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Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

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St. Anger: Metallica’s Raw Evolution St. Anger
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

St. Anger: Metallica’s Raw Evolution

Neil Johnson 17 September 2024
Metallica's 2003 album St. Anger represents a significant departure from their traditional sound, characterized by raw production...
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Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation: The Ultimate Comeback Permanent Vacation
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation: The Ultimate Comeback

Neil Johnson 17 September 2024
Introduction Aerosmith’s Permanent Vacation stands as a landmark in the band’s illustrious career, representing a crucial turning...
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Exploring Tool’s ร†nima: A Progressive Metal Classic ร†nima
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Exploring Tool’s ร†nima: A Progressive Metal Classic

Neil Johnson 17 September 2024
Tool's 1996 album ร†nima significantly impacted progressive metal with its complex arrangements, profound lyrics, and unique artwork....
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Unraveling Slave to the Grind: Skid Row’s Metal Evolution Slave to the Grind
10 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unraveling Slave to the Grind: Skid Row’s Metal Evolution

Neil Johnson 17 September 2024
Introduction In the vibrant tapestry of rock music history, Skid Row’s “Slave to the Grind” stands as...
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The Making of Use Your Illusion II – Guns N’ Roses’ Ambitious Classic guns_n_roses-use_your_illusion_ii
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Use Your Illusion II – Guns N’ Roses’ Ambitious Classic

Neil Johnson 17 September 2024
Introduction In the vibrant and tumultuous landscape of early 1990s rock, Guns N’ Roses emerged as a...
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The Offspring’s Smash: Punk Rock’s Unstoppable Force the_offspring-smash
13 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Offspring’s Smash: Punk Rock’s Unstoppable Force

Neil Johnson 15 September 2024
Introduction In April 1994, The Offspring unleashed “Smash” and rewrote the rules for punk rock. Before this...
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Unveiling Arise: Sepultura’s Thrash Metal Evolution sepultura-arise
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Unveiling Arise: Sepultura’s Thrash Metal Evolution

Neil Johnson 15 September 2024
Introduction In the early 1990s, amidst the burgeoning thrash and death metal scenes, a Brazilian band emerged...
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Seasons In The Abyss: Slayer’s Defining Thrash Evolution slayer-seasons_in_the_abyss
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Seasons In The Abyss: Slayer’s Defining Thrash Evolution

Neil Johnson 12 September 2024
Introduction Released on October 9, 1990, Seasons In The Abyss marked a pivotal moment in Slayer’s illustrious...
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The Making of Ixnay on the Hombre – Offspring’s Punk Classic the_offspring-ixnay_on_the_hombre
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Ixnay on the Hombre – Offspring’s Punk Classic

Neil Johnson 9 September 2024
Introduction In the realm of punk rock, few albums have left as indelible a mark as The...
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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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