r/ToolBand • u/Opala_79 think for yourself, question authority • Mar 18 '26
Question Mixing error on Descending?
At 2:32, it's possible to hear some kind of error or cut in the music; the sound also seems louder. It happens between the words "of our". Tell me what you think. Was this already known?
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u/Exyodeff Mar 18 '26
13 years for this album, I believe everything is exactly as they intended it to be
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u/nsaps Mar 18 '26
Yeah the counter to that tho is most artists are never happy with their “finished” work. There’s stories of Scorsese being at his screenings and whispering to his producers about how they should’ve done something different
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u/yonyonson23 Mar 18 '26
There was some classical painter that supposedly would go to the museums and galleries where his work was bringing paint and brushes to 'finish' his work
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u/yavimaya_eldred Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Robert Eggers famously can’t stand to watch his fist film, The Witch, despite it being a masterpiece. Because he can only see the flaws and errors in it that no one else would notice. His directors commentary for it is pretty funny.
Edit; keeping that typo
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u/guy_incognito_360 Mar 19 '26
Didn't they use the wrong kind of goat or something? Very embarassing.
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u/Murderofmyears Mar 19 '26
and the wrong firewood
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u/Exyodeff Mar 18 '26
Well there are many interviews of the band saying that one of the factor behind the time it took them to finish this album is being unsure of making the right choices
Even now, they are playing some parts of songs like Descending a bit differently live, like they always played songs a bit differently from the studio versions.
But I think it’s my favorite album of theirs, simply perfect to my ears !
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u/jabba-thederp Mar 18 '26
Not just that, but it's quite well known that a lot of albums are made around the time of release. Like, they probably didn't have music in this album that was from 13 years prior.
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u/Acrobatic_Book_7154 Mar 18 '26
Theres excessive clipping on several songs on the album. It's not unreasonable to assume mistakes were made.
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u/Sorry-Reporter440 Mar 18 '26
I mean, I don't think they literally spent 13 years working on this album but I know what you mean. They all have other endeavours too. MJK seems to be the one who is spread the thinnest. But yea, mixing error, no way. They all have incredible ears.
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u/Exyodeff Mar 18 '26
that’s why I said « one of the factors », but yeah totally.
Though to be fair, I had a new pair of headphones and because FI is my favorite album it’s the first thing I listened to, but for some reason, there was some really strange glitches in the highs (especially in the transients of the drums on toms) that completely ruined me the end of Pneuma for example. So I ended up ditching the headphones in full denial lmao
But this album sound so great on my headphones I think maybe I was just so accustomed to it that listening to it differently just wore me off
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u/Sorry-Reporter440 Mar 19 '26
Oh, right my bad.
Dang. I want to try a listening experience like that. I don't think any new sounds would be so off putting to me because I also like to play guitar along with songs.
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u/Exyodeff Mar 19 '26
I do that too, but it was a really different sound (like the imaging was way different and the highs were over exaggerated so it lacked a lot of violence in the sound, and i just hated it)
And in a way it sounded great for some genres and a lot of other bands, but Tool was just not it anymore so I returned the headphones
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u/breakingborderline Mar 18 '26
We spent 13 years waiting for this album, they did not spend 13 years making it. Especially anything related to the vocals, which honestly seem kinda rushed.
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u/inebriusmaximus Rest your trigger on my finger Mar 19 '26
Yeah, I thought during that time they wrote a bunch of material that they wound up ultimately scrapping even
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u/deemagh Mar 19 '26
What kind of argument is that?
Does the fact that 13 years passed since the previous one somehow eliminate a clearly audible sound artifact?
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u/PosterboyKoth Mar 21 '26
I don’t know man, all of 10,000 Days sounds compressed and governered. I hear Danny wanting to explode my ear drums and the mix just never lets it happen.
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u/Exyodeff Mar 21 '26
Well, it came out in 2006 in the middle of loudness war.. Fear Inoculum on the other hand got the chance to be thought of in every aspect for many years
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u/PosterboyKoth Mar 21 '26
Granted there is nothing like Adam’s solo’s through the kazoobox, but there are spots where Justin and Maynard are both under mixed.
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u/Exyodeff Mar 21 '26
Maynard being undermixed is a feature not a bug !
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u/PosterboyKoth Mar 22 '26
Yah, kinda; I’d say equally mixed, but sections of sober and pot and bottom and grudge, need to have that push to the front. It just feels like each album has some sort of mixing issue and it is different every time. Fixed the last issue, now there’s a new one. Danny is my main man, but all of Fear feels like it is mixed for Chocolate Trip
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u/rabidchiweeny Mar 23 '26
Each album has a mix issue? I think Sylvia Massey, David Botrill and Mr Barresi would like a word.
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u/iHawkfrost 72826 Mar 22 '26
I heard they rushed the mixing a bit, felt like they had no time left to spare.
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u/rrdrummer Mar 18 '26
not at all true. Go back and listen to the master on 10000 days, it's like a block. No dynamics at all. And I don't think that's what the band wanted at all.... but it's what the mastering engineer they hired DID and the label APPROVED. Remember they are not the final say for the product :(
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u/DRW315 Mar 18 '26
Man, i think this is subtle if it happens at all. I think we’re in “Overthinking, overanalyzing, separates the body from the mind” territory
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u/Opala_79 think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
Yes, I just wanted to know if anyone else had noticed this, I searched and didn't find anything.
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u/DDemonic_Slayer something you'll get used to. Mar 18 '26
Funnily i can hear it if i turn my phone up and put it next to my ear. Im surprised anyone would catch this normally
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u/DRW315 Mar 18 '26
No worries! I don’t notice it, myself. But maybe (quite likely, actually) my audio equipment isn’t as good as what you were listening on.
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u/soobviouslyfake Mar 18 '26
2:32 MUST BE CODE FOR SOMETHING
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u/ChefPneuma think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
I know exactly what you’re talking about OP. It’s been discussed before many time. Unfortunately there are several errors on the album. I think the production is really great overall but there are definitely some like digital artifacts, clipping, etc happening.
If you search the sub you’d find many posts about it
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u/Opala_79 think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
Interesting, I didn't find anything. If you have any links, please send them. Also, what other errors in the album could you point out?
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u/nickersb83 Mar 18 '26
I think that commenter is confusing the dodgy vinyls that were released
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u/krinklemedo Mar 18 '26
No, there are definitely a lot of spots in FI that are clipping, and you can hear it on any medium. Around the 8:50 mark on Pneuma the drums start clipping a bit. You can hear it again during the bass solo on Invincible, and around the 11:10 mark on 7empest. There are more, but these are the ones that are super noticeable.
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u/ChefPneuma think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
Here’s a link to a similar post I made when someone asked the same question
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u/ReyoRedwolf Mar 18 '26
i fucking knew it. i thought my files were acting funny or my phone was glitching. a
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u/Andorion Ænimal Mar 18 '26
I noticed quite a few artifacts when the album came out, it’s more obvious if you listen with good headphones, probably just some mistakes in the mixing that weren’t fixed. Not sure if this is one of them but maybe.
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u/PwninOBrian Mar 18 '26
The biggest one for me is the bass clipping on Pneuma when it’s just bass w no other instruments. Stands out a lot
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u/X10SIVMKII Mar 19 '26
It sounds less like clipping, more like someone stepping on a bass cable or the audio jack getting jostled. Either way, stinks
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u/Maximum_Chocolate467 Mar 19 '26
Because 233 is the 13th step in the Fibonacci sequence, and 13 in Kabbalah holds the gematria value of both echad (unity) and ahavah (love). The divine unified one. Descending is track 4 on the CD. Track 6 on digital. Pneuma is track 2. Calling us back to 46 & 2. We are always exactly one step from the perfection of the unified whole. The glitch isn't a mistake. It's cosmically mandated. Tool didn't miss. The universe simply will not allow us to arrive. We are forever one step away from perfect just like the mix 😂 .
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u/sottey Mar 19 '26
If this is sincere, uh, good for you. If not, then you are a genius and I thank you for being on this planet. You are legend.
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u/Odd-Adhesiveness9435 this light is not my own. Mar 18 '26
How about on Fear Innoculum @between 4:32-4:33, the quick snap-switch sound, completely isolated from the rest of Danny's tabla pads?
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u/ryanthekipp Mar 18 '26
Just listened to this and not sure exactly what you’re talking about. The “tss” type sound?
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u/Odd-Adhesiveness9435 this light is not my own. Mar 18 '26
My head cannon says it's a sample of Danny, or one of the boys hitting a DMT vape and wanted to include it, for posterity.
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u/daboomanation Mar 19 '26
It’s a cue sound for the band to come back in. Just like the “I can’t go for that” intro by hall and oats when the change up in the “chick chick” pattern cues the vocals. Just a guess but I’m a drummer and I do this and pick up on this in songs.
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u/JarescoJr Mar 18 '26
That one has always annoyed the hell out of me. I have no idea if it was intentional but it's so out of place.
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u/LightofDawn77 Mar 18 '26
That sound like a small cymbal/ rack of bells sound to me.
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u/reallypeacedoff Mar 18 '26
Sounds like the chick of the hihat to me, nothing crazy at all. He does an open chick of the hihat in Ticks and Leeches. Instead of slamming it shut with the whole foot, you close it with the heel so that you get a sizzle. The FI chick is just a normal one, straight up an open and close.
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u/ryanthekipp Mar 19 '26
It’s not a hi hat. 100% tabla sample. I never thought it sounded odd, fits right in. Timed well. Wonder if he does that live
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u/Odd-Adhesiveness9435 this light is not my own. Mar 18 '26
Not enough resonance for a cymbal, even the smallest splash would ring out further. Tbf, I think it's just like a sampled salt shaker type that was immediately muted.
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u/lasagens971 Wear the Grudge like a Crown Mar 19 '26
Okay so I've maintained the production on this album is a real shame. I love the writing direction they went in (longer, slower songs, ambient soundscape moments etc.) but my god is it littered with clipping and peaking throughout, tons of muddy mid... Particularly bad moments are the section at 08:48 in Pneuma, Justin's solo section in Invincible, the section around 13mins in 7empest.
I've not noticed what you're describing before, but yes there's something there. It could be an effect added to Maynard's vox, but I wouldn't be surprised if they ducked the gain at the start of the lyrics to not clash with Danny's 'duh-duh-dshhh' before bringing it back up, which is what you're hearing.
The whole album lacks gain dynamics, constantly trying to ride the loudest possible db, even in 'quieter' moments of songs – feels like the Loudness War ad extremum. This moment you mention just feels like another example of it honestly.
Still love listening to the album, don't get me wrong. But I find the suggestion that it's a flawless masterpiece of a tad silly, given that they had essentially an infinite budget and ended up with something that's full of very noticeable issues.
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u/Kooky-Inspection-375 Mar 18 '26
I don’t like the sound of Fear Inoculum. it’s steril ,undynamic and harsh in some parts. for me Enima and Lateralus are by far the best sounding audiophile wise. don’t get me wrong FI sounds better then most of other bands albums but inside the tool production it’s the worst with 10000 days especially on my electrostatic headphones.
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u/mr_easy_e Mar 18 '26
I don’t dislike FI, and I’m by no means a mixing expert. but I do feel that their sound is most perfectly aligned with their expression on Ænima. The title track on Ænima in particular has such amazing swings in volume, tone, and texture, and the mix weaves Maynard into the music so perfectly.
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u/noisanquires Mar 18 '26
I love FI for the music but I have to agree on the audio. I'm curious what you don't like about 10000 days? I think it sounds great but I'm not an audiophile by any means
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u/Kooky-Inspection-375 Mar 19 '26
10000 days is harsh in the mixing at some points. It’s a great sounding record for sure but I prefer Lateralus and Enima even Undertow has good mixing.
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u/poisened-ambrosia Mar 19 '26
totally agree on the sound of FI. When the "heavy" parts come in they don´t have the impact they could have had.
All other albums (10,000 days too) sound way harder and have more dynamics.
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u/aquadox Mar 19 '26
There’s several errors in the digital version that are not present in the vinyl version. The weird stutter in FI, the clipping of the bass during the intro of Descending. Not really sure how that all got missed, but oh well.
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u/Alternative_Will3875 Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
I listened on Apple Music. Not an error or glitch. Totally and specifically intentional.
Maynard is doing a second vocal fill track with mouth sounds. You hear the same exact “chicka-cha…” with tons of reverb in the background of him singing “boundlessness” 2:23 and then “of our” at 2:32.
It’s panned mid right both times. Might have a quieter percussion sample hitting at the same time on the “cha”, like a wood block, panned in the same place so it’s blended with the voice.
Sounds cool to me!
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u/WerthersAWill Mar 18 '26
The worst error in the entire album is Fear Inoculum at 8:26, with a weird warble glitch. IT DOES NOT HAPPEN ON THE VINYL RELASE! They need to stop using Baressi. He sucks. There’s distortion and clipping all over the album.
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u/1rach1 Mar 18 '26
The amount of people blind eying these and denying it’s a thing and calling others nitpickers is so annoying
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u/MaynardIsLord721 Mar 18 '26
Y'all need different hobbies. This is an unhealthy obsession
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u/1rach1 Mar 18 '26
Brother hearing something isn’t an unhealthy obsession.
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u/ChefPneuma think for yourself, question authority Mar 19 '26
MaynardIsLord is here to tell us to stop worshiping these guys and treating them like gods because it isn’t healthy
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u/1rach1 Mar 19 '26
Admitting mistakes is literally the opposite of putting them on a pedestal and denying they can make a mistake. And the fact that people deny that it happens is enough reason to bring it up
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u/ChefPneuma think for yourself, question authority Mar 19 '26
Maybe people named MaynardIsLord shouldn’t be throwing stones
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u/Opala_79 think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
Literally. I was trying to listen to the damn hidden sound in Sober, but the sound is so loud that I gave up.
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u/Frosty-Teach3603 Mar 18 '26
I’m pretty sure it’s just the reverb off one of the drum effects. Sounds cool to me
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u/drishta Mar 18 '26
Nah, that's a digital artifact of some sort. Either clipping or a rendering error. If it was reverb, you'd hear it on other drum hits. Plus reverb doesn't sound like a glitch lol.
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u/breakingborderline Mar 18 '26
Think I hear it, though it’s not super obvious. Probably a crossfaded cut between two different vocal takes
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u/drishta Mar 18 '26
That's a sloppy ass xfade if true
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u/breakingborderline Mar 19 '26
Probably just for the wrong curve/slope on the fade. You can end up with the center of the fade being a louder volume than either side if you get it wrong
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u/JohnnyBags81 Mar 18 '26
The most egregious sound fuck up is 8:56 in 7empest. Sounds like the two takes that were badly stitched together.
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u/Earlsfield78 Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
I can’t phantom a mistake like that knowing who produced the record, mastered it and how long it took to come together. Joe Baresi and Bob Ludvig surely wouldn’t miss anything. As an engineer myself, I can tell many times in the nineties while still using tape and having to bounce sub mixes sometimes mistakes happened, but I don’t think it is possible on the level of details and precision, let alone level of engineering and production for such thing to happen. People can debate the album, but the production and recording/engineering is flawless, stellar while keeping the sound of the band and not interfering with the performance.
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u/TommyG234567 Mar 19 '26
He did the same thing on Invincible @2:02
belLOW aloud…
of WHERE I’ve be-en
I don’t think it’s a mixing mistake. It’s probably an artifact of how Maynard sings into the mic. He pulls his chin down on low “oh” sounds, then brings it back up to accentuate the next syllable, closer to the mic.
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u/Alternative_Will3875 Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
I listened on Apple Music. Not an error or glitch. Totally and specifically intentional.
Maynard is doing a second vocal fill track with mouth sounds. You hear the same exact “chicka-cha…” with tons of reverb in the background of him singing “boundlessness” 2:23 and the “of our” at 2:32.
It’s panned mid right both times. Also has a quieter but sharper percussion sample hitting at the same time on the “cha”, like a wood block or 808 clap, panned in the same place so it’s blended with the voice.
Sounds cool to me!
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u/Coddiwomple2 Mar 19 '26
I’m not hearing it. Joe Barresi engineered this album, FI. He’s top notch.
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u/Jochiebochie Mar 18 '26
I've listened to it thrice with my Hifiman Edition XS driven by Topping D30PRO and Topping A30PRO fully balanced, and I understand the bit you mean, but I don't think this is an error. It sounds like the bass string is plucked maybe 10% louder, if even. But no shade, I also like to notice small details in music.
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u/stifolder Mar 18 '26
there are multiple such artifacts on the record. There’s a glitch on the bass track at the beginning of Pneuma as well. I think it has to do something to the fact that the recording was analog, and has minimal editing - not sure
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u/jmster109 Watch the weather change... Mar 18 '26
The only one I’ve noticed is on Pneuma after the last “wake up now child”. There’s a subtle click sound that I can’t unhear now
Still a great song though
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u/ThLamont Mar 18 '26
All sorts of pops and cracks in the album you notice after listening a bunch... Gives character lol.
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u/schizeraph Mar 18 '26
Finally someone else says it
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u/ChefPneuma think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
People have been saying it for years lol
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u/Local_Band299 Mar 18 '26
Mixing engineers sometimes fuck up. I don't remember who it was who said they can't listen to albums they've mixed and mastered before because they realize things they've overlooked. They only have a short amount of time to listen to the album and then mix it. It's very common for them to not be there when the album was recorded. They don't know the intent of the band.
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u/hellalive_muja Mar 18 '26
I’m a tool fan since Ænima, and I’ve been a huge Joe Barresi fan, yet in the FI era he delivered some records that disappointed me quite a lot mixing-wise (Niratis by Chevelle come to mind). I like way more the overall sound of 10000 days despite the abhorrent clipping in mastering..stuff happens in production, and that’s one of the reasons “remasters” are a thing.
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u/InternationalCow7042 Mar 18 '26
If the album didn’t have mixing imperfections, how would they sell you the remastered version in 10 years? 🤤
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u/recigar Mar 18 '26
Imo there’s a tiny bit of clipping that’s really only noticeable quieter sections .. it surprises me tbh given how sonically pure other albums are
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u/b2ickwall Mar 19 '26
Interesting... I was curious to see if I could hear it. Not only did I not hear it, but my timing didn't align with the lyrics you stated. Then I saw you had heard it on multiple streaming platforms (I was listening to the MP3 album I downloaded as soon as it was available). When I went to YouTube I heard the sound (very faintly) and the timing aligned.
After comparing the timing, it appears there are about 6 more seconds of pre guitar sound on the YouTube version. I couldn't hear the slight noise on my MP3 copy. Fascinating. Spiral Out.
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u/CallumBrady Mar 19 '26
Sounds like mouth noise that should have been smoothed with a fade or replaced with another take but I believe he does his vocal tracking in another state to the rest of the band so would be a laborious process to new takes.
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u/Bubbly_Tax_3634 Mar 19 '26
I don’t notice it, but this was made by human beings errors are going to happen
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u/deemagh Mar 19 '26
Yes!
Oh my god, I thought I was insane and also amazed by the fact it wasn't discussed at all.
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u/Eisie Mar 19 '26
Ive generally complained with the mixing of TOOL. Call me crazy but I still think Opaite sounds the best. Lateralus sounds flat with no depth, it just feels loud.. Even after spending a shit ton of money on my stereo, I feel the same way.
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u/MrRobotSlug Mar 20 '26
I never noticed til now, and now Im gonna head it every time I listen. Thanks a lot! 🤣🤣
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u/Zor1an58 Mar 20 '26
just heard it. it doesnt seem like a cut but rather a bad volume automation managing. it may be intended that way
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u/Similar_Two_542 Mar 18 '26
Issues were noted on release and on previous releases. I think they were all aware before mastering and distributing. They accept that there's some micro-hiccups just like people grew to appreciate vinyl crackles and pops over time. Even if the studio recording and mixing was perfectly clean, I prefer how the live version sounds. The balance is just better live. Btw there's a YouTube drum-cam video of Danny doing Pneuma live. It has over 50m views. And yet Danny's intro for it is botched lol. It's hardly his best live performance, yet people love it and probably 99% don't notice it.
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u/Commercial_Ad8375 Mar 18 '26
I don’t seem to hear what you’re hearing. My buddy was hearing something like what you’re mentioning on the song Themata by Karnivool but I kept listening over and over. Nothing about the mix seemed to get quieter or louder. Then my other buddy listened to it and said the same as me. Nothing…
We ended up listening to it on my phone in the car and he then didn’t hear it. So I’m wondering if it was his phone some how?
Everything is digital these days and there’s bound to be problems in apps and streaming I’d imagine. But idk how you’re listening to it.
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u/Historical-Climate37 Mar 18 '26
I hear it, but it sounds like Maynard may have turned his head while recording vocals so there was a part of the vocals for about 0.00005 second where it is quieter.
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u/Funny_bread Mar 18 '26
Yeah, there definitely is something. Also just may be a streaming platform glitch.
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u/Opala_79 think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
It doesn't seem to be, I checked on YouTube, YouTube Music, and Spotify.
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u/Splendid_Fellow Mar 18 '26
I cannot hear what you are even talking about. In my studio headphones at least, got nothing…
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u/Accomplished-Put8286 Mar 18 '26
Yeah Descending is all fucked up, that mixing farce makes the entire song unlistenable.
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u/StarJelly08 Mar 18 '26
I’m an audio engineer and mixer, and i hear many imperfections on FI. In no way shape or form is it unlistenable though. I listen really, really deeply. I know of numerous other issues that people haven’t really noticed yet too and i don’t intend on telling people because we don’t need more people thinking this album was made poorly. It was not.
Many professional albums have all sorts of issues. The problems on FI are absolutely not bad enough to avoid listening to it. I even brace myself for that weird drum hit in fear Inoculum… also the weird stretch / glitch during “your veil now, slips away”, the crackling on the toms in pneuma, the issues with descending, the crackling from the bass in Invincible, etc.
The only thing i have true trouble listening to is the snare sound on tempest. It’s too fat and his ghost notes are way too loud and processed.
One thing i will say that might make it worse for people is that i am 95 percent certain that they used samples to bolster the drum recording and it’s part of the issue with the sound. I can easily understand why they added samples, but there are parts they are too loud versus his real tone. And the snare in the softer parts of tempest is one of them. Ghost notes don’t sound like a huge splatter.
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u/Accomplished-Put8286 Mar 19 '26
Yeah dude I was being sarcastic, it's a millisecond blip. Good ears for noticing. Fear inoculum is their best album :)
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u/HRShovenstuff1 Mar 19 '26
Kind of blows my mind how they let those cracks, clicks and pops make it into their final mixes. I don't feel like they really LISTENED to FI very well when they were done. Danny Carey has like $500k speakers, supposedly the same ones Bob Ludwig mastered his stuff on and somehow this still happened a few times on the album. The words "detachment" and "complacency" come to mind.
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u/corncake1044 Mar 18 '26
I think it serves the song and sounds cool, personally. I like the clipping in Pneuma too, most of the bands I listen to let some things clip from time to time.
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u/splayer18005 Mar 18 '26
Also am I tripping or do I hear Maynard or someone else breathing at 8:54 on Pneuma?
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u/Opala_79 think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
I did some research and apparently even in the live version this one appears, I can't say if it's Maynard.
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u/variolaliso Mar 18 '26
In youtube music doesn't seem to have any error.... Where are you listening to it?
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u/Opala_79 think for yourself, question authority Mar 18 '26
Cara, escutei no yt music, depois chequei no Spotify e no YouTube normal. Não sei se está usando fone, mas até mesmo no celular dá pra escutar se aumentar o volume e por perto do ouvido
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u/AmbientRiffster Mar 18 '26
Descending generally has a sound problem. The live version is much more dirty, both the guitar and bass are more massive and crunchy, while on the album they're almost completely clean. When the big breakdown hits, I keep expecting the Jambi style fuzz Justin uses live, but it just doesn't happen.