Album: Aenima (1996)

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Comments: 57

• Jim from North Billerica, MaThe first time I heard this I thought it sounded like a German revival meeting.
• Casey from Edgewood, MdI think the songfacts pretty much sums it up . The Deutsch language can be pretty powerful . I often joked around an said it sound like klingon everything they speak sound like there talking about war and battle . And here is song that simply about hash brownies and it sounds like a german war rally ..
• Mike from Toronto, OnI believe the song is a kind of statement about appearances being deceiving, and having to look for the substance before judging things merely based on how they seem at a superficial level. A companion track to "Message to Harry Manback." (With possible connections as a theme in the album - inauthentic people in California mentioned in Aenima, the boy from "Hooker with a Penis" who tries to appear hip yet is a sellout himself, judging Tool when all he knows about them is "what [they've] sold [him]" - hell the concept of a "Hooker with a Penis" implies deceiving appearances even superficially. Tool plays with this notion often, as when Maynard dresses up in shock-inspiring attire like body paint or woman's clothes, or when you look at some of their nearly-grotesque yet beautiful videos and miss the lyrics. There is a fine line between illusion and reality.
  
  Firstly, in Message to Harry Manback, the song's title seems almost as if promising to be comical (hairy man's back), before you listen to it. But instead we hear a soft, romantic piano melody. Then we hear the calm, quiet words of a man leaving a message on an answering machine. But the content of his message is anything but romantic or calm, or even comical - he vindictively wishes you to "die outta cancer" and for a family member of yours to die, for something you did. He threatens violence, sets a curse with "black magic", constantly calling you a "Pezzo di merda", Italian for "piece of s--t." The emotional tone is nothing like the "song's" content. Its complete juxtaposition.
  
  And in Die Eier Von Satan, the title immediately primes the mind with notions of death (die) and evil (satan). We first hear the heavy industrial, mechanical sound with an eerily unnatural-sounding drum track (because it has been reversed). The German speaker summons to mind Hitler (to most people familiar with Hitler that do not understand German) with a rousing hate speech to a more and more impassioned crowd. The tone is fairly calm at first, albeit foreboding. But it quickly turns to sounding very violent and aggressive. And yet the content of the message is harmless - a recipe for cookies.
  
  One sounds nice, and is "evil." The other sounds evil, but is actually kinda nice.
  
  So yeah, Maynard IS screwing with people. But that doesn't mean there's no purpose to it. He's challenging your perceptions. Subtly coaxing you to look deeper. Most people won't take the time to understand, and so many who do, or just think they do, often feel superior about knowing it - most of you probably are familiar with the overly-interpretive, know-it-all hipster crowd that Tool tends to appeal to - case in point, the kid from "Hooker with a Penis."
  
  The point is, challenge your perceptions. A dark, industrial sounding, hitler-esk german speech can just be a recipe for cookies, and a romantic track with a man speaking in a soft tone could be wishing you to die. Furthermore, the band you worship as gods, or view as a bunch of savvy manipulators out to get rich, can be nothing more than a bunch of guys trying to make a living playing the music they love, and trying to create and express something in a unique way. In either case, don't become a "tool" to your perceptions - use them AS a tool. But to use a tool, you need to be aware of it and its function - you need a mind of your own.
  
  Of course, maybe I am over-interpreting. But I found value in this interpretation and really, that's what ultimately matters. I don't claim to "know" any of this, but it seems to me the most intuitive and logical interpretation. I thought I'd share. I'm surprised Harry Manback and this idea I just shared hasn't been mentioned so far.
  
  Plus, the Jewish thing is REALLY stretching it. The eggs represent Jewish people? Your free to interpret but I gotta say, I see no justification for that...
  
• Chris from German City, GermanyDoran, ich konnte einfach nicht anders als laut los lachen als ich deinen Beitrag gelesen habe. So eine gequirlte Scheisse hab ich meinen Lebtag nicht gelesen. Alles worum es in diesem Song geht ist die Durchführung einer mystischen Beschwörung, deswegen diese etwas unheimliche Betonung. Wenn ich meinen Kindern eine Geschichte mit einem magischen Ritual vorlese, verstelle ich meine Stimme genauso. Die sind dann etwa genauso beeindruckt wie du es anscheinend bist. Ich bin ja weiss Gott kein Nazi, aber dieses weinerliche "Ich bin ein Jude und deswegen hat mich keiner lieb"-Gehabe geht mir einfach nur massiv auf die Eier (Das würde es übrigens auch, wenn sich ein Brillenträger so beschweren wuerde wie du). Dieser Song ist einfach, was er ist: Eine spassige Interpretation eines in vielerlei Hinsicht spassigen Sujets; in dem Song kommt alles vor, was Erwachsenen Spass macht: Kochen, Drogenmissbrauch, lustige Stimmen, Musik und abgedrehte Witze.
  Ich wuerde dir tatsächlich empfehlen, doch ab und zu mal eine Tüte zu rauchen oder Sex zu haben oder Delphinen beim Schwimmen zu zu gucken oder was auch immer dich entspannt. Lass aber auf jeden Fall das Politisieren von Musik, dafuer haelt der menschliche Genpool begabtere Exemplare als dich bereit.
• Chris from German City, GermanyDoran, you sad and bitter man, ever actually tried to bake them balls?
  Leave the turkish hash away, add some high proof rum&chocolate and you get THESE: http://www.chefkoch.de/rs/s0/rumkugeln/Rezepte.html
  If you take the time to browse all of the 124 variations of the recipe you will discover that NOT ONE, repeat, NOT ONE of them includes eggs, your so-called "vital" ingredient. Maybe MJK one day tasted some balls and they totally beamed him into Mars´ orbit so that he decided to let us participate in his spiritual experience? Whatever, but most definitely there aren´t any Jews on Mars... *sigh*
  btw, I recommend not to roll the Balls in powdered sugar but in a cinnamon/instant cocoa powder mix. Tastes great when you don´t overdo it with the cinnamon.
  Ah, one last one: these are BALLS, not COOKIES, for cryin´ out loud.
  Geez I´m outta here.
• Bud from Calgary, AbThe drums in the song sounds like the song is played backwards. I tried reading the lyrics backward but it made even less sense =/
• Catherine from City?, Irelandits amazing how Maynard could have just done a simple recipe for hash cookies in German,but because of complexity of the rest of his other songs, people will instantly analyze it one way or another,hell I'm analyzing it now,this song works on so many levels!great page to read also I love seeing everyone's crazy opinion,keep up the good work!
  hope Maynard reads this page someday and laughs his ass off like I did!
  
• Pyrate from Ga, Gaes hat garnichts mit juden tzu tun. es est kein nachtisch, sundan etwas wie HASHBROWNIES, aber kechen, now translate that, and it has nothing to do with the jews, in german, eier can means balls, but they realy mean eggs, so the real commedie is that they can aslo be called the eggs of satan, but they are made with...NO EGGS
• Trevor from Tulsa, OkI know what it feels like Cameron...I'm Jewish and I get called kike and Jew a lot. Which leads to my point of (in my opinion) this song is almost a test, to see if you stero-type all Germans to Nazis. Its kind of sad and brilliant to think that prolly more than 50% of the people who listen to this song instantly thought of Hitler.
• Paul from State College, PaTool is notorious for messing with people and pulling shenanigans. In this particular song MJK just decides pull a shenanigan and fool people when listening to this song. It's kind of a test to see if you're a stereo-typical person. If you hear a German man talking if front of a large crowd with chanting, one will assume it's a Nazi protest because people stereo-type Germans as ruthless Nazi's. But it's just a food recipe. MJK just wanted to pull a joke but at the same time make you feel like crap because he made you feel like a stereo-typical person. Thats just my opinion.
• Qëndrim from Rahovec, --That song as i think does mean thae all the religions like Islamism,Atheism and Satans doesn`t exist,they`re only a imagination of the human mind.
  
  Die eier von satan(Our imagination).
  Une kein eier(In the end they don`t exist).
  
  My opinion.
• Virgil from Outskirts, LebanonDoran, your right about the cake part ... but your WAY off about the Jew / cultural part. you have no evidence what so ever about that statement
• Mason from Spicer, MnThese cookies are amazing they are flat without eggs but i still like them if you want to make alot just add alot of hash if you add alot of hash oil too it works nice
• Cameron from Cypress, TxRammstein was formed in 1994, Herzeleid was released in 95, so technicially they were around before the song was written.
  
  Anyway, this song totally speaks the truth, any time im speaking german to my german friends at anywhere really, we're called jew haters or nazi's or whatever other colorful names people can think up.
• Daniel from Daheim, GermanyNice try, Herman.
  
  Rammstein didn´t even exist when Tool wrote this song ^^
• Herman from Berlin, GermanyThis song is a irony to Rammstein
• Matt from Oxford, EnglandThis is an awesome song. One day I'll post how good the cookies are.
• Donald from Los Angeles, CaWhile this is a recipe for cookies with hash it is also a close recipe to traditional wedding cake in parts of mexico. A recipe that is known for not using eggs.
• Chris from Pine Blizzy, ArThe song is seen by some to be an example of the band's use of irony to bring attention to the casual listener's tendency to prejudge and form a subjective interpretation of something before really understanding it.
  
  "Die Eier von Satan" has a heavy industrial guitar and drum background. The singer, who is NOT Maynard, reads the lyrics in German, gradually increasing in volume and emotion. Crowd noises are layered over the track at times as the speech's tone escalates to a climax. Although this might suggest to listeners unaware of the meaning of the lyrics that the song features aggressive or even violent content, the speaker is merely reciting a recipe for cookies (literally, "The Eggs of Satan").
  
  It was originally translated by Gudrun Fox. Marko Fox (a member of ZAUM) is performing the lyrics. According to Blair McKenzie Blake, the maintainer of the Tool website, "Die Eier von Satan" originally were cookies that
  
  "Marko Fox's grandmother used to bake for him as a child (miraculously, without using eggs as an ingredient). Of course you have to substitute the eggs with a magical incantation from the worm-eaten pages of some moldering grimoire." newsletter September 2005
  According to the song lyrics, the special ingredient beside this "incantation" is actually "a knife-tip of Turkish hashish".
  
  The song incorporates a German double-entendre of "Eier," which literally means "eggs," but which also serves as a slang word for "testicles."
  
• Jonny from Berlin, GermanyHi, I am german, and I'd like to say, that the guy in the song sounds more like an advertising guy on a marketplace. So, one could say this song is really a great piece of Art, because to English-Speaking People it might be an association to the Nazi-Regime and at the same time a sort of critique for hasty spoken judgements about Germans and on the other way it is just a recipe for Hash-Cookies. Like: "eat one and calm down"
  Cya
• Hayden from Knoxville, TnThis song is often compared to Jewish history and Hitler, but honestly, it's just Tool screwing with it's listeners again, the song is simply the recipe for some homemade hash cookies :-D
• Robert from Pottstown, PaYou bake them at 200 deegrees for 15 min.
  
  The joke is; It's a recipie on how to make hash cookies.
  
  And after reading the commentary in here on this song, the joke keeps getting funnier and funnier.
• Zoe from Currently Dallas/fort Worth, TxI've gotten a kick out of the translation of this song since I first looked it up about 8(?) years ago... I had just started listening to Tool and various other alternative/metal gropus when I heard this song and instantly Hitler's Manifesto came to mind. But that seemed too easy so I looked it up and laughed my *** off! Years later my daughter, who was proably 5 at the time, asked me about the song and what it meant, why the people were cheering. (she used to want this cd to listen to at bedtime - go figure!) It gave me a wonderful opportunity to teach her a valuable lesson... you can make people feel a certain way just by the way you say something - it doesn't have to have anything to do with what you say. As always, I love the way Maynard does what he does... this is just another perfect example of his unique ability to create lyrics that are truly a work of art.
• Jason from Austin, TxIt's obviously a rant about politics in the Sinai circa 1873.
  
  "Sometimes cookies is just cookies."
• Kevin from Independence, Mowhy the hell are you all trying to see further than the way it is? It is a recipe nothing further. Get over it. Maynard is really spooky in that way. He may or may not have a deeper meaning, but in this case he doesnt. get over it people. it is a recipe.
• Katie from Las Vegas, NvI think that tool is maybe try to say it's not what we say it is how we say it. I'm trying to learn a little german. The why the words are pronounced are so harsh around the edges and are kind of scary. I think it is kind of funny that people always always think of hitler when they think of german.
• Jess from LiverpoolBut if it was sung in english I'd still think there was a deeper meaning than a reciepe. But maybe because it's sung in German, there isn't one, because the what it means is like a hidden meaning (unless you are German..). I'm not sure why I'm trying to comment when I'm so confused, myself....
• Manolo from Popotitossubele al bajo pa´que mi gata prenda los motores subele al bajo pa´que mi gata prenda los motores subele al bajo pa´que mi gata prenda los motores
  a mi me gusta la gasoliiiinaaa... dame mas gasoliiiina...a mi me gusta la gasoliiiinaaa... dame mas gasoliiiina...a mi me gusta la gasoliiiinaaa... dame mas gasoliiiina...
• Ozzzy from Sydney, AustraliaWhy would they sing about a recipe for cookies, without including a main ingredient such as eggs?
  If they were simply singing the recipe, they would probably include the eggs... right? Right.
  
  Thanks Doran
• Ozzzy from Sydney, AustraliaFor all the people who say they speak German, and that they understand the lyrics perfectly, and that it is nothing but a recipe, you are stupid. We speak English quite well, but sometimes require assisstance in analysing the lyrics to songs, which is why I visit songfacts.com... Just because you understand the lyrics doesn't mean you understand their meaning. You are simply taking it literally, and sometimes, you need to think outside of the box when reading lyrics e.g. try understanding Bob Dylan's songs without thinking for a couple of hours...
• Christo from Santa Rosa, CaDoran from Toronto had the best comment on this song. Most of the rest of you just restated unimportant facts or obvious observations like "it's a recipe for the balls of satan, whic is supposed to include hash". if you translate the lyrics, or go to www.toolband.com and click on lyrics, you will see that the song is in fact a recipe called the balls of satan, with hash being one of the key ingredients. Way to go, Travis. Try thinking analytically for once. And another thing: i suggest taking everything TOOL says with a grain of salt. Otherwise you become a tool (socially, emotionally, completely uninformed and powerless) yourself. That's fine with me, but I'd rather think for myself. Peace to all the smart people out there.
• Randall from Dallas, TxWell, it's supposed to sound like it's slighting the Jews... it's kind of a parody of a Hitler speech. So it has to be in the context of that. The fact that it's an eggless cookie recipe is very funny.
• Choco from Silver Spring, MdWow this song sounded awesome when i frist heard it!haha.....no offense, but i DID think it was subliminally racist aginst Jews....i mean, c'mon it just sounded that way....and i have NOTHING AT ALL AGAINST GERMANS i think German ppl r way awesome....nor do i associate Germans with Hitler.....but when i looked up the lyrics and saw like mixing batter for like cookies i kinda thought it was Tool's subliminal mesage against Jewish ppl er sumthing cuz i couldnt beleive he would actually write a song about dessert.....lol....ya im sorry for being the "dumb American" but again, i'm not ignorant or racist against Germans....but thanx for the interpretation.....it makes total sense haha
• Kristine from Fayetteville, ArThe title of song can almost be translated to: "The Eggs of Satan," according to a friend of mine, making the SongFacts pretty accurate.
• Joseph from Frsno, CaIf you guys could read the credits Ã?nima you would see that it IS Marco Fox that does the vocals for this!!!!
• Datharion from Crictic, United States*Sigh* This is just a huge slap in the face to those fundamentalist, retarded dips who think that if it sounds evil and is in German it must mean something against someone or something horrible...HA! well, maybe they should figure out those lirics...or shall i say recipy for COOKIES! ...oy...i dont like those people...stupid people who think just because the way you sound...makes all the difference...there may not be any republicans here...BUT!..Bush was doing crappy on his speeches...but he still won both elections...not by a lot but hey who cares...as long as he got the point accross...just like Maynard.
• Matthias from Kaiserslautern (near Ramstein), GermanyI'm from Germany and for me it's really funny to read those things about this song :). Especially the pronounciation-tip. I think it would sound really funny if someone of you would tell it to me :).
• Rowan from San Carlos, CaOver thinking, over analyzing, seperates the body from the mind...? eh? eh? LOL
• Rowan from San Carlos, CaWhy can't it just be a recipe for hash cookies? LOL
• Sam from Huntsville, AlThis song has little to nothing to do with Hitler. Even the speaker satirized is a German football (americans, read: soccer) announcer. The cheering crowd is that at a football match, just listen to the tone and background again. This is not a fascist rally.
  
  I'd say that if Maynard is doing anything more than having a bit of fun with the song, he's having even more fun with his audience. Keenan knows that most of his audience is American, and most of them neither know German or recognize the speaker as an imatation of a sports announcer.
• Ann from Los Angeles / Stuttgart, United StatesActually just a quick german lesson : Satan does not mean what it means in English (typish Fehler) actually it means Evil the english word Satan or Devil is Teufel auf Deutsch. Funny thumb at the regional govener of Baden-Wuettemberg as well hmmm (if Tool even cared to know about current German politics) -Ann
• Ukash from Vratislavia, PolandThe pronounciation should be more like: "dee i-er fon' Zathan" witha a sharp 'z' like in f.e. Zelda. Believe me, I'm closer to Deutschland ;)
• Randall from Dallas, TxThis song reminds me of that Simpson's episode where little Maggie gets lost and ends up on the other side of town, where two Russian men are playing chess. Their tone of voice takes the same aggressive tone and their body actions would say that they are getting very pissed at each other. Thankfully, they provide subtitles for that part, and you could read that one was congradulating the winner and the other asked if he wanted to play again.
• Ian from New York, NyYou don't have to look too deep into this song. Just laugh at it. It's one of the funnist things i've ever heard. Sorry for bad spelling.
• Jonathan from Burton, MiI have heard many ideas about what this song "Really Means," but I think you can chalk it up to two main factors. A) It is a recipe for hash brownies, obviously Maynard's fave mix, and B) They had to maintain "street cred" at the time by putting about 15 minutes of crazy "filler tracks" on AEnima (Cesaro Summability, Ions, Die Eier Von Satan, et cetera). If you speak German as I do, you don't take it any further than that.
• Rob from Auckland, New ZealandHAsh cookies guys, hash cookies. Try the recipy without eggs its prety flat with eggs the cookies are quite tasty
• Tobi from Potsdam, GermanySorry guys, but I think the explanation that "Die Eier von Satan" has anything to do with Hitler and the Jews is not true at all. First of all, since I'm German, I understand the Song pretty good and it's JUST! a recipe for some nice cookies including Turkish hash. Nothing more! The interpretation with the jews is total BS, its not Hitler speaking, how could he, he's dead! UND KEINE EIER! That's all I've to say about that!
  
• Barry from Martinsville, InIt was Zaum's Marko Fox who did the voice for Die Eier Von Satan he tried out for the band when D'amor left
• Barry from Martinsville, Inby the way maynard isnt singing this song it was one of the bassists that tried out for the band when d'amor left it was Zaum's Marko Fox who did the voice
• Chris from Novi, MiNO NO NO NO!! The balls of satan is just a recipe for cookies without eggs! http://toolshed.down.net/lyrics/aenimamaster.html
  check it out
• Brian from Mayfield Heights, OhActually, i think it is Maynard speaking
• Lauren from Dallas, Txund keiner eier means "and no eggs". Eier is a direct translation for egg. the title was actually meant to say The Egg Of Satan, where from Hitlers POV, the jews represented the egg and they would be the spawn of satan, part of his argument against the jews
• Glenn from Mildenhall, EnglandI don't know about the egg-Jew thing, but it's funny just cause of the Hitler connotations. It's not Maynard speaking.
• Jon from Catawba, ScUnd Kiner Ier, something spelt like that, mean "add no eggs",
• Jack from Bloomington, IlAhhhh thanks Doran from Tornoto Canada. You've given me a whole new perspective on this. I do find the humor in this song but I do realize during the days of Hitler where he tried to "unify" the human race by eliminating all other races to the point where there would only be blonde haired blue-eyed Arians. If he would've been successful, it definitely would have created a world of such a "flat" society. He had the right idea in wanting unification, just very "backwards" processing and that ultimately destroyed him.
• Travis from Blicksburg, VaIt's a recipe for the balls of satan , which is supposed to include hash
• Robin from Sydney, CanadaThat's probably the BEST interpretation of the song I've ever read!

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