Release and Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Boston Herald | |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork | 7/10 |
Tomahawk was released on October 30, 2001. The album was supported by a tour in which the band supported Tool; however, Tools fans were unreceptive to Tomahawk and frequently booed their performances.
Writing for AllMusic, Blake Butler rated Tomahawk four stars out of five, describing the album as "moody, violent, beautiful, sarcastic, vomitive, silly heartstopping". Butler praised Patton's versatility, calling the vocalist "a complete and utter musical visionary, and a mind-blowing and standard-warping genius". Pitchfork's Luke Buckman award the album a rating of 7 out of 10, similarly highlighting Patton's vocals as exemplary. Buckman called Patton "one of the greatest male vocalists around today"; and felt that "Flashback" and "Cul de Sac" were among the album's best songs. Mark Reed of Drowned in Sound rated the album 8 out of 10, noting the "wit" and "style" of the songwriting. Reed felt that the album was among the most conventional of those recorded by Patton, but still described it as featuring "supercatchy, earstretching vocals, dark lyrics rich in black humour, swathes of crunchy guitars and some of the most unusual rhythms to be played by human hands since time began".
Writing for the Boston Herald, Butch Lazorchak rated Tomahawk three stars out of four, finding that it "makes mincemeat out of the new-metal Johnny-come-latelies". Lazorchak described the album as having "an updated '70s hard rock approach that echoes Blue Oyster Cult at its sinister best", and found the opening song "Flashback" to be a "head-crushing pleasure". Reviewing a leg of the album's supporting tour for The Irish Times, Peter Crawley felt that "Sir Yes Sir" was a highlight of the album, due to Patton's "dark utterings" and Rutmanis' "drilling bassline". Writing for CMJ New Music Monthly, Dana Buoniconti compared the album to the soundtracks of David Lynch's film and television work—specifically likening "Honeymoon" and "Sweet Smell of Success" to the Twin Peaks theme. Buoniconti found Tomahawk to be "unsettling and unwholesome", but "thoroughly appealing".
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