Tool is one of my all-time favorite bands, but I have to say the last album is barely okay.

I'm very happy to hear someone else has their head screwed on properly. I've heard people/critics/fans saying that Lateralus is the crescendo of their career. I consider it to be a step backward from Aenima, and a pretty large one at that. The good part is that now that they've gotten it out of their system, they're likely to come back with a much more solid effort next time. Unless Maynard blows his load on A Perfect Circle instead.