Ah man I love the second track, Pneuma. Such a great test track too 
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I don’t think you’ll find a more talented drummer 
. When crazy good drummers swoon over another drummer, you know they are probably as talented as it gets.
Like watching Matt Garstka break down his compositions on his YouTube channel. Dude is insanely gifted on those things.
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Mike Portnoy immediately comes to mind. 
Ah yes, odd time signatures can be hard to bob to, but I very much appreciate them if they’re still musical. Dream Theater is a band that consistently does this properly to my ears.
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Judging Tool by their second album is kinda like judging Beethoven by his 2nd symphony. I wouldn’t recommend starting with Aenima unless you are already a grunge metal fan. For prog fans, either start with Lateralus or better yet start at Fear Inoculum and work back.
That’s an interesting statement as Tool, Yes, and Genesis are three of my favorite bands while I’ve not been able to get into King Crimson despite multiple attempts. Maybe it’s that Tool isn’t as jazz influenced as you like to hear. I know that Bill Bruford said one of the reasons he left Yes and joined King Crimson is that he wanted to go in a more jazz focused direction.
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That was hilarious, I loved it! 
And I am very much in the Tool school of appreciation 
Very familiar with their albums.
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Hmmm. I’m just the opposite. King Crimson is by far my favorite of these groups, and I think of it as just touched by Jazz. When we wanted prog jazz with rock, we listened to Soft Machine. My friends Jeff Stern and Bill Koslow (RIP) were the Yes and Genesis fans respectively. I don’t see the first King Crimson album as particularly jazzy at all.
And I did start with Fear Inoculum. Then I went to Wiki and they said that AEnima is often considered the “best”. And I’m weird with Beethoven. I like the 6th symphony best.
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When it comes to art, I avoid saying something is the “best” work or that an artist is “the most talented”. While there can be consensus on what is good and who is talented, what is at the very top is too subjective. So I can only state with confidence that Tool is talented, Aenima is a good album, Lateralus is my favorite Tool track, Fear Inoculum is my favorite Tool album, and Danny Carey is a god - er uh - my favorite drummer. 
If you still want to understand what all the fuss is about, check out the title track from Lateralus and maybe watch this analysis:
If not, be happy. You gave them a fair try and didn’t dig it. Then tell me what King Crimson I need to listen to (besides Court Of The Crimson King). 
Me too. It’s also my favorite music to listen to when I’m trying to sleep on an airplane.
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Wow, this video made my head explode!
I didn’t know about any of this, it’s quite interesting. A bit much too. Gives a new perspective on the song and album.
My first exposure to this album was Reflection, which absolutely floored me and left my mouth agape! I was “who are these guys?”, and since then went down the whole Tool rabbit hole, I now have their whole catalog.
Anyway, they are not everyone’s cup of tea, and @pennstac you definitely gave them a fair shot. One man’s food…
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My favorite King Crimson album is actually Red. You might check that out.
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Will do! I am completely sincere in my desire to get into King Crimson. One of the reasons I didn’t was because I didn’t know any KC fans and previously they only sold their music as complete albums. Now I can stream KC so it’s a lot less expensive to experiment.
I’m already a fan of Bruford, Harrison, and Levin so there must be something there.
You’ll probably enjoy these as well:
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My favorite as well. 21st century schizoid man!
Liked it so much i painted the album!
Oops im Bad, Eon Bue Apocalypse, The Grudge
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That sounds like a baaaad time lol. Unless it’s like, Vicarious or something like that. I don’t think that one was all that bad.
Prison Sex and bong though? No thankyou.
That said, I wonder if anyone has ever tried to market whacky tobacky as an audiophile product.
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I think I’ll use that for my new super-villian personality. I need a dark skinsuit with an orange V on the chest. “Fear me for I will destroy your puny empire, VICARIOUSLY”
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