10 Best Hard Rock Songs Of The 2000's

As Tool were coming into the 2000s, their sound was slowly turning a corner. While the band had been a pretty steady heavy metal outfit throughout the 90's, the band signaled new directions with Aenima on songs like "Third Eye." It wasn't until we heard "Schism" that we all knew just how complex this band could get.

Justin Chancellor's central bass riff strikes first to put the listener into a musical trance, as the meters shift in every other measure. With any other group, this prog rock production could sound musically incoherent, but Tool found the perfect way of riding the track like a wave as the riff seeps into your skin.

In each breakdown, Danny Carey's drums open up the track to glorious effect before the crunch of Adam Jones' guitars lead you into one of the grooviest sections this band would ever put on record. Maynard James Keenan's vocals are absolutely perfect in this track, as they talk about the fracturing relationship around him as the band floats just beneath the surface.

There was no doubt that Tool were going to go in different directions, but this cerebral track not only pushed their sound forward, but also pushed the sound of the entire hard rock genre.