On August 23, 2005, Lateralus was released as a limited edition two-picture-disc vinyl LP in a holographic gatefold package.

[11] At the time, Tool's members were outspokenly critical of file-sharing networks in general due to the negative impact on artists that are dependent on success in record sales to continue their career.

During an interview with NY Rock in 2000, lead singer Maynard James Keenan stated: I think there are a lot of other industries out there that might deserve being destroyed.

[22] Rolling Stone wrote in an attempt to summarize the album that "Drums, bass and guitars move in jarring cycles of hyperhowl and near-silent death march ...

The prolonged running times of most of Lateralus thirteen tracks are misleading; the entire album rolls and stomps with suitelike purpose.

[23] Drummer Danny Carey said, "The manufacturer would only guarantee us up to 79 minutes ... We thought we'd give them two seconds of breathing room.

[25] Two of the singles from the album, "Parabola" and "Schism", are featured in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.

"Disposition", "Reflection", and "Triad" form a sequence[1] that has been performed in succession live with occasional help from various tourmates such as Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo, Buzz Osborne, Tricky, and members of Isis, Meshuggah, and King Crimson.

[29] The theme of the song describes the desire of humans to explore and to expand for more knowledge and a deeper understanding of everything.

[10] In an interview with producer David Bottrill, he revealed that the lyrics for 'Schism' were changed last minute because of Adam Jones thinking they were too close to home.

[33] Overall, Lateralus was met with generally favorable reviews by mainstream music critics upon its initial release.

[34] Many of their responses mentioned the album's ambition and ability to confound listeners, such as Spin's Ryan Rayhil's summarization of it as a "monolithic puzzlebox".

"[44] David Fricke of Rolling Stone also measured the album up to earlier works from the band's oeuvre; "Tool have everything it takes to beat you senseless; they proved it on 1993's Undertow and their 1996 Grammy-winning beast, Ænima.

"[36][45] Writing for NME, Andy Capper also approved of it; "Lateralus has added a little more colour to their palette of chanting, drumming and high drama.

Singer Maynard James Keenan has been unaffected by the comparative tunefulness of his side project A Perfect Circle, while the stripped-down nature of the instrumentation means that Tool's innate heaviness shines out in a world of production tricks and dodges.

"[38] By contrast, in a review for Pitchfork, Brent DiCrescenzo claimed that, "With the early new century demanding 'opuses', Tool follows suit.

The problem is, Tool defines 'opus' as taking their 'defining element' (wanking sludge) and stretching it out to the maximum digital capacity of a compact disc.

"[39] In the Village Voice, Robert Christgau lambasted the album, calling it "meaning-mongering for the fantasy fiction set.

"[42] The review published in Blender described the album as sounding like "Black Sabbath jamming with Genesis at the bottom of a coal shaft.

[8] During the band's acceptance speech, drummer Danny Carey stated that he would like to thank his parents "for putting up with [him]", and bassist Justin Chancellor concluded, "I want to thank my dad for doing my mom.

These were subsequently released as two separate DVD singles on December 20, 2005, featuring remixes of the tracks by Lustmord.