Lateralus is a song by the rock band Tool, released on February 2002. The song is the third single and title track of their third studio album Lateralus. The song is known for its distinct time signatures and corresponding lyrical patterns. The time signatures of the chorus of the song change from 9/8 to 8/8 to 7/8; as drummer Danny Carey says:
“It was originally titled 9-8-7. For the time signatures. Then it turned out that 987 was the 16th number of the Fibonacci sequence. So that was cool.”
In a 2001 interview, singer Maynard James Keenan commented on the lyric mentioning black, white, red and yellow:
“I use the archetype stories of North American aboriginals and the themes or colors which appear over and over again in the oral stories handed down through generations. Black, white, red, and yellow play very heavily in aboriginal stories of creation.”
Tracklist:
- Lateralus
Tool
Maynard James Keenan: vocals
Adam Jones: guitars, art director
Justin Chancellor: bass
Danny Carey: drums, percussion, samples
