Peter Luscombe - 1/30/2010

This is just one of those albums that I really can't explain the true beauty of, it is just impossibly complex in its simplicity.

Let me explain that oxymoron. The individual performances on this album are outstanding. Keenan's vocals are soothing, heartfelt, visceral, incredible, sometimes all of the above at the same time. Danny Carey is, hands down, one of the most jaw-droppingly brilliant technical drummers of all time, and at the risk of sounding like a drumming nerd, how on earth his mind tracks all the polyrhythms and time signatures... it makes me sigh in awe. As for the melodies created from both guitars; I never knew that distortion could sound so beautiful. The lyrics and musical structure combine in an over-the-top display of pretentiousness, the song Schism has over 100 time-signature changes and the title track contains many references to Fibonacci numbers.

And yet, for all of this you would have thought that, when put together, it would sound over-developed, convoluted and a bit of a mess. But no, it all blends perfectly and every time I am left mesmerised, still unable to explain it all...