10 Metal Songs That Are Ridiculously Long

Most of Tool’s music has never exactly been for the fairweather fan of metal. As they’ve gone through each era of their existence, they’ve always looked to challenge their audience in different ways, like getting in touch with their emotional side on 10,000 Days or making progressive rock that will make your brain melt on Lateralus. After years in the dark though, Tool served up their most hypnotic song to date on 7empest.

Though most of Fear Inoculum does stay on the long side for most of its runtime, this is one of the few songs that actually seems to be going for a tone other than raw power, taking its time to call out people in power that are more focused on their position at the top rather than the people that they are serving. While the initial song actually starts out like your traditional Tool track, all 16 of these minutes are them going through different peaks and valleys, with the calming middle section before the final heavy section comes blasting in, sounding like it’s physically trying to rip your brain in two as you listen to it.

Although Maynard has been known to be fairly snide throughout this entire track, it’s the final few minutes where he starts to morph into something truly sinister, as he says the final lines in an almost whispered tone as if he’s a serial killer. Tool may have taken their sweet time making this record, but these are the kind of songs that you need to feel in your bones before you even attempt to play them.