1993

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Siamese Dream: Unveiling The Smashing Pumpkins’ Vision Siamese Dream (Deluxe Edition)

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...

Chaos A.D. – Sepultura’s Genre-Defining Album

Neil Johnson 18 September 2024

Introduction In the world of heavy metal, few albums have made as significant an impact as Sepultura’s...

The Making of Rancid: Punk’s Defining Album Rancid

The Making of Rancid: Punk’s Defining Album

Neil Johnson 1 August 2024

Introduction Few debut albums have the raw force and restless spirit of Rancid’s self-titled release. Dropping in...

In Utero: Nirvana’s Defiant Grunge Anthem

In Utero: Nirvana’s Defiant Grunge Anthem

Neil Johnson 12 May 2024

Released on September 21, 1993, Nirvana's In Utero is a raw and introspective album that defied mainstream...

Podcast Episodes

Riffology: Iconic Rock Albums Podcast

Welcome to Riffology, where a GenX and a Millennial talk about the albums from their youth. It’s more fun than it sounds…

Two nerds, a laminator, and an extremely long “warm worm” somehow lead to a deep dive into one of the darkest, driest, and most hypnotic debut albums of the ‘90s. Undertow wasn’t just Tool’s arrival — 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 ’93 sound like it was recorded in a gym hall.

Neil and Chris get into Sylvia Massy’s production magic, the infamous piano-and-shotgun session that birthed “Disgustipated,” 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 — this one’s for you.

Timestamps

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

Listen & follow
• Blog & show notes: https://riffology.co/2025/10/05/the-making-of-undertow-by-tool/
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