Old Composer REACTS to Tool THE GRUDGE Prog Rock Reaction // The Decomposer Lounge 

🤯🤯WOW!! I had no idea how big of a "lead-off" song for the Tool experience this was to so many of the tool army members. Such great moments are being shared in the comments about your "first time" you heard this. LONG LIVE THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR LIFE!!!

the moment is upon us Toolians, we have arrived to the grudge

6:47 "what an amazing scream" oh boy....

Respiratory physiologist here: that's what a full inhalation followed by holding a note until you reach your residual volume and run out of air to pass over your vocal cords sounds like. Just astonishing control.

Without getting long winded about this...let’s go back to the origins of man. Lol. Love this guy. Thanks for this one.

6:45 "what a amazing scream" *I immediately start rubbing my hands thinking about THAT part* "oooohhhhhhh ho ho ho ho you didn't see nothing, Geebz"

6'45- "what an amazing scream...." MJK: "hold my whatever this is"

I saw Tool perform The Grudge in Charlotte, NC on Oct 6th 2001. The scream is legit and it was glorious. They opened with it (rightfully so) and his voice was still on point the rest of the show. The man is a machine.

"Then Maynard comes in and delivers The Peoples' Elbow..." Hahahahaha

Best Maynard scream...."Ticks and Leaches"

For everyone saying "do this Tool song or that Tool song", just do every Tool song eventually. There's really none worth skipping

The Grudge might genuinely be Tools best track. It has it all, the power, the softness, the rhythm changes, the feeling, that otherwordly scream AND it's more accessible than many other tracks. Just a near perfect song.

6:47 "what an amazing scream at the end" wait for it :)

I've seen them lead off four concerts with The Grudge, three of them since 2017... The scream is real, and it's spectacular.

First concert : Tool live October 2001 Orlando, FL. Will never forget that scream

danny's outro is absolutely insane. I love to picture him just calmly placing his sticks on the snare and calmly breathing out after he's done

'in "ticks and leeches" from this album danny uses his drumset as a freight train

I would love you to do ‘Eulogy’, one of my favourite Tool tracks.

This song is basically an exorcism "tool" for your soul. Let go of those grudges. Turn them from lead into gold.

And that... is how you begin an album!

What six lunatics disliked this amazing man's amazing reaction to this amazing band's amazing track?

That change into the “Saturn comes back around” is one of my favorite TOOL riffs. Plugging my vote for Invincible as your next reaction from TOOL, and Pet from A Perfect Circle Maybe the Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” for TBT?

"what an amazing scream..." **hasn't made it to the end yet** :D

Lateralus (actually all Tool albums) is worth an Album review..nothing less!!

Insta click, Awwwright! Can’t wait for you to do The Patient!

the best opening song for one of the best albums of all time...and that ending (starting from maynard's scream) is pure katharsis

Maynard used to do the whole scream in earlier concerts, but it seems like he cut it out recently. (example: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-e66QL8CT1rc.html )

Ticks and leaches off this album is amazing. Danny goes full on octopus in it :-).

Geebz reacts to The Grudge on my birthday....yes yes YES!!!👍👍🤘🤘 Today is indeed a good day.

This is quite possibly one of the greatest albums ever recorded. The Grudge, Schism, Parabol/Parabola, Reflection...so many great songs. A true masterpiece

My question is: When he will arrive in Invincible?

Tool is mesmerizing. Period. No other band is as mesmeric while at the same time being exciting and heavy and philosophically potent. I know, hyperbole. But fuckit. I'm just glad Tool arrived around the same time I was coming up.

You have no idea how happy I am that you just happened to pause at 15:16 instead of a tiny bit later, this whole sequence building up to that INSANE scream needs to be heard in full and I'm glad you got to experience it

First time I listened to this song I immediately thought..."Holy s***, this is only the 1st track!!!! 🤣🤘😱

Letting go of his grudges that wear on his soul - that primordial scream!

IMO the outro drum lick/part/pattern whatever you wanna call it, is one of the greatest drum recordings of all-time.

Since Tool has plenty of short "filler" songs on their albums, I recommend that you listen to some of them right before you do a full song. Many of these filler songs are lead-ins to the full song that plays next. For example, listen to "Eon Blue Apocalypse" right before your listen of "The Patient". I'd love to get your reactions to the short songs that are more in context with the full songs.. otherwise, the short songs wouldn't make much sense to react to alone.

That is Maynard. When I saw them live for this record, he did it.

I don’t know if I speak for everyone, but I really love these longer videos, where you really go into detail about your reactions. We all know the song. We watch these videos to hear your thoughts about it. It seems like you sometimes cut yourself short for fear of going on too long, and again maybe it’s just me, but I prefer it when you take the time to really explain what you’re thinking. Anyway, excellent breakdown to an excellent song. Flood is another great Tool song from early on - their first masterpiece, in my opinion. I also agree with others who recommended H. And, of course, I’m patiently waiting to watch your breakdown of The Patient. Awwwright!

Haha. "Is that what I thought it was?" Yes. Yes it was.

I love that you said “the cantor”. The cant whether it be tribal, Shakespeare, KJV Bible, Latin Mass, modern music, rhythm puts our minds into a receptive place. That’s a fabulous observation. Thanks for that. 👍👍

The Patient is a great song off this album. The bass is a driving force for the song.

So excited to watch this! One request, when you do The Patient, please do the minute long track that comes before it as well, Eon Blue Apocalypse. Absolutely critical 💜

YES. Way to go Geebz. Descending or Invincible next please.

Aaaaand there it is! The Grudge. Masterpiece. David Bottrill made the best sounding Tool albums. Do not forget the "hidden" gems of Aenima: Jimmy, Pushit and H. Each a journey on their own.

He can 100 percent pull off that scream live and it’s amazing!

I love how you made the connection with Tool almost being Tribal... Honestly that makes SO much sense to me. I believe tool made their music to help humanity and yeah, they take it back raw and Tribal sometimes. I love it 🤙

Said it before and I say it again. Watching Geebz breakdowns is like visiting your older brother who talked to you about music since you were kids I love that he said something about how they are tribal, thats exactly the way I always described them to new listeners

He gets a little technological assistance now days (age is a bitch), but yeah, at the time that was a legit scream.

I love watching his eyes and his little expressions when he gets blown away by what Tool’s doing.

I love seeing people react when Danny Carey starts doing Danny Carey things!

There was no way to prepare for just how badass this track and album was the first time you heard it. The musical event of 2001.

Yes, that primal scream was real and it’s glorious!!!🔥🔥

saw them live in 2001 and I can honestly say that Maynard hit that whole scream live and multiple times live from 2001-2002

I've had the privilege of seeing Maynard do that scream live and, yes, it is magnificent! He bent over backward until his mohawk hit the floor and then using only his abs screamed all the way up to standing! Crazy! I was so happy to see this song today, I was waiting for you to cover it, thanks so much!

My favorite Tool track. It's been 20 years and that ending gets me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I heard when he first recorded that scream he almost passed out.

God I loved the expressions on your face on that extended scream!

17:04 yes, he truly did that himself. Long time ago tho. Not anymore. There is a video on YT wuth them performing this song live back in 2002 and MJK does what you have heard on the record.

6:47 "what an amazing scream at the end" me: oooooh buddy you dont even know how right you are yet

Wear the grudge like a crown… this song live is an experience- epic

Saw that song for the first time in 02 and yes he did that live. Today is a different story. He uses his equipment to help him and it is not as long I think.

TOOL LIVE, SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE THEIR ALBUMS!!! Greatest musicians on earth!!

Saw this tour in Cleveland 2001. Less than a week after 09/11 and it was surreal. It was the first normal thing I had done after the Towers. Yes the scream happened. Yes The Patient please. Love the clockwork vibe of that song.

The tour they did when the album debuted, MJK absolutely roared like that in live performances and it was nothing short of breathtaking. In the last 5 years or so, his voice (very understandably) is aging and he’ll remain quiet in such sections of the songs.

The big scream on this song changes a man

You know I’ve been waiting for this one for so long, Geebz!! “Clutch it like cornerstone, otherwise it all comes down.”

“What an amazing scream at the end…” lmao 🤣 can’t know how many people laughed at this part of the beginning of video

It’s about time! One of the best songs ever recorded.

Have you ever done a reaction to Alice in Chains? "Rotten Apple" from their Jar of Flies EP is one of my favorites.

Yes, it was all Maynard. Ticks and leaches is another one he can't perform as time and tours have taken a toll on his throat.

Just hearing that scream gives me an instant boost of testosterone

Awwright Geebz..The Grudge!! Tool are one of my all time favourite bands, ever! That scream is the best!! Great reaction..thank you, sir!

I was waiting for your reaction to the scream, lol. Yeah, that's all him, man.

I saw them in 2002. The Grudge was one of the best performances of the night, and that scream sounded like the studio version. It was unbelievable to see. Maynard has some pipes.

Letting go is sometimes the hardest thing to do in life. Moving on is hard whether we are facing a death or holding a grudge. Both circumstances take an emotional toll, but they can be amplified by an unwillingness to let the past rest. Perhaps the hardest part about situations like these is that the longer we hold on to the past, the stronger its grip is on our lives. The Grudge, by Tool, is the first song from their album, Lateralus. Simply defined, a grudge is a “feeling of deep-seated resentment or ill will”. A grudge is more than a surface unwillingness; a grudge takes on a personality, it grows in strength, and it eventually controls our life. Destruction is the only outcome for someone who cannot escape the deadly grip of a grudge - he has to let go. In the first line, Maynard James Keenan, Tool’s lead singer, describes the grudge as a “crown of negativity”. Crowns are usually seen as something glorious, brilliant, and beautiful; Keenan takes this symbol of power and authority and twists it into something dark and terrifying, but the idea of power is retained. He is almost saying we are imbued with some sort of negative power when we allow this grudge to define us. He goes on to say, “Calculate what we will or will not tolerate/ Desperate to control all and everything”. With this false sense of power created by a grudge, the person becomes filled with a sense of being able to control everything around them. Typically, with the presence of a grudge comes a plan for revenge. A person wearing this crown of negativity is oftentimes so blinded by it they are unable see the limits of their power. I believe the next line, “Unable to forgive your scarlet lettermen,” is an allusion to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. The antagonist in this book, Roger Chillingworth, is seeking revenge on his ex-wife. He believes that she has committed an act of adultery against him. His quest for revenge consumes him so much that it affects his external appearance. His ex-wife’s lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, dies before Chillingworth is able to exact his revenge. Chillingworth soon follows him. His life had become so intertwined with his grudge that they were interdependent. When the source of power, the target, of his grudge was gone, the life drained out of him. He died with nothing. Just like Keenan said in his song, “Clutch it like a cornerstone/otherwise it all comes down/justify denials and grip it to the lonesome end”. A cornerstone is the source of stability for any building. It needs to be solid and immovable. Similarly, a grudge provides stability for a person’s life, no matter how false that stability is. Friends around us may point out how silly we are, but the holder is blinded by power. Part of us is, “terrified of being wrong,” as Keenan says. In the eyes of the holder, if he is found to be wrong, he will be put in an ”ultimatum prison cell”. If the song ended here, we would be without hope - locked away in a prison cell, left to our own devices. But Keenan tells us, “Saturn ascends/choose one or ten/hang on or be humbled again”. The reference to Saturn ascending is an astrological idea of changes in life associated with the completion of a revolution by Saturn around the earth. At this time in life, a choice has to be made. When he says “one or ten,” I believe he uses this to express to polar opposites. There is no middle ground; either the grudge is given up or held on to for another period of life. The one glimmer of hope here is the presence of a choice. Despite all of the power the grudge has, we can still choose to cast it away. Even though Keenan provides a way for escape, he does not want us to become complacent; he reminds us of the only outcome if we choose to hang on to the grudge. If we are “wear[ing] the grudge like a crown/desperate to control/unable to forgive,” then we will be “sinking deeper”. This begs the question, deeper into what? I believe when a grudge comes to be, it is born out of reason. We were wronged in some way, but as a grudge lingers in our mind it begins to create a false reality. The truth we see with our eyes becomes distorted when it passes through the filter of the grudge. The grudge becomes “defining, confining, [and] controlling”. Our real self is buried away within our subconscious; seemingly powerless to regain control. So we continue downward. Then “Saturn comes back around to show you everything”. Now is the time to make a choice. This stanza is the first time in the song that Keenan refers to the grudge as a stone. He says, “[the grudge] drags you down like a stone”. The other option is to be treated like “a child, light and innocent”. The process of separating ourselves from the grudge is not easy. We have to completely humble ourselves to the level of a child. He is saying there must be a return to innocence; all of the unnecessary weight in life must be eradicated. All the “[calculations of] what we will or will not tolerate,” and the “[desperations] to control all and everything,” serve only to complicate and fill our life with meaningless pursuits that waste any chance we have of living. We must be like a child because only a renaissance of innocence will bring freedom from this “cold and fated anchor”. Finally, Keenan begs us to “give away the stone/let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and fated anchor/give away the stone/let the waters kiss and transmutate these leaden grudges into gold”. His imagery of the oceans and waters is an allusion to baptism. A thorough cleansing is necessary for change, but with change comes reward. If this trial in life is endured, then “these leaden grudges will be turned into gold”. Perseverance breeds greatness. Keenan breaks down in the end of the song. He lets out a passionate scream - I envision him falling to his knees with his hands on his head. He knows he must let go, has to let go. He begins whispering “[l]et go, let go, let go…,” over and over, almost chanting it. The song crescendos as he chants louder and louder until he is screaming “let go!” He knows where the grudge is taking him; he sees the destruction waiting for him if he cannot let go. Change is never easy, but he has to try. A grudge begins in reason but transforms into a powerful entity capable of destroying lives. The only way to escape the endless spiral of increasing desperation to control everything around us is to choose to change. No matter how attractive the crown is, we need to take it off. Maynard James Keenan begs us to throw away “this cold and fated anchor,” but no one can make us let go, it must come from within. In the end, it is up to us…it always has been.

Anyone else have very un-graceful reactions of excitement upon seeing this was up finally?

This song has the best rock guttural scream of all time at the end. Change my mind? You won't.

18:36 I can't even with the 9, I can't , the visceral reaction before Cognition sets in... yes.

Wear THE GRUDGE like a crown!

As a fellow bass goober I've been waiting on this one! Thanks for all your vids!

HAH! Maynard lighting one off is really something. He absolutely crushes it live. Dude is amazing.

Had to watch this review twice it was so good. Very authentic review my friend.

This song perfectly flows with the lyrics: the whole process of exercising a grudge. I believe that scream at the end was Maynard vocalizing the anxiety and rage and release of letting go. Although, I had always wondered if that scream was “doctored” about halfway through until I saw a video of him doing it live.

He can't do it anymore, but back in the early and mid 2000's he could absolutely hold that scream at the end live.

Very keen to hear your take on some more early years stuff from Tool. Despite the decades of maturation and metamorphosis, Undertow sounds as fresh, raw, and real as it did in the early 90s. Flood, Undertow, 4°, Swamp Song, you name it, it all sounds SHARP.

He's done it, he's bloody done it.

Yes. It was a 29 second yell. The same amount of time it takes for Saturn to "come back around" from its trip around the sun.

Oh my goodness, you did it! I squeaked when I got this notification. :D I know the Tool army will dominate the comments but I appreciate you keeping at this, and hope that one of these days you might get to check out Disillusion's Back To Times of Splendour. ;) I can be patient.

Have you listened to the live/alternate version of Push It off the Salival album yet?? Best recording of Maynard's live vocals... It's a MUST!!!

I have seen this song live twice, once back in the early 2000's and he hit the scream 100% the whole time, and a second time in like 2015 where he used echo to draw it out. Not a big surprise that he doesn't put his voice through that any more, but for sure at the time this song was made, he did that full scream and it was glorious to hear live.

The entire ending of this song, from Maynard's 25 second scream, the "let go" groove, and Danny going fucking ballistic is all just so damn good.

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to exploration/discovery of our favorite artists and songs. We all (as TOOL fans) appreciate your unique perspective!

One of my favorites. I love seeing you feel it like we do :) A big theme Maynard talks about over and over is tension - as a theme, as a feeling, an expression. That pull you feel is playing with that. He does it in his other bands too.

This was an important album for many in a lot of ways. This is an amazing opening track for what this album is.

I love it at 5:20 when Geebz really starts to lock in and bounce to it!

Love the talk on the rhythm and how it is so deeply entrenched in us, one of my favorite reactions so far, keep up the good work!

HERE FOR IT GEEBZ

That scream is 100% real and it is even more incredible live. I appreciate Tool more and more with every single listen. More than any other artist they have influenced my life and changed my way if looking at the world. Incredible group

😂 When he said at 16:00 that Maynard had just delivered “The People’s Elbow”, he had no idea what he was about to hear!!!