Skip to content

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

Primary Menu
  • Home
  • About Riffology
  • LastFM Collage Builder
  • Riffology Podcast
  • MP3 Converter
The Evolution of Load – Metallica’s Bold Move Load
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Evolution of Load – Metallica’s Bold Move

Neil Johnson 1 November 2024
In 1996, Metallica released Load, a significant shift from their thrash metal roots to a hard rock...
Read More Read more about The Evolution of Load – Metallica’s Bold Move
Make Them Suffer by Make Them Suffer – album review Make Them Suffer - Make Them Suffer - Artwork
2 min read
  • Review

Make Them Suffer by Make Them Suffer – album review

Neil Johnson 31 October 2024
Make Them Suffer's self-titled album, releasing on November 8, 2024, showcases a blend of aggression and melody,...
Read More Read more about Make Them Suffer by Make Them Suffer – album review
Adrenaline: Deftones’ Explosive Debut Album Adrenaline
7 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Adrenaline: Deftones’ Explosive Debut Album

Neil Johnson 30 October 2024
Released on October 3, 1995, Deftones' debut album "Adrenaline" transformed the nu-metal genre with its raw energy...
Read More Read more about Adrenaline: Deftones’ Explosive Debut Album
The Making of Lifes Rich Pageant – R.E.M.’s Evolution Lifes Rich Pageant
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Lifes Rich Pageant – R.E.M.’s Evolution

Neil Johnson 30 October 2024
Released on July 28, 1986, R.E.M.'s "Lifes Rich Pageant" marked a pivotal shift in their sound toward...
Read More Read more about The Making of Lifes Rich Pageant – R.E.M.’s Evolution
The Making of Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious, Carcass’s Death Metal Classic Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious, Carcass’s Death Metal Classic

Neil Johnson 30 October 2024
"Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious," released by Carcass in 1991, is a pivotal death metal album that...
Read More Read more about The Making of Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious, Carcass’s Death Metal Classic
Discover the Impact of Sepultura’s ‘Schizophrenia’ Schizophrenia
7 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
  • Podcasts

Discover the Impact of Sepultura’s ‘Schizophrenia’

Neil Johnson 30 October 2024
Sepultura's "Schizophrenia," released on October 30, 1987, marked a crucial evolution in thrash metal. Introducing guitarist Andreas...
Read More Read more about Discover the Impact of Sepultura’s ‘Schizophrenia’
The Making of Roots – Sepultura’s Cultural Revolution Roots
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Roots – Sepultura’s Cultural Revolution

Neil Johnson 30 October 2024
Sepultura's 1996 album, Roots, marks a significant evolution in metal, merging groove and nu metal with Brazilian...
Read More Read more about The Making of Roots – Sepultura’s Cultural Revolution
Exploring Life Is Peachy: Korn’s Nu Metal Evolution Life Is Peachy
7 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Exploring Life Is Peachy: Korn’s Nu Metal Evolution

Neil Johnson 30 October 2024
In 1996, Korn released "Life Is Peachy," a pivotal nu metal album that showcased raw energy and...
Read More Read more about Exploring Life Is Peachy: Korn’s Nu Metal Evolution
Unveiling Slipknot’s Debut: A Metal Revolution Slipknot
10 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unveiling Slipknot’s Debut: A Metal Revolution

Neil Johnson 29 October 2024
Slipknot's self-titled debut album, released on June 29, 1999, revolutionized heavy metal, introducing a raw, aggressive sound...
Read More Read more about Unveiling Slipknot’s Debut: A Metal Revolution

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 … 31 Next

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

Mailing List

  • The Making of Rumours by Fleetwood Mac - Monday 27th January 2025

1975 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2007 2024 2025 Alice in Chains Anthrax Entombed Green Day Iron Maiden Korn Led Zeppelin Linkin Park Megadeth Metallica Ozzy Osbourne Pantera Pearl Jam Pink Floyd Podcast Queensrรฟche Radiohead Sepultura Slayer The Smashing Pumpkins Tool

Archives

  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024

Categories

  • Album Deep Dive
  • Feature
  • News
  • Podcasts
  • Review
  • Tech

You may have missed

tmpcn7rfxas
5 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Para Bellum by Testament – album review

Neil Johnson 13 October 2025
Undertow album cover by Tool
21 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
  • Podcasts

Undertow: Tool’s Breakthrough Album Unveiled

Neil Johnson 5 October 2025
Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts - Troubled Paradise - Artwork
4 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
  • Review

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

Neil Johnson 30 September 2025
Mer De Noms - A Perfect Circle Album Art
25 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
  • Podcasts

A Deep Dive into A Perfect Circleโ€™s Mer de Noms

Neil Johnson 29 September 2025
  • X
  • Blue Sky
  • Facebook
  • IG
  • Discord
  • Apple
  • Spotify
Copyright © All rights reserved. | MoreNews by AF themes.