A therapist recently reacted to Tool’s ‘Pneuma’ from the band’s recent album ‘Fear Inoculum.’
A licensed therapist named Taylor Palmby has shared her thoughts on many different rock and metal songs and talked about their effects on a person. More recently, she shared a new YouTube video, reacting to the Tool track.
How The Song Affects Mental Health
She starts the video clearly into the song while often referring to it as ‘vibey.’ As the song continues, Palmby analyzes the title and finds out where it merges from — it’s an ancient Greek word for ‘breath,’ and depending on the context, it can also mean ‘spirit’ or ‘soul.’
Through the middle of the song, she shares her opinions about the importance of the song and how it can affect one’s mental health:
“I think that this song is so important for people that are struggling because when we are struggling with our mental health, we often feel like our light has completely gone and been distinguished. It’s not, it’s just been forgotten and so we need to remember our light and also remember that light has so many different frequencies, it has so many different colors it has so many different ways that it can shine. So being a person who is experiencing pain doesn’t disqualify you from having light, it informs you about the type of light that you can shine.”
‘Pneuma’ Teaches That ‘We Are All One Spark’
Palmby resonates with the lyrics. She appreciates how Tool integrates spiritual and metaphysical themes, and finds them deep and meaningful. She thinks using the word ‘Pneuma’ is cool and respects Tool for their range of messages.
She focuses on a key idea from the song about how we all have a spark of light within us. Palmby sees it as a message to let your inner light shine and embrace your soul and spirit. She explains:
“What I really like about this song is the idea that we are all one spark. Sun becoming. We all have a spark of light within us and it’s this call, ‘Child, release your light. Release your spark. Let your light shine. Let the pneuma in your shine. Let your soul shine.’”
At another moment, she notices parts in the song where the music builds up, feeling like the light is growing. She even says she imagines ‘the light shooting out of me’ during one of these intense parts.
You can watch the whole video down below.