It is darker, but not quite as hard hitting as Aenima. Lateralus comes in the same basic format as Aenima...it comes with the little short aside things (think Intermission and (-) Ions), and it is relatively lengthy as far as average album time is concerned. TOOL stretches the standard twelve song 4 minute format compact disc multi-dimensionally. You just have to experience the album to know what I mean (or have listened to previous TOOL albums). The sound (instrumentals, vocals, and production) is quite similar to Aenima, but has a bit more of a refined while less striking feel. There is no such thing as musical perfection, but TOOL is coming pretty darn close. I get the feeling that this album sounds exactly the way the band wanted it to sound. Tool's understanding of volume, and contrasting musical elements really sets this album apart from just about anything else in the mainstream today. It's not 45 minutes of screaming and guitars and or sampling, it's nearly 80 minutes of mind bending music, but that's not all...

The thing that really gets me about Lateralus is that the pieces come together as an artistic whole like no other album I can ever recall listening to. Everything from album art, instrumentals, lyrics, vocals, to the studio work fits together seamlessly to create a sort of dark euphoria. This album is a state of mind.

Schism, the first single, does fine as a radio song, but after listening to the album for quite a while I feel that none of the songs really belong on the radio. Rock radio just does not hold up next to Tool's high standards.

Aenima was just the beginning. Lateralus, like Radiohead's Kid A and Amnesiac, take the mainstream concept of music a step further. Of course one must listen a little deeper to albums like this. The idea is not to look for pop hooks, but for lyrics that combine well with musical phrases to provoke thought in the listener.