10 Perfect Metal Albums With ZERO Bad Songs
4. Lateralus - Tool
If Tool had decided to stop after their sophomore release Aenema, chances are a lot of the metal crowd would have still been satisfied. Aside from the savage release of their debut Undertow, that was the album where it felt like they truly tapped their potential as musicians, going for more prog rock styles and making some of the most complex songs of the '90s. As is turns out though, we had not yet begun to see what Tool was capable of by the time we reached Lateralus.
Hell, listening to this after Aenema makes the rest of their catalog sound quaint. Going even more experimental, this is what Tool sounds like when you mix them with psychedelia, going for songs that are just as likely to put you in a trance as they will make you bang your head. For all of the great music coming from the heavy side of the spectrum, you weren't going to see a band like Rage Against the Machine make something like the Grudge any time soon.
This is also where we get to see Maynard get even more emotional as a lyricist, focusing on themes of control and how to deal with your surroundings across songs like Schism and the mid album suite of Parabol and Parabola. While other metal albums just aim for you to bang your head, this is the kind of music that you use to open up your third eye.