Release Date: August 30, 2019
91/100 - Consequence of Sound
Fear Inoculum lives up to its daunting expectations with songs that showcase Tool in peak performance as musicians and compositional arrangers. For the diehard fan, there’s a lot to consume here. Likewise, the album offers little respite for the uninitiated; its accessibility comes in the form of its vastness and eerie psychedelia, not through hooks or common pop structures. This is deep prog-rock as only Tool can create it.
90/100 - Sputnikmusic
Keenan was accurate to say that Fear would require patience to ingest, being a massive, compelling piece of music that unfolds beautifully and balances Tool’s unique style with plenty of rewarding new elements. Any fears that they would not live up to their past can be abated; Fear Inoculum is truly groundbreaking and one of the best albums of the decade.
90/100 - Clashmusic
It’s a magnificent experience. ... If you’re not a fan, or never heard of them before this is the perfect album to start introduce yourself to them. ... Because: trust me on this, it will hold your attention.
90/100 - Spin
They continue to blur the lines between
art, psychedelia, alt metal, and prog rock with undiminished curiosity
and skill. ... As with previous work, on Fear Inoculum, the band’s
songwriting can at times seem like a riddle, daring listeners to lean in
and figure out exactly what is going on.
85/100 - Variety
Neither that track nor this album — all 85 minutes of it — is as catchy, rangy or amorphously composed yet tight as Tool’s raging smashes of the ’90s, such as “46 & 2” or “Sober.” [The group’s most ardent fans] wouldn’t stick around for “Fear Inoculum’s” nearly hour-and-a-half stretch, let alone have endured a 13-year wait for new music, if they weren’t expectant of having fresh changes and new dramas added to the vintage wine of the quartet’s heady mathematical intelligence.
75/100 - Paste Magazine
Before you know it, 87 minutes have gone by and you’re not quite sure what to make of it all, but you’re ready to listen again. For that, Tool are to be commended. If nothing else, the band have given us an album that could very well keep us occupied until its next one arrives sometime around the year 2032.
70/100 - No ripcord
Fear Inoculum already feels like an event—It's the kind of grand statement that will equally delight and confound, where Tool allows themselves to highlight their technical prowess with uncompromising integrity. Though the lengthy tracks convey great character and complexity, it's best to experience its ambient soundscapes and strapping guitars with a full, uninterrupted listen.
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