After a four-year hiatus,
Tool returns with the elaborately packaged
Salival set, which includes a 70-minute CD of previously unreleased live and studio material, a 56-page book of photos and video stills, and a DVD collection of the group's impressive stop-motion videos. Live versions of "Part of Me," "Push It," and "Third Eye" reaffirm the band's standing as one of alternative metal's most compelling live acts; unreleased studio tracks such as "Message to Harry Manback II" and "L.A. Municipal Court" definitely sound like abandoned material, but offer a look at
Tool's quirkier side. Covers of
Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" and "You Lied" -- a song by bassist
Justin Chancellor's previous group
Peach -- round out the disc's better-than-average selection of odds and sods.
Salival's intricate, eclectic look and sound give it the feel of a "thank you" to patient
Tool fans; fortunately for them -- and the band -- it was worth the wait.
–
Heather Phares, Rovi