Parabola

So Im walking through the BX (Thats "Base Exchange" or "Planet Mall" as we so lovingly like to call this extension of hells reach on earth) the other day and I see what can only be described as a bright light shining down from the heavens themselves. What was this bright light shining on, you say...hold your horses your little Jimmy, Im getting to that. Anyway these little pieces of impulse buy (which by the way were still smoldering from when they were placed there on the shelf by Satan himself) were none other than the latest releases from the antipop quartet known only as "Tool". Priced at a mere 12.95 for the set I adjusted my jaw and thought: You know, Im a grown man, and I just happen to have $12.95. So as a matter of course, I bought them. Yessss Im a TooL...blah! I could rant all day about how I came to this decision to purchase. Blame it on the media. Blame it on myself. Heck blame it on you. The truth is I blame it on all the disenchanted, brainless hacks on the internet who decide to write "reviews" of something, many of which are dated months before the actual release date, that they havent purchased or much less even listened to. Many of these reviews state how much of a waste of money this set is. Many of them cry at the fact that you have to buy to two seperate DVDs. shut the HECK up. In this day and age of internet downloading, for a band too release two seperate packages so they might have a slight chance of making a buck shouldnt seem odd or greedy. The real greed comes from the saints who wrote these reviews, who in all probability instead of biting the 12 to 16 bucks simply downloaded the set from the internet. (...). Ok enough about those people, lets get down to the real meat and potatoes shall we...Parabola:This DVD includes of course:Stunning imagery and a pretty cool menu sequence that shifts through the different layers of the human body, much like the booklet that came with Lateralus. The Video is the awe inspiring original video that was released for the single. The second option on the DVD is to watch the video with an...uhhh...insightful commentary track by none other than the infamous Jello Biafra (Im still trying to figure out where he fit into the theme...). First thing, if you dont have stereo, dont bother. This commentary is a Duel Commentary track, which means you will be hearing diff audio from the left and right speaker. At the begining he's talking about two diff things in each speaker and as the video progresses his thoughts start "agreeing" with each other and they echo and distort what the other is saying. I thought the effect was really cool if not hard to keep up with at first. His actual commentary is something like watching Mystery Science Theater on acid. I believe it was Al Jorgenson who once quipped about how much he loved Jello and having him on tour, but about halfway through the tour they would have to send him home because of his mouth and its tendancy to almost get them killed. Nonetheless Its a very funny track and worth hearing at least once. The final offering on this DVD is a remix by the master of dark ambient Lustmord. If you've never heard anything by Lustmord buy one of his cds, turn off all the lights and turn up the stereo. Absolutely amazing. He makes the creepy music of TooL, even creepier. He does a fine job of mixing it, my only complaint is that he strectched out Parobol to about 13 min but didnt bother with Parabola. Heck with it. Nothings perfect. But for a TRUE fan this DVD is definitly one to look into.Schism:This DVD includes of course:More stunning imagery and a menu sequence that is a fleshy spinning spiral. The video of course is the same one released with the single. The commentary this time around is done by a fellow named David Yow formaly of The Jesus Lizards. It is also recorded in Dual Commentary format, but never comes to a point where the voices agree. I actually understand why they did this, Since Schism does mean "A Seperation" It makes sence that the voices never come together. Still more funny commentary. David proclaims that the video is all about ears, then orders a tequilla and gatorade from Maynard. The remix on this one is also created by Lustmord but in my opinion is a much better effort. He manages to strech a 7 min song into a 20 min odysey of sound and it has a lot more to do with the actual song. Once again turn off the lights, turn up the sound, and listen darn it! Listen to the music instead of your own voice whining, and when its over listen to it again or put it back on the shelf till your starving for more. Once again, you shouldnt buy one without the other(...) I think its worth the (...) investment. Dont you?

Those of you who have seen and understand the "Parabola" video definitely don't need me to tell you about it, and suffice it to say for those of you who haven't that it is very deeply symbolic, spritiually-inclined, and intellectual. Adam Jones always does a wonderful job of visually depicting the lyrical meanings of Tool's songs, and this is no exception. The craftsmanship of each of the animated characters, especially that of the very small grey individual in its awe-inspiring dissected corpse scene, is striking. Tricky appears in the video for the "Parabola" (non-"Parabol") portion, fitting the part of the soulful protagonist rather strikingly. Thus we are offered a wonderful music video, and that alone is what should attract you to this DVD single--certainly not the extras. They are secondary, and tend to veer from the original spirit.That said, the dual commentary by Jello Biafra is intended to be funny, not holy writ, so try seeing it for what it is and you'll probably get a kick out of it. A lot of his comments throughout the video are extremely funny no matter how seriously you take Tool's videos. Additionally, he does mention some insightful comments about his band and his relationship with Adam Jones, which, however brief, are interest-piquing.The Brian Lustmord remix of the original song is a deep, lengthy listen. It follows a much more ethereal, mantra-esque format by comparison with the original. It's certainly worth a full listen on high-quality speakers at least a few times through. You really have to surrender yourself to it to "get it", though, because attempting to consciously analyze the remix is just going to frustrate you. Use your right brain to listen. Also, you may be frustrated that it can't be ripped directly to your computer's audio files, but something so esoteric is really not intended for that sort of portability ("meditation on the go"?). Or perhaps Tool want putting the remixes on your computer to be a sort of self-educating adventure, who knows.This DVD is certainly something a Tool fan or anyone rabidly interested in progressive music and art would enjoy. There are those who complain that it is too expensive or that more extras should have been included, but you really can't slam Tool for false advertising. It's a DVD single of the music video for "Parabola"--what more did you expect? For what you get, it's more than worth it.

yes yes it is coolthe best video they've done yetat least the first 10 times I watched it the climactic moments took my breath awaythe remix is alrightnice & ambient & daydreamythough it does do that thing music tracks on DVDs always do - force you to stare @ a static image the whole time& the unmarked menus remind me of salivalbut thats all gravy as wellit makes you watch that whole animation every time you click something!thank goodness its darn cool lookinthe commentary is BSthough Slightly informativeSlightly humorousweird how they make you listen through twicecuz he says diff stuff in each earI'm glad I was watching w/ headphonesit just all comes down to"here is a product for you to buy!it has some 'interesting' artwork by your favorite band!& a sticker announcing their first album in about 5 years!it will only entertain you an hour topsbut does that $10 in your pocket really want to stay there? hmm???"I'm just glad they're not charging $25 or something for this thingit gives me hope that the band's not Too overboard commercialnow lets all hold our breath til may 2ndit will feel like ten thousand days! (dun dun duuunn)

I knew what to expect, unlike many on here who thought for some reason it would include a plethora of content. That aside, it's a really good DVD. It includes a remix I was unaware of which is insanely good! It's also nice to have the music video in the highest of quality as YouTube only has lower quality ones. Must have if you're a huge Tool fan.

Like many i was not expecting a dvd with content spilling out everywhere you look .. this dvd is rather simple .. one video , one directors audio track and one remix track .. if your a tool fan there is no other way to say this but GET IT! .. i paid just over [...] and that my friend was worth it alone just for the cover .. by buying this its like owning a little bit of tool's art .. get the other dvd (schism) and i promise they will look so amazing in your collection .

Sono contento di aver trovato questo DVD con un unico video dentro. Certo lo consiglio agli appassionati dei tool perché e un pezzo da collezione avendo solo un video all interno. Non e un concerto.

Es Tool, no hay más que decir, sólo considerar que la calidad del producto no es de diez pero sabiendo que es Tool, no te va a importar

Tool ist musikalisch schon eine Ausnahmeband. Ihre Videos übertreffen das musikalische noch einmal bei weitem. Einfach großartig. Klare Kaufempfehlung! Ich würde sechs Sterne vergeben.