Chords for How Tool Used Math to Create "Lateralus"

I think there's few bands out there that put as much thought into their [E] music and in turn make you think more about their music [Am]
than Tool.
You could pick any song in their [D] catalog and find levels of nuance and [Dm] subtlety to dissect,
but [E] at least in my mind the song that best exemplifies the band's [Am] attention to detail and willingness to push boundaries is
[G] Lateralis.
[Em] The title track of Tool's third studio album, the [E] song walks the line between
mathematical and spiritual with an [Am] intricate weave of rhythms,
music, and lyrics that come together to [D] create an astounding final product [Dm] that's one of the most unique and
fascinating songs [E] ever written.
Let's take a closer look.
[Am] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
The [E] driving theme behind Lateralis is a [G] mathematical concept called the Fibonacci sequence.
The Fibonacci sequence, [D] as you may know, is a sequence in which
every number [C] after the first two is the sum of the two numbers before.
[E] The drumbeat of the song is based [B] on the sequence and the lyrics [Em] form a structural representation of it.
Each syllable of each phrase
represents the numbers in the sequence.
Check out the syllabic breakdown of the first verse.
_ [Gm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [C] Sequence climbs up to the sixth number, seventh if we include zero, and then climbs back down.
_ Reflecting the Fibonacci sequence further, [Em]
the first verse repeats itself before moving on to the next.
That next verse [C] continues the countdown of the sequence, then counts back [Em] up to a 13 syllable pre-chorus.
[A] _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [F] _ _ [E] _ _
_ [Dm] _ _ _ The [Em] mathematical structure is reflected in the precision of the song as well.
Listen to Danny Carey's drums, which [C] move effortlessly through a strange [Em] progression of time signatures.
The chorus of the song moves through time changes of 9-8, [Am] 8-8, and 7-8 [C] time.
These changes gave the [Em] track its original title, 9-8-7, but that's not the only [C] significance of these numbers.
_ 987 also [Em] happens to be the 16th number of the Fibonacci sequence.
This [Am] rhythmic movement conjures up a spiral, one of the key
musical and lyrical themes of the [Em] song.
If you take the numbers from the Fibonacci [Am] sequence and map them [G] across tiles,
[E] then create an [G] arc connecting each [Am] opposite corner of [G] the tiles, you get a Fibonacci spiral.
[Am] This spiral [G] forms an
approximation [Em] of the golden spiral, [Am] which is a reflection of the [G] golden ratio.
The [Em] golden ratio is [Am] when the ratio between A [G] plus B and [E] A is
the same [Am] as the ratio between A and [Em] B.
The golden ratio appears [Am] all over nature, [G] science, art, [Em] and design.
It can [Am] be seen in everything from [G] classical paintings to spiral galaxies, [Am] from ancient [G] architecture to
[Em] hurricane shapes.
When you actually take [Am] the number of the [G] golden ratio, you get
1 [Am].618. That [Em] number's got relevance to the song as well.
[Am] Maynard James Keenan's vocals [Em] start 1 minute and 37 seconds [Am] into the song.
Another way [G] to look at that duration [Em] is 1 _ [Am].618 minutes.
[Em] Furthermore, we [E] can rearrange [Am] that 1 minute and 37 [Em] seconds to read 13 to 7,
[Am] reflecting that 13 [Em] is the 7th number of the [Am] Fibonacci sequence.
Each [Em] verse of the song also has a duration of 55 [Am] seconds.
55 [Em] is itself a Fibonacci number.
[A] The intricacies [Em] of Lateralis'
mathematical _
[Am] constructions alone are astounding, but paired with the lyrics, they create something truly profound.
[G] The title of the [E] song came from the concept of [Am] lateral thinking,
[Em] viewing problems through a new light.
[A] In the lyrics, Tool [Em] used the mathematical concepts
[B] reflected in the [Am] music to find [Em] a fresh perspective on [B] life and nature.
[Am] The first verses [Em] show a progression of colors,
[A] reflecting the [Am] birth of an individual, [Em] a universe, or a thought.
[Am] Maynard James Keenan said [Em] that he pulled these colors from
Aboriginal [Am] creation stories, in which [Em] they play a heavy role.
[E]
These colors [Am] are also reflected in [Em] medieval alchemy, which said that the process for [Am] creating the Philosopher's [Em] Stone used four color changes,
[Am] corresponding in order to the [Em] four colors that Keenan sings.
As [Am] our singer is birthed in the [Em] universe,
he sees the colors, [Am] sees the ways that the universe is [Em] functioning around him.
In the next verse, the
[Am] infinity of it all beckons [Em] to the singer, but we see him pulled away in the chorus.
[A] Almost [Em] paradoxical, given the nature of the song,
the chorus [E] sings [Am] how
[Em] overthinking the nature of the world [G] will pull you away from the flow of the universe.
_ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] In the bridge, this spirituality [C] comes into connection with the mathematics.
[Em] Maynard sings that he wants to feel the rhythm.
He wants to embrace the math that [C] drives the universe and let it drive himself [D] and his destiny.
[Dm] _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Dm] _ _ And he did. _ _ _
_ _ _ [G] Instead of trying to [E] control the [Am] universe around him, Maynard is [G] realizing that he's [E] the victim of forces [A] larger than him,
reflected as the [Em] spiral, the math, driving the entire [Am] universe.
In [G] order to connect to [Em] this, one needs to be willing [Am] to let go and [G] see where the universe will take one.
[Am] Maynard says that to truly live our [G] lives to the fullest and to tap into the divinity [Am] of the universe,
we need [G] to embrace the mechanisms driving it.
_ [D] _ _ _ [F] _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
[C] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [F] _
_ And _ [A] that's where the song ends, riding the [A] spiral.
[Em] The spiral is the golden ratio, the [A] Fibonacci sequence, tying
[Em] human creativity to the [A] natural world,
[Am] ever expanding [Em] outwards in possibility, getting [E] larger and [A] larger with each [D] number.
_ Following the wheel and [F] when we may just [F] go and over [D] there, [G] we'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go and [F] over there.
[Em] This is why Lateralis is [Am] a true modern [Em] masterpiece.
In its very music, [Am] it's intrinsically tied [Em] to the fabric of the universe.
[Am] It's a reflection of concepts that [Em] existed long before it was created [E] and
will [Em] continue to exist long after humanity has [B] fallen.
[G] It's profound [Em] and timeless.
_ [Am] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ [E] _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ _ _