Korn

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...

Unraveling Korn’s Issues: Nu-Metal’s Defining Album Issues

Unraveling Korn’s Issues: Nu-Metal’s Defining Album

Neil Johnson 27 October 2024

Korn's fourth studio album, Issues, released on 16 November 1999, significantly influenced the nu-metal genre. Blending raw...

The Making of Korn: Nu-Metal’s Groundbreaking Debut Korn

The Making of Korn: Nu-Metal’s Groundbreaking Debut

Neil Johnson 14 October 2024

Introduction In the pantheon of groundbreaking debut albums, Korn’s self-titled release stands as a formidable force that...

Follow The Leader: Korn’s Iconic Nu-Metal Revolution korn-follow_the_leader

Follow The Leader: Korn’s Iconic Nu-Metal Revolution

Neil Johnson 6 September 2024

Introduction In the summer of 1998, the music world witnessed a seismic shift with the release of...

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/
• Main site: https://riffology.co/podcast
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/riffology-iconic-rock-albums-podcast/id1691556696
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1LIU9mein7QMw346q20nyy
• Email: [email protected]
• X: https://x.com/RiffologyPod
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/riffology.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riffology