting. “Cold and Ugly” starts with some interesting stage banter by Maynard James Keenan, is a rather high energy song with some frantic soloing by guitarist Adam Jones. “Jerk Off” once again beginning with some colorful words by the frontman and maintains the high energy of the preceding songs. These tracks make me wonder if this EP would have made a more lasting impression on me if it were entirely live.

“Opiate” ends the album on a note more Tool fans are familiar with, as the track is a more liberal 8:28 in length. Bassist Paul D’Amour’s harmonic work makes him stand out on this track, though he has great presence throughout the EP. However, this track does include some brief silence before a humorous hidden track during which Maynard sings about a friend taking acid. It’s an interesting psychedelic track musically despite not really being an integral part of the recording. Rather entertaining, but not quite the epic I was expecting.

While a solid start to the band’s recording career, Opiate doesn’t appeal to me nearly as much as Tool’s later works. It still sounds very much like a Tool album, and all instruments have a good presence in the mix. Not essential, but it shouldn’t cost too much, making it a worthwhile investment for the curious.

Sleepwalker Tool’s debut EP, Opiate, features a completely different sound from later releases. Actually, the sound seems not to have very much in common with the following release, Undertow. Despite this, there are some elements that are distictive for Tool’s style that are also present on this album. Most notable being the aggresive bass playing by Paul D’amour, that has quite a few things in common with future bassist Justin Chancellor; Maynard James Keenan’s excellent vocals; and the grungy guitar playing by Adam Jones. Danny Carey doesn’t seem to have developed his distictive drum patterns on this album, although the drumming sounds good nevertheless.

Personally, I didn’t expect much of this EP at all. The album doesn’t get all too high ratings on the internet, which was the main reason for these expectations. I was very pleasantly surprised though. The album started with “Sweat”, an aggresive song that sounds absolutely great. Somewhat immature perhaps, compared to the bands later work, but nevertheless an excellent track. The EP continues in this mood, which is aggresive and grungy. “Hush” was Tool’s first single. A controversial one, looking at the lyrics and video. It’s not quite as good as “Sweat”, if you ask me, but still very enjoyable and raw. About the same goes for “Part Of Me”, good but not outstanding. Next we find two tracks that are live recordings actually. Both share an intruduction that contributes to the raw nature of the music. “Cold and Ugly” is performed “for that Bob Marley wannabe motherf*cker out here”. I like these two live tracks more than the preceding two tracks and once again the songs are angry, raw and aggresive. The album closes with the title track, which also features a hidden track called “The Gaping Lotus Experience”. Being perhaps the least straight-forward track of the EP, “Opiate” is probably my least favorite piece here. The hidden track already mentioned is a nice and unexpected ending of the album, featuring some very present flanger effects and funny lyrics. Not aggresive this time, but somewhat psychedelic.

I personally don’t see why Opiate is seen by many as not much of a good debut album. Sure, it might sound a little immature compared to future releases and it doesn’t yet show much of Tool’s distictive sound, but it’s a great release anyway, full of passionate anger, rawness and sheer aggresion. Not quite a masterpiece, no, not at all, but a great release for sure. Tool’s Opiate most definitely deserves four stars in my opinion.

alice-in-chains4lyfe Out of all the albums in Tool's glorious catalog, this one ranks as the least Progressive, with this 7 song EP leaning more towards Alternative metal, some song's even cross over into funk metal (Hush) and grunge (The title track). The album makes up for the lack of progressiveness with heaviness, with Opiate featuring some of Tool's heaviest, most aggressive songs to date.

Paul D'Amour is in my opinion very underrated and a much better bassist then the overrated Justin Chancellor. On this album you can hear Paul's great, sometimes sort of funky basslines. The lyrics (usually one of Tool's strongest points) are a little weak on this album, with songs such as "Hush" and "Sweat" featuring some of Tool's most repetitive, immature lyrics to date (at least when compared to their later stuff).

If you are a fan of Grunge, Alternative rock or Nu metal and you're new to Tool then i would recommend either this album or Undertow, however if you are more of a Progressive rock/Heavy metal fan and you're new to Tool then i would recommend either Ænima or Lateralus.