10 Hidden Details You Never Noticed In Hard Rock Songs
4. Mantra - Tool
Once the '00s metal scene started opening up, Tool quickly rose to the occasion to become one of the most cerebral metal acts ever to exist.
After proving their chops in the '90s with Undertow and Aenima, the band's third entry Lateralus became their magnum opus, with songs that were as pointed as they were complex. The songs themselves may have been pretty heavy, but the band saved their mischief for the interludes.
On its own, something like "Mantra" sounds genuinely off-putting, with the weird groan noises sounding like a deranged alien on first listen. So how did these guys create such an off-putting sound?
Simple... their pets.
When trying to find the best sounds they could, Maynard James Keenan decided to take a different route and recorded the sound of him gently squeezing his cat. The result ended up being quite loud on first listen, but it got its dark character once the band shifted down the pitch to become what it is today.
Tool is a band known for their more off-the-wall ideas, but no one could have anticipated having an actual feline have a turn on the mic. So next time "Mantra" fills you with dread, just remember how this ominous ambient noise is actually one of the cutest moments in Tool's discography.