Sunday, 18 October 2026
RIFFOLOGY
Undertow by Tool, album cover
Album

Undertow

by Tool
Released6 April 1993
LabelTool Dissectional
Popularity76.0
alternative metalalternative rockprogressive metalrockgrunge
Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗Deezer ↗Podcast cover

Undertow is the first full-length studio album by the American band Tool, released on 6 April 1993. Produced by the band with Sylvia Massy and recorded at Grand Master Studios in Hollywood, it draws in a few tracks left off their earlier EP, Opiate. It is also the only Tool record to feature original bassist Paul D'Amour, which gives it a distinct place in the band's line-up history before Ænima followed in 1996.

It arrived while grunge was at its commercial peak and pop punk was only starting to attract wider attention, yet its heavy, progressive-leaning alternative metal found a large audience. AllMusic credits it with helping heavy metal stay prominent in the mainstream and with opening the door for later bands, and singles out the haunting visuals that matched its bleak but wistful mood. It has since been certified triple platinum in the US.

Undertow on Riffology

riffology.co →
Podcast · Episode 67 · 1 h 33 min
Tool – Undertow
0:00 / 1:33:12
A Deep Dive into Tool’s Undertow (1993)
Album deep dive
A Deep Dive into Tool’s Undertow (1993)
14 December 2025

Undertow: tracklist, credits and charts

69 tracks · 1:09:13

Tracklist

  1. 1IntoleranceCarey, D’Amour, Jones, Keenan4:55
  2. 2Prison SexCarey, D’Amour, Jones, Keenan4:56
  3. 3SoberCarey, D’Amour, Jones, Keenan5:07
  4. 4BottomHenry Rollins and Tool7:14
  5. 5Crawl AwayTool5:30
  6. 6Swamp SongTool5:32
  7. 7UndertowTool5:22
  8. 84°Tool6:03
  9. 9FloodTool7:46
  10. 10[silence]0:01
  11. 11[silence]0:01
  12. 12[silence]0:01
  13. 13[silence]0:01
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  68. 68[silence]0:03
  69. 69DisgustipatedTool15:47
Produced by
Sylvia Massy, Tool, Sylvia Massy, Tool
Recorded at
Grand Master (Hollywood)
Mixed by
Ron Saint Germain, Sylvia Massy
Mixed at
Ameraycan Recording Studios
Engineered by
Sylvia Massy
Label
Tool Dissectional
Length
1:09:13

Line-up

  • Danny Carey · drums (drum set) · guest
  • Paul D’Amour · bass guitar · guest
  • Adam Jones · guitar · guest
  • Tool · guest
  • Maynard James Keenan · lead vocals, vocals · guest
  • Henry Rollins · vocals · guest

Singles

  • “Prison Sex” · 1993
  • “Sober” · 1994

Peak chart positions

ChartPeak
US Billboard 200 · 201919
US Heatseekers · 1993–19941
New Zealand Albums · 1993–199417
Australian Albums (ARIA) · 201921
Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 201936
Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1993–199449
Dutch Albums · 200189

Certifications

RegionCertification
Australia · 2019Platinum
CanadaPlatinum
New Zealand · 2025Platinum
United States · 20213× Platinum

From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.

76.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
179k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
32k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Opiate (1992)Ænima (1996) →

Released the same week

Songs to Make Love To by Faith No More, album cover
Songs to Make Love To
Faith No More · 1993

More from Tool

Full discography →
Opiate by Tool, album cover
Opiate
1992
Ænima by Tool, album cover
Ænima
1996
Salival by Tool, album cover
Salival
2000
Lateralus by Tool, album cover
Lateralus
2001
10,000 Days by Tool, album cover
10,000 Days
2006
Fear Inoculum by Tool, album cover
Fear Inoculum
2019

The best of 1993

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Chaos A.D.
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Bloody Kisses
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Live at Donington: August 22nd 1992 by Iron Maiden, album cover
Live at Donington: August 22nd 1992
Iron Maiden · 1993
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A Real Live One
Iron Maiden · 1993
A Real Dead One by Iron Maiden, album cover
A Real Dead One
Iron Maiden · 1993
Bastards by Motörhead, album cover
Bastards
Motörhead · 1993
Live Shit: Binge & Purge by Metallica, album cover
Live Shit: Binge & Purge
Metallica · 1993

More on Tool Dissectional

The label →
10,000 Days by Tool, album cover
10,000 Days
Tool · 2006

Releases and pressings

How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
SourceDateNote
MusicBrainz6 April 1993
Wikipedia infobox6 April 1993
Wikidata6 April 1993
US release6 April 1993earliest US date
UK / Europe release1993earliest UK or European date
24 editions
DateCountryLabelBarcodeKind
—XEVolcano Records828765364720other
1993USTool Dissectional614223105222other
1993XEVolcano Records5013705500329other
1993XEBMG724451105229other
1993XEVolcano Records828765364720other
1993XEVolcano Records724384669027other
April 1993CAZoo Entertainment724451105229other
April 1993CAVolcano Records614223301020other
6 April 1993USZoo Entertainment724451105229original
6 April 1993USZoo Entertainmentoriginal
6 April 1993USVolcano Records614223105222original
6 April 1993USBMG724451105243original
6 April 1993XWVolcano Entertainment L.L.C.614223105222original
6 April 1993AUZoo Entertainment724451105229original
17 September 1996USZoo Entertainment614223105215other
19 October 1998GBMusic for Nations5016583124625other
1 July 1999CAVolcano Records614223301020other
6 August 1999AUVolcano Records9326382000171other
2006USVolcano Entertainment L.L.C.614223105215other
10 May 2006JPBMG Japan4988017639177other
15 May 2006XETool Dissectional828765364720other
2 August 2019XWRCA886447824740other
2022CATool Dissectional614223301020other
——Tool Dissectional614223107325other
Cover art sources

coverartarchive · native: native 3000x3000

SourceSizeVerdict
coverartarchive ✓3000×3000native: native 3000x3000
deezer1200×1200upscaled
fanarttv1000×1000upscaled