Sober

Tool's breakthrough single, built entirely on dynamics — a brooding, restrained Drop-D verse that detonates into a crushing chorus. On Undertow (1993) Adam Jones cut it on his 1979 Les Paul Custom Silverburst into his modified mid-'70s Marshall Super Bass 100, the two channels jumpered together for an aggressive, saturated voice. This predates his Diezel multi-amp rig (which arrived on the later records). The quiet-to-loud swing is in the right hand and the guitar volume, not a pedal: a Plexi-family Marshall pushed hard, cleaning up when he eases off and roaring when he digs in.