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Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

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The Real Thing: Faith No More’s Genre-Defining Album faith_no_more-the_real_thing
10 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
  • Feature
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The Real Thing: Faith No More’s Genre-Defining Album

Neil Johnson 7 January 2025
Introduction Released on June 20, 1989, The Real Thing by Faith No More marked a pivotal moment...
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Insomniac: Green Day’s Intense Punk Rock Evolution 4553_album_art
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Insomniac: Green Day’s Intense Punk Rock Evolution

Neil Johnson 6 January 2025
Green Day's "Insomniac," released on October 10, 1995, marked a significant evolution in the band's sound, showcasing...
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August and Everything After: Counting Crows’ Timeless Debut 8250_album_art
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

August and Everything After: Counting Crows’ Timeless Debut

Neil Johnson 5 January 2025
August and Everything After, released on September 14, 1993, by Counting Crows, significantly impacted alternative rock, merging...
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Cursed by Paleface Swiss – album review album_cover
2 min read
  • Review

Cursed by Paleface Swiss – album review

Neil Johnson 3 January 2025
Paleface Swiss's album Cursed, released on January 3, 2025, scores 85/100, showcasing a blend of deathcore, metalcore,...
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Inside Odelay: Beck’s Innovative 90s Breakthrough 8208_album_art
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Inside Odelay: Beck’s Innovative 90s Breakthrough

Chris Baldwin 1 January 2025
Beck's "Odelay," released on June 18, 1996, is a seminal album in alternative music, known for its...
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Exploring the Impact of Jagged Little Pill 5716_album_art
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
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Exploring the Impact of Jagged Little Pill

Neil Johnson 1 January 2025
Released on June 13, 1995, Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" became a cultural milestone, blending alternative rock...
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Getting Started with last.fm and Apple Music on macOS Last.fm-Logo.wine
6 min read
  • Tech

Getting Started with last.fm and Apple Music on macOS

Neil Johnson 1 January 2025
This article guides Apple Music users on macOS to create listening data collages using last.fm. It explains...
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The Making of Blackout In The Red Room – Love/Hate’s Raw Debut 8195_album_art
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
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The Making of Blackout In The Red Room – Love/Hate’s Raw Debut

Neil Johnson 24 December 2024
Love/Hate's debut album, Blackout In The Red Room, released on February 22, 1990, epitomized the glam metal...
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Faster Pussycat: The Glam Metal Revolution of 1987 3937_album_art
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
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Faster Pussycat: The Glam Metal Revolution of 1987

Neil Johnson 17 December 2024
Faster Pussycat's self-titled debut album, released in 1987, embodies the glam metal spirit of the era. Despite...
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Podcast Episodes

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast
Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast

Welcome to Riffology, where a GenX and a Millennial talk about the albums from their youth. Itโ€™s more fun than it soundsโ€ฆ

RIFF067 – Tool – Undertow
byRiffology

Two nerds, a laminator, and an extremely long โ€œwarm wormโ€ somehow lead to a deep dive into one of the darkest, driest, and most hypnotic debut albums of the โ€˜90s. Undertow wasnโ€™t just Toolโ€™s arrival โ€” 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 โ€™93 sound like it was recorded in a gym hall.

Neil and Chris get into Sylvia Massyโ€™s production magic, the infamous piano-and-shotgun session that birthed โ€œDisgustipated,โ€ 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 โ€” this oneโ€™s for you.

Timestamps

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

Listen & follow
โ€ข Blog & show notes: https://riffology.co/2025/10/05/the-making-of-undertow-by-tool/
โ€ข Main site: https://riffology.co/podcast
โ€ข Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/riffology-iconic-rock-albums-podcast/id1691556696
โ€ข Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LIU9mein7QMw346q20nyy
โ€ข Email: [email protected]
โ€ข X: https://x.com/RiffologyPod
โ€ข Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/riffology.co
โ€ข Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riffology

RIFF067 – Tool – Undertow
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RIFF067 – Tool – Undertow
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RIFF066 – A Perfect Circle – Mer De Noms
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RIFF065 – Deftones – White Pony
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RIFF064 – Anthrax – Sound of White Noise
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RIFF063 – Anthrax – Persistence of Time
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RIFF062 – Soulfly – Soulfly
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RIFF061 – Sepultura – Beneath the Remains
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RIFF060 – Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters
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RIFF059 – Stereophonics – Performance and Cocktails
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RIFF058 – Carcass – Heartwork
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