Tool fans – of which there are legions in New Zealand – rejoice.
Fear Inoculum, the long-awaited fifth studio album from the Los Angeles-based masters of psychedelic progressive metal, is everything you could have hoped for and more.
Thirteen years in the making, the 10-track, (another) near 80-minute opus, rewards the group's followers by hitting all the familiar marks that earned their devotion while tip-toeing into new and unique sonic territory.
Like much of their back catalogue, the total weight and depth of Fear Inoculum is not apparent on the first listen but slowly washes over you during repeat plays. Pieces of songs hook you in, from where you can begin to decode and appreciate their place within the whole track, and where it fits in amongst the jigsaw of the entire album.