Collective Unconscious.org

1996
Commercial Release

Album: Ænima
Label: BMG Music / Zoo Entertainment / Volcano Entertainment
Produced by: Tool / David Bottrill
Recorded at: Ocean Way Studios + The Hook Studios, Hollywood, CA, USA - 1995/1996

Album Notes: Bridging the gap between experimental-alternative, metal & progressive ideas of what an album "can be", Ænima was released in 1996 to much anticipation from fans, critics & other artists. Opening with Stinkfist, a song that many consider to be a Tool-staple & closing with the mammoth Third Eye, also considered to be a staple, this album is as relevant today as it was in the mid-1990's. Many Tool fans consider this album to the creative-pinnacle or the essential Tool-release for even the most haphazard of music fanatics. Each song denotes a certain comment on not only the macro-scale, society at large, but also on the micro-scale, an individual's perception of their place in whatever reality they inhabit. Ænima is not an album that is absorbed after one single listen - this is an album that allows even the most rabid fan to hear something new with virtually ever listen. With the addition of Justin Chancellor on bass, who replaced Paul D'Amour, & thought-provoking subject matter, the album takes the listener on a journey - to what or where, that is not for me to say. Each song may mean something unique to you, me & the next person. As for the vinyl release, there were approximately 15,000 released in 1996 with no reprints. This is rather hard to find. Current prices for an average, opened vinyl range between $90 - $200 depending on different variables. For an sealed / unopened copy, I cannot even hazard a guess as to a price. I, personally, have 2 copies of this - one opened, one sealed (not for sale - obviously).