Customer Reviews

Tool - Parabola

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I desperately wanted this and Schism when I discovered they would be made available to the average joe. Tool is a band I consider my favorite and thus far, I have yet to be disappointed by any of their releases. Salival was interesting and somewhat satisfying for completists or die-hard fans. It was unfulfilling as I wanted more like a better DVD menu layout and maybe more songs like b-sides and more live stuff. Regardless, I was excited to get more Tool with Parabola and Schism. I have always thought that Lateralus warranted more than two videos, but whatever. I could at least get what was available.

Boy, was I disappointed when I made it home. I watched the videos, tried to watch the commentary (but became bored) and listened to the overlong, repetitive remixes. If the remixes were available on CD and the videos on a seperate DVD in one package for 10 bucks I would have been a little more satisfied. Instead, I dropped 20 bucks on something I will never watch or listen to again. For those who were disappointed by the lack of material available on the filler; Salival, you will feel even more cheated. I don't think Tool was even involved in the process of creating these sets. I can't sit here like some people and rave about how amazing this set is or how Tool came through again. I honestly loathe these releases and I am frankly appauled at the value.

This doesnt deserve 1 star. I spent 20 bucks on this and the schism cd. And what do you get? Nothing. One video...not even all of the videos they've made on the cd...just one. Oh but then, you get the joy of listening to comentary with some jerk-off, who has nothing interesting or valuable to say about anything "I remember one time I had a beer with tool. Neat."
But then you get to listen to the remix...which sounds like somthing a highschool student could have put together.
Tool has been my favorite band for quite some time now, and I'd just like to thank them for crapping all over their fanbase by releasing this garbage. Download 2 of their music videos and you'll have more than this dvd can offer.

It was cool, but I don't think it was worth 10 bucks. I feel kinda ripped off that there was only the video and the remix. If you'e on a limited budget like me, I do not recommend it.

...yet Highly overpriced. Parabola is probably TOOL's best music video in my opinion , and no doubt it probably took weeks to film and edit the video , but there is no way that one music video is worth 10 dollars. Not to mention that the special features..if you can call them that..are extremely lacking. The commentary is horribly boring..and the remix is completely awful. It would have served them better to release a DVD with all of their music videos on one disc...or even if they included a live video of Parabola on the DVD in addition to the music video. Overall , an amazing video..but not worth the money.

I'll start off with saying the video for Parabola is very interesting (as are all of Tool's videos) and that is why I was compelled to get this DVD. I wanted the video for my own collection and was also excited to see the "bonus features."

The only good thing I can say other than what I just did is that this was bought for me as a present, so I didn't waste any money on it.

Now to the bad. You have a menu that gives you the option of the video, a remix of the song, and the commentary. I decided to try the remix first. Most. Boring. Thing. Ever. My boyfriend and I were watching it, and for like, the first three or four minutes it's basically nothing, then it changes a tiny bit, making us think it would actually get good, and then it ends. We were pretty disappointed. But not to worry! We still can watch the commentary and get an insightful look into the video and what it's about! NO. As someone else described him, it's some jerk-off who has no business commenting on anything Tool does because based off what he says in the commentary (e.g. "here come the grapes of doom") I find it hard to believe he even understands any of their songs. In summation, I thought this would be cool to have being a hardcore Tool fan, but you really shouldn't bother. You end up irritated at how big a disappointment it is.

For $7 bucks, it is well worth it to own this DVD, however I would have gladly paid more for surround sound. The Salival box set videos are enhanced with surround and it makes a whole world of difference. The Parabola video is a typical TOOL video, a bit more earthy than the others, and the end of the video which was created by the artist Alex Grey is visually stunning. The commentary is slightly entertaining, but more annoying than anything, and the remix is time consuming and never really goes anywhere. Overall it seems as though this was a rushed product, and maybe it was put out to satisfy a contract obligation, which may explain why there were two seperate DVD's released at the same time, when they clearly could have fit both Schism and Parabol(a) on one disc. My true dissapointment lies with the lack of surround sound, which fails to parallel the eye-opening visuals created by Adam Jones and Grey. Visually this rates a 4.5 and the audio rates a 2.

Go online and watch the Parabola video for free because that is all you are getting here. The DVD has no features whatsoever. Avoid this DVD at all costs. Tool should be ashamed of themselves for releasing something like this.

yes yes it is cool
the best video they've done yet
at least the first 10 times I watched it the climactic moments took my breath away

the remix is alright
nice & ambient & daydreamy
though 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 salival
but thats all gravy as well
it makes you watch that whole animation every time you click something!
thank goodness its darn cool lookin

the commentary is BS
though Slightly informative
Slightly humorous
weird how they make you listen through twice
cuz he says diff stuff in each ear
I'm glad I was watching w/ headphones

it 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 tops
but 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 thing
it gives me hope that the band's not Too overboard commercial
now lets all hold our breath til may 2nd
it will feel like ten thousand days! (dun dun duuunn)

Bottom line; for the price, this is a great DVD and will entertain, and for any Tool fans, definitely a recommendation to get.

The DVD itself is fairly simple, with an animated background menu and three track choices.

1) The album audio track set to the music video which is typical Tool wierdness but just perfect.

2) The same music video with dual channel comical commentary which at first is very odd, but it is actually fairly funny and I soon learned to like the comical nonsense on top of the more serious looking video, they do not go together at all!, but maybe that's the point, and it seems to work.

3) A long remix of the song. Nothing extremely great here, but a worthy remix nontheless.

The main drawbacks in my opinion is that the audio is simply stereo. With 5 years in the making and DVD format, it would have been nice to have a surround sound audio track for the song, even if it would mostly be stereo. And how about widescreen? We are in 2005 and this is a DVD, even if the music video won't fit, even some static graphics or simple repetetive animation would be a nice additon to the video.

I bought this DVD (along with Schism) by chance on the week they were released, and was amazed that there was actual content on here that wasn't some rehashed material DVD that they were going to cheaply put out. It's been a long time (since 2001) since Tool released anything (due to working with A Perfect Circle, of course) so this was a brilliant surprise, especially because no band puts out an independent release of their videos and not one at a time like with Parabol(a) and Schism.

The Parabola DVD is classically designed in the Tool decor that adorns all their releases. Inside the disc's fold-out package is a book featuring screen shots from the video itself, pictures of the storyboard of the ending animation sequence (Alex Grey inspired/developed?), sketches of the main stop-motion creature and Tricky designs, photos from the special FX creation of the "businessman"-looking people in the "Parabol" portion of the video, and a model of the aforementioned creature in clay form. Also includes artwork in the tradition of the Lateralus CD artwork.

The DVD menu features a Alex Grey figure who reveals his circulatory system as his heart beats on the main menu. There are three menu choices: the Parabola video, the Parabola video with accompanying dual-commentary by the witty, humorous Dead Kennedy's frontman Jello Biafra (which you can hear a lot better if you unplug one of your audio cables), and a remix version of Parabol (probably not of Parabola).

I was greatly pleased with the disc. I couldn't give it anything less than 5. It's complete and very much something to get if you're a fan. For non-fans, I think if you're a fan of the Dead Kennedys, Alex Grey, or Jello Biafra or just art in general: there's something for everyone and it was a very good choice to release this on a CD of its own.