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Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

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Wolverine Blues: Entombed’s Genre-Defining Album Wolverine Blues
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Wolverine Blues: Entombed’s Genre-Defining Album

Neil Johnson 21 October 2024
Entombed's "Wolverine Blues," released on October 4, 1993, pioneered the death 'n' roll genre, merging death metal's...
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GRIEF by Zeal & Ardor – album review GREIF
3 min read
  • Review

GRIEF by Zeal & Ardor – album review

Neil Johnson 21 October 2024
Zeal & Ardor's new album, GRIEF, merges African American spirituals with black metal, achieving an emotional and...
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Pretty Hate Machine: Nine Inch Nails’ Industrial Breakthrough Pretty Hate Machine
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Pretty Hate Machine: Nine Inch Nails’ Industrial Breakthrough

Neil Johnson 20 October 2024
Pretty Hate Machine, released in 1989, is Nine Inch Nails' groundbreaking debut album that fused industrial rock...
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Youthanasia: Megadeth’s Pivotal Heavy Metal Shift Youthanasia
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Youthanasia: Megadeth’s Pivotal Heavy Metal Shift

Neil Johnson 20 October 2024
Megadeth's sixth album, "Youthanasia," released on November 1, 1994, marked a significant transition in their sound toward...
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Unveiling ‘Bleach’: Nirvana’s Raw Grunge Debut Bleach
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unveiling ‘Bleach’: Nirvana’s Raw Grunge Debut

Neil Johnson 19 October 2024
Nirvana's debut album, Bleach, released in 1989, significantly influenced the grunge movement despite initial obscurity. This raw...
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Siamese Dream: Unveiling The Smashing Pumpkins’ Vision Siamese Dream (Deluxe Edition)
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Siamese Dream: Unveiling The Smashing Pumpkins’ Vision

Neil Johnson 19 October 2024
The Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream, released in 1993, is a pivotal alternative rock album blending grunge's rawness...
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Unraveling Queensrรฟche’s ‘Promised Land’: A Prog Metal Icon Promised Land (Remastered)
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unraveling Queensrรฟche’s ‘Promised Land’: A Prog Metal Icon

Neil Johnson 18 October 2024
Queensrรฟche's 1994 album "Promised Land" is a pivotal work in progressive metal, showcasing the band's shift towards...
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I Want Blood by Jerry Cantrell – album review album_cover
3 min read
  • Review

I Want Blood by Jerry Cantrell – album review

Neil Johnson 18 October 2024
Jerry Cantrell's album I Want Blood, scored 76/100, marks a darker, introspective turn in his solo career....
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Saviors by Green Day – album review album_cover
2 min read
  • Review

Saviors by Green Day – album review

Neil Johnson 17 October 2024
Green Day's album Saviors, rated 73/100, represents a strong return for the band, balancing social critique with...
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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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