Ah, another interesting OLD thread. Oh well...
This transcription of Vicarious seems mostly right:
http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/tool-lyrics/...ous-lyrics.html
It's not about "mystics and attilas". It includes them, yeah, but barely touches on them. It's about all of humanity allegedly needing the death of other people for some reason that's never mentioned, and about most of humanity being too dishonest to admit it. Maynard doesn't like those 'facts', but he accepts them, and explicitly justifies his acceptance with the malevolent universe premise. The words are clear on that much. And yeah, I'd guess he actually believes them.
His examples seem to be common news stories, not TV "entertainment" in general. I doubt he's including fiction becsuse 1) in fiction, actual people don't die, and 2) fiction gives a greater example pool to draw from, thus his examples would be less mundane and more rhymeable. I write lyrics that have been sung by others, and lately have been crudely demo'd by me, and I can tell you that it's sometimes hard to fit your intended meaning into the unavoidable constraints. (His line "ultimatum prison cell" in The Grudge REALLY strikes me as one of those. I feel his pain.) Maynard's examples seem like he was working with what he had available, rather than what he could invent.
Vicarious is nihilistic, but Maynard himself is a naturalist, which means he is the VICTIM of nihilists, but not necessarily a true soul mate. Nihilists like Marilyn Manson willfully create ugliness, and relish in the delight of doing so. Naturalists like Maynard just dutifully report it if they come across it. Yes, reporting on ugliness expands its reach, but reluctantly reporting it isn't the same as gleefully creating it.
BTW, like many naturalists, Maynard is factually incorrect: most people (and me and probably you) do NOT "feed on" or need or otherwise enjoy the death of innocent people, either vicariously or in person. And accusing us of being in denial about the 'fact' that we do is just an argument from intimidation, and conveys no evidence that the 'fact' is actually true.
Maynard may have been a psych student - or a patient - and certainly has a clear interest in the subject. (I once saw a psych major post an analysis of 46 & 2. Very mystical and pseudo-sciency. Only a setp or two up from Scientology.) Nearly all his lyrics include psychological issues, and are almost clinical in their reporting on them. He's always floating above, slightly detached from the action, trying to spell out a bigger picture than what he'd see if he were merely one of the combatants, although he often is one of them as well. Hmm. This may be a conscious technique. It almost seems like an exercise he was once taught... Could that be? I dunno.
Either way he's an occasionally brilliant lyricist, insofar as his premises allow.
John X Smith
www.myspace.com/voxliberorum