TOOL - Fear Inoculum: Every Song Ranked From Worst To Best
4. Invincible
Fear Inoculum might be Tool's most psychedelic, meandering, and restrained record, and a borderline jam session for long portions, but that doesn't mean it's without hooks. "Invincible's" is one of the strongest:-
"A warrior struggling to remain relevant,
A warrior struggling to remain consequential.
Cry aloud,
Bold and proud,
Of where I've been,
But here I am,
Where I end."
Perhaps "earworm" is too strong a term, but it'll definitely get stuck in your head.
"Invincible" is a comforting listen in that it feels like the most Tool song on Fear Inoculum as the chorus progresses. This hook comes after Adam Jones works his way across the fretboard for a lightly-overdriven intro that's soon punctuated by gentle, light percussion, building that famous Tool tension. On "Invincible," the band are so locked into their new sound that they're almost operating on a different astral plane.
Electronics and heavy vocal effects take the song from a thunderous bridge section into a big, driving rhythm carried by Carey's beat, Jones' palm muting, and a rumbling Chancellor bassline. There's your release. Then, just as you think it's coming to an end, "Invincible" jams out for almost two full minutes, making it perhaps the album's most all-encompassing track. The closing section is Tool at their most freewheeling, letting loose some of their control without abandoning it entirely.