Ænima ( AH-ni-mə) is the second studio album by the American rock band Tool. It was released in compact disc format on September 17, 1996, and in vinyl format on October 1, 1996, through Zoo and Volcano Entertainment. Produced by the band and David Bottrill, the album was recorded at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood and The Hook in North Hollywood. It is the first album by Tool to feature bassist Justin Chancellor, who replaced original bassist Paul D'Amour the year prior.
The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its initial release, selling 148,000 copies in its first week. It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 2003. The album appeared on lists of the best albums of 1996 in Kerrang! and Terrorizer. The track "Ænema" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998. In 2003, Ænima was ranked the sixth most influential album of all time by Kerrang! In 2017, Rolling Stone listed the album at No. 18 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".
Contents
Background
Ænima is Tool's first studio album with former Peach bassist Justin Chancellor.
The title Ænima is a combination of the words 'anima' (Latin for 'soul' and associated with the ideas of "life force", and a term often used by psychologist Carl Jung) and 'enema', the medical procedure involving the injection of fluids into the rectum.
"Stinkfist" was the album's only song to be commercially released as a single. A music video was released for it. Promotional singles were issued, in order of release, for "H.", "Ænema", "Forty Six & 2" and "Eulogy", with just the second receiving a music video.
Several of the songs are short segues or interludes that connect to longer songs, pushing the total duration of the CD towards the maximum of around 80 minutes. These segues are "Useful Idiot", "Message to Harry Manback", "Intermission", "Die Eier von Satan", "Cesaro Summability", and "(-) Ions".
Lyrics and themes
The liner notes included references to dissociative anesthesia through ketamine as well as Timothy Leary, "futants", ritual magic, and religious fundamentalism. The band dedicated the album to comedian Bill Hicks, who they felt was going in the same direction as them, and said this album was partly inspired by him. The inside cover displays art featuring a painting of a disabled patient that shows a resemblance to singer Maynard James Keenan and Bill Hicks depicted as a doctor or "healer" with the line, "Another Dead Hero".
Bassist Paul D'Amour worked on "H.", as he is credited as a co-songwriter on ASCAP's website.
Speculation has surrounded the song "H." The "meaning" of this song has seldom been detailed by the band, as they do not regularly comment on such matters. However, on several occasions, specifically on November 23, 1996, during a show at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Keenan did grant some insight into the meaning of the song. Speaking to the audience, he said, "Any of you ever seen those old Warner Bros. cartoons? Sometimes there's that one where the guy is trying to make a decision, and he's got an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Seems pretty obvious, right? The angel is trying to give him good advice while the devil is trying to get him to do what's bad for him. It's not always that simple, though. A lot of times they're not really angels or devils, but friends giving you advice, looking out for your best interest but not really understanding what's going to be best for you. So it kind of comes down to you. You have to make the decision yourself. This song is called 'H.'" The song was discussed live during a few other shows around this time, one example being on February 23, 1997, when Keenan introduced this song by referring to the shoulder angel and devil, and also said it is about a hurtful yet dependent relationship. In an interview Keenan gave in December 1996, he commented, "My son's name is Devo H. That's all I'll say." It is also of note that the song's working title was "Half Empty", as it was introduced during a mini-tour of California by the band in December 1995.
The track "Useful Idiot" features the sound of the needle skipping at the end of a gramophone record growing louder as the track progresses. The track was set at the end of side 1 of the vinyl versions of Ænima as a joke to fool those who owned the version. The song (on vinyl) not only ends in a locked groove, which requires manual lifting of the needle to end playback, but also continues on the run-in groove of side 2.
Artwork
The packaging for Ænima was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. North American pressings of the album were packaged in a custom lenticular jewel case (called a "Multi-Image CD case" in the liner notes) for the cover and interior disc tray. The cover art and other images in the liner notes can be set behind the lenticular "lens" to create an effect of sequential animation. European pressings of the CD featured a standard case, and the insert contained a catalog of sixteen fictional and humorously titled "other albums available by Tool".
The special images used for the lenticular effect are:
Cam de Leon's painting Smoke Box, with animated smoke and encompassing eyes.
A touched-up version of Cam de Leon's painting Ocular Orifice, with the pupil of the eye animated to rotate completely around.
A photo of contortionist Alana Cain with her legs wrapped behind her head appearing to be performing cunnilingus on herself. Shown sitting on a couch to the right are Danny Carey (nude) and Justin Chancellor. Adam Jones is squatting next to them while Maynard James Keenan, also nude, gets up to throw a single rose on the ground in front of Cain with his left hand covering his genitals. Another image of the contortionist can be seen on the disc itself.
An image of California before and after a major earthquake is shown in the tray behind where the disc lies – a reference to the song "Ænema" and the Arizona Bay sketch by Bill Hicks. The inlay image of the US incorrectly depicts the Oklahoma Panhandle with Cimarron County being in the state of Texas. It is unknown whether or not this was intentional.
Release and reception
Upon its release, Ænima was met with generally favorable reviews by mainstream music critics, citing the band's innovation and ambitions within the album's sound. Jon Wiederhorn of Entertainment Weekly said that it was "one of 1996's strangest and strongest alt-metal records", while USA Today's Edna Gundersen wrote that "Tool moves to the front of the alterna-metal shop on its third and best release". Los Angeles Times writer Sandy Masuo found that the band had successfully incorporated exotic instrumentation and sampling into their "raw, gripping rock" to give it "an even more exhilarating edge". David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that Tool "shove their iron-spike riffing and shock-therapy polemics right up the claustrophobic dead end of so-called alternative metal in the name of a greater metaphysical glory", calling the album "very admirable" and "even a bit impressive". In a retrospective review of Ænima, AllMusic writer Rob Theakston stated that on the album, "Tool explore the progressive rock territory previously forged by such bands as King Crimson. However, Tool are conceptually innovative with every minute detail of their art, which sets them apart from most bands".
Among mixed reviews, Chuck Eddy of Spin found that while Jones had progressed as a guitarist, Keenan's vocal range remained limited: "[He] only knows how to get intense by turning ugly; his vocals stretch only toward bullying low notes. In his upper register, instead of soaring, he settles for just mumbling blandly". Greg Kot, writing in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, found it inferior to later Tool albums: "With Ænima, the band's ambitions nearly get the best of them. The increasing density of their relentlessly downcast music, augmented by occasional electronic noises, begins to feel ponderous. 'I've been wallowing in my own chaotic insecure delusions,' Maynard James Keenan mutters, and the music indulges him. The claustrophobic production doesn't help." Robert Christgau of The Village Voice dismissed Ænima as a "dud", later describing it and the band as "stupidity posing as underground".
Accolades
The album appeared on lists of the best albums of 1996 in Kerrang! and Terrorizer. The track "Ænema" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998. In 2003, Ænima was ranked the 6th most influential album of all time by Kerrang! In 2006, it placed 14th on a Guitar World readers poll that attempted to find the best 100 guitar albums. In 2014, readers of Rhythm voted it the third greatest drumming album in the history of progressive rock. In 2025, it was ranked by Loudwire as the 9th best progressive metal album of the 1990s.
Track listing
Notes
"Jimmy" is stylized in all lowercase in the liner notes.
Die Eier von Satan means: "The Eggs of Satan" in German.
Bill Hicks – audio sampled on "Third Eye".
Personnel
Tool
Maynard James Keenan – vocals
Adam Jones – guitars
Justin Chancellor – bass
Danny Carey – drums, percussion, samples
Additional personnel
David Bottrill – keyboards on "Message to Harry Manback"
Eban Schletter – organ on "Intermission"
Marko Fox – vocals on "Die Eier von Satan"
Chris Pitman – additional synthesizer on "Third Eye"
Production
Tool – production, art concept
David Bottrill – production, engineering, mixing
Alana Cain – model (contortionist)
Cam de Leon – computer illustrations
Gudrun Fox – translation of "Die Eier von Satan"
Concetta Halstead – design and production
DZN – design and production
Billy Howerdel – guitar tech, equipment consultant
Bruce Jacoby – drum tech
Jeff Novack – photographs
Fabrico DiSanto – photo assistance