I'll get straight to the point here: this record has a double-grove and that is very fucking cool. Put the needle down on one groove of side B and you hear the live recording of Cold and Ugly, as you'd expect; move the needle over one groove (easier said than done) and you hear the bonus track The Gaping Lotus Experience. "Hidden" tracks on cds were pretty popular at the time, but the fact that someone went to such effort to include that song here, in a far more exciting way, never fails to please me. The first time I played it, I unexpectedly heard The Gaping Lotus Experience, but I had equal odds of hearing the song I was supposed to hear. Can you imagine the confusion you landed the needle on Cold and Ugly the first few times and then accidentally discovered the bonus track?
I'll save the usual chat about how I got into Tool for another time. Opiate is a great little EP - six short songs about society and religion from before Tool forgot how to write short songs. I'm a fan of their later albums too, but Opiate is perfect for those times when you don't have 70 minutes to spare but still want to listen to Tool. The lyrics are witty (see Hush and Jerk-Off) and the drums are hit hard. I'd had Opiate on cd for a few years when I found this copy in the excellent Massachusetts mini-chain Newbury Comics. They also had Undertow and the first Rage Against the Machine album on vinyl, so I picked up all three in a little, early-90's, major-label metal shopping spree. All three are records I'm pleased to have had in my collection for the past 11 and half years.
Format: 12", double groove on side B
Tracks: 7
Cost: £4.90 new
Bought: Newbury Comics, Boston
When: 05/08/02
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
