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Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums

Uncover the details behind the most iconic albums ever recorded.

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The Story Behind Who’s Next by The Who 8744_album_art
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Story Behind Who’s Next by The Who

Neil Johnson 24 February 2025
Introduction In 1971, The Who released “Who’s Next,” an album that would solidify their place in rock...
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The Making of ‘Somewhere in Time’ – Iron Maiden’s Bold Leap 4765_album_art
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of ‘Somewhere in Time’ – Iron Maiden’s Bold Leap

Neil Johnson 24 February 2025
Introduction Iron Maiden’s “Somewhere in Time” stands as a landmark in the band’s illustrious discography. Released on...
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From Fleetwood Mac to Nirvana: The Iconic History of Sound City Recording Studio Sound-City-2
16 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
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From Fleetwood Mac to Nirvana: The Iconic History of Sound City Recording Studio

Neil Johnson 22 February 2025
Early Origins and Founding Sound City Recording Studio, nestled in the heart of Van Nuys, Los Angeles,...
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The Making of Hooked – Great White’s Timeless Rock Classic 3752_album_art
7 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of Hooked – Great White’s Timeless Rock Classic

Neil Johnson 20 February 2025
Introduction Released on 18 February 1991, Hooked by Great White is a seminal album that captured the...
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Exploring the Genius of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti 4291_album_art
7 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Exploring the Genius of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti

Neil Johnson 20 February 2025
Introduction Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti stands as a monumental achievement in rock history. Released in 1975, this...
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The Unlikely Success Story of Metallica metallica
13 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
  • Feature

The Unlikely Success Story of Metallica

Neil Johnson 16 February 2025
The Definitive History of Metallica: From Inception to 2025 Metallica’s journey from a fledgling band in Los...
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Inside Slipknot’s Iowa: A Metal Evolution slipknot-iowa
16 min read
  • Album Deep Dive
  • Feature
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Inside Slipknot’s Iowa: A Metal Evolution

Neil Johnson 16 February 2025
Introduction Released on August 28, 2001, Iowa by Slipknot is a pivotal album in the heavy metal...
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Tusk: Fleetwood Mac’s Bold Artistic Experiment 8605_album_art
9 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

Tusk: Fleetwood Mac’s Bold Artistic Experiment

Neil Johnson 15 February 2025
Exploring “Tusk” by Fleetwood Mac: A Comprehensive Journey Fleetwood Mac’s album Tusk represents a pivotal moment in...
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The Making of London Calling: The Clash’s Iconic Album 8717_album_art
8 min read
  • Album Deep Dive

The Making of London Calling: The Clash’s Iconic Album

Neil Johnson 15 February 2025
The Clash’s “London Calling”: A Revolutionary Anthem In the late 1970s, amidst a world grappling with economic...
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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

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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.

  • 00:00 โ€” Warm-up chaos: โ€œwarm worm,โ€ laminator drama.
  • 00:04 โ€” Why Undertow and not Lateralus (yet).
  • 00:07 โ€” Setting the scene: 1993โ€™s heavy landscape.
  • 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.
  • 00:15 โ€” Who is Sylvia Massy and why her production mattered.
  • 00:19 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.

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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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