Album Info
Opiate is an EP by the American rock band Tool. Released in 1992, it followed some two years of playing together after their formation in 1990, and preceded their first full-length album, Undertow, by a year. It yielded two singles, "Hush" and "Opiate". It is named after a quote by Karl Marx: "Religion [...] is the opium of the masses." Opiate was certified platinum by the RIAA on April 1, 2005.
Opiate features six tracks with seven songs, the seventh being a hidden track entitled "The Gaping Lotus Experience". "The Gaping Lotus Experience" is located at 6:10 on track 6. On the vinyl pressings, side 2 is double grooved. Depending on where the needle falls, "The Gaping Lotus Experience" will play or "Cold And Ugly (Live)" will play. Both tracks are followed by some silence, then the record player will play the last two tracks.
Unlike their later releases, Opiate does not incorporate the progressive aspect of later recordings. Opiate does, however, immediately display the band's technical prowess. Much of the album uses problems of society as a focal point. Topics range from extreme censorship, ethical choices, and religion as a form of control.
The first track, "Sweat," is quite indicative of their future work, dealing with a slightly more complex topic and making use of metaphorical lyrics. The second, "Hush", is about censorship and political correctness, and is accompanied by a video featuring the entire band wearing signs that read "Parental Advisory: Explicit Parts" over their genitalia and buttocks. The song displays Tool's characteristic love of tongue-in-cheek satire, while also showcasing their willingness to express explicit ideas. Track three, "Part of Me", deals with a common Tool theme of identity and control.
The next two tracks, "Cold and Ugly" and "Jerk-Off", were recorded live at the Jello Loft on New Year's Eve 1991, the band's second public show. While the former deals with fear and coming to terms with it, the latter talks about anger and taking things into ones own hands rather than waiting for others to conform. "Opiate", the title track, is one of the band's most famous, and criticizes figures in organized religion who attempt to stand between the practitioner of a religion and his or her deity (the song specifically focuses on Christianity).