Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

Para Bellum by Testament – album review

Para Bellum by Testament – album review

Neil Johnson 13 October 2025

Testament’s fourteenth album, Para Bellum, is a wild, urgent and fearless blast of thrash metal that proves,...

Undertow: Tool’s Breakthrough Album Unveiled

Undertow: Tool’s Breakthrough Album Unveiled

Neil Johnson 5 October 2025

Released on April 6, 1993, Tool's debut album, Undertow, epitomizes alternative metal's evolution. With themes of struggle...

Troubled Paradise by Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts – album review

Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts - Troubled Paradise - Artwork

Troubled Paradise by Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts – album review

Neil Johnson 30 September 2025

Monster Shop Score: 90/100 There’s a certain thrill when an record grabs you by the collar and...

A Deep Dive into A Perfect Circle’s Mer de Noms

Mer De Noms - A Perfect Circle Album Art

A Deep Dive into A Perfect Circle’s Mer de Noms

Neil Johnson 29 September 2025

A Perfect Circle’s debut album, Mer de Noms, arrived in May 2000 as a poised, meticulously arranged...

White Pony by Deftones: why it still matters

Deftones - White Pony - Original Album Cover

White Pony by Deftones: why it still matters

Neil Johnson 14 September 2025

Released on 20 June 2000 by Maverick Records, Deftones’ third album White Pony arrived at the height...

Anthrax’s Sound of White Noise: The 1993 Pivot That Rewired Heavy Music

Anthrax Sound of White Noise Album Cover

Anthrax’s Sound of White Noise: The 1993 Pivot That Rewired Heavy Music

Neil Johnson 8 September 2025

A pivotal turn: Anthrax, 1993, and Sound of White Noise Anthrax released Sound of White Noise on...

Soulfly – Soulfly (1998): A complete guide

Soulfly – Soulfly (1998): A complete guide

Neil Johnson 24 August 2025

Setting the Scene: Why Soulfly’s Self‑Titled Debut Mattered in 1998 By early 1998 the commercial centre of...

The Making of Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters

Neil Johnson 1 August 2025

Foo Fighters by Foo Fighters: The Birth of a Modern Rock Giant Few albums mark a true...

The Making of Performance and Cocktails by Stereophonics

Neil Johnson 26 July 2025

Performance and Cocktails by Stereophonics: The Making of a Modern Classic Sometimes, an album arrives at just...

Podcast Episodes

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast

Welcome to Riffology, where a GenX and a Millennial talk about the albums from their youth. It’s more fun than it sounds…

Two nerds, a laminator, and an extremely long “warm worm” somehow lead to a deep dive into one of the darkest, driest, and most hypnotic debut albums of the ‘90s. Undertow wasn’t just Tool’s arrival — it was a statement: no gloss, no funk, no flannel. Just tight, menacing precision and the kind of sonic control that made everything else in ’93 sound like it was recorded in a gym hall.

Neil and Chris get into Sylvia Massy’s production magic, the infamous piano-and-shotgun session that birthed “Disgustipated,” and why Undertow still feels so unsettlingly alive today. They unpack the censored artwork, the Lollapalooza breakthrough, and what makes this record sound dangerous even three decades later.

If you like your riffs dry, your rhythm sections ritualistic, and your frontmen just a little terrifying — this one’s for you.

Timestamps

00:00 — Warm-up chaos: “warm worm,” laminator drama, and remembering to actually start the show.
00:04 — Why Undertow and not Lateralus (yet). Tool’s shift from soundscapes to surgical precision.
00:07 — Setting the scene: 1993’s heavy landscape and why Tool went against the grain.
00:10 — Comparing Undertow’s live-band energy to A Perfect Circle’s layered polish.
00:14 — The dry, claustrophobic mix and why it works.
00:15–00:19 — Who is Sylvia Massy and why her production mattered.
00:19–00:22 — The piano + shotgun recording session and how it became “Disgustipated.”
01:05 — CD quirks, hidden tracks, and Flood’s strange indexing.
01:08 — “Turn it up”: why the album rewards volume.
01:11 — The censored cover art and mail-in reveal.
01:14 — Lollapalooza ’93: the moment Tool broke through.

Listen & follow
• Blog & show notes: https://riffology.co/2025/10/05/the-making-of-undertow-by-tool/
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