Tool Album: “10,000 Days”

I have read close to 100 reviews of this album and it pains me to realize how few people get it. I keep reading phrases like "It sounds like" or "compare song "a" to song "b" and you'll see a similarity". What I have seen very little of are people who have listened, I mean really listened, to this album as music and not just as "the New Tool Album".

If I had paid $15 and the album only had Wings for Marie and 10,000 Days on it, I would have been happy. Not since I heard Mozart's Requiem have I wept at a musical composition. I leap ahead... Let's do this as people expect - shall we?

Vicarious - This is a good opener for a Tool album... Lots of force and easily deciphered lyrics that the angry youth types can sink into... Quite simply - it is a song about the TV generation and the way we have lost visceral experience... in a way, it delves into the loss of even our basic ability to start a journey up the Tree of Life because we couldn't even start to experience Malkuth.

Jambi - This is a song of adoration.. for whome, we are not privy to.. that is for Maynard to know and us to wonder.. but does it really matter? At the end of the song he sings the words "silence Leech and save your poison..." Is this the object of adoration responding to worship? Is it the worshiper losing faith? Make your own choice.. the music crunches here.. ignore the words.. just complain about the sound.. or compliment it... heh.

Wings for Marie/10,000 Days - The first time I heard this I had to hear it again.. clearly.. it felt sacred... perfect in music/word/pitch/emotion. Then I listened again.. and again.. louder and louder.. over spreakers... with headphones. I realized that I was crying at some point, but didn't care. This is a Requiem for Judith Marie, Maynard's mother... There is bitterness here.. love... thankfullness. Maynard and company have managed to take us through most of the grieving process in 13 minutes. I was exhausted and needed sleep. When I awoke... I listened again and found myself singing for his mother along with him. How many Men could write this for their mother? Ask Tool...

The Pot - I love this song... yes - it reminds me of the feel of Hooker with a Penis, but I do not compare the two.. It has that attitude.. Love it or leave it.

I am going to lump Lost Keys(Blame Hoffman), Lipan Conjuring, and Viginti Tres into one portion here.. not because they don't merit review, but because they do. They are easy to discount as "filler", but I don't buy it. Each of these short ambient pieces hold some sort of significance to the band... that is why they are here. If they were created by a band like Dead Voices on Air or Coil, they would by lauded as amazing accomplishments of experimental music, but because this is Tool.. we just can't accept that. As far as the comments I have read elsewhere about the "filler" material... if I wanted to use that ideology on this album... everything before and after Wings for Marie/10,000 Days is filler for those two songs. That being said, I would not be suprised to hear Maynard say in an interview - "Yeah, those were just fluff.."

Rosetta Stoned - This piece is a masterstroke... it took several listenings before it really struck home. At first it seems almost like stream of consciousness gibberish... but wait.. listen... There is a story here of other intelligences affecting our protagonist.. Who is it? Who cares! if you can keep up with the chaos that begets order in this song, you won't care because it is like a good acid trip... Sit back with the headphones and clear mind and just enjoy.

Intension - Will as force. Will is force. Will moves us. The music was made for these lyrics.. the lyrics for this music. It can hynotize you if you let it.

Right in Two - I can't explain why I love this one... but I really think it has something to do with Aldous Huxley and Kurt Vonnegut. Huxley wrote a book called Ape and Essence that has portions that I flash back to in hearing this song. Vonnegut wrote a book called Galapagos where the more "evolved" human race of the distant future is a form of aquatic sea life that mocks the "silly big brained humans with poseable thumbs". My God!! Is that where Maynard got the idea!?! Who cares!!!! Just listen and realize that though this song kicks you in the gut, it might just be a little light hearted..

In closing - If this was the last album Tool ever made, we could ask for no more.. everything after this is a gift.

Y'know, I can understand if some people don't quite get what this album is all about, or if they feel like they can't rock out to it like Aenima, or if they don't like more reflective vocals, or if they don't like long songs...or whatever gripes some folks might have.

But 1 star? 2 stars? Are you f'in kidding me? Folks, if you want simple four-minute rock songs, mashed together in Pro Tools, with lyrical content that your average 13-year-old girl can easily understand, Nickelback is --> that way. Please go there now.

This is f'in Tool. YEP, STILL TOOL. The songs are generally very heavy, both sonically and lyrically. In fact, tracks 1, 2, and 8 are some of the most skull-crushing stuff Tool has ever recorded. I guess the problem is that the lyrics are more thoughtful and reflective. Gee. Or maybe the problem is that the musicianship is more advanced. Gee. Or maybe the problem is that the guitar mix is more spacious and the vocals are pushed back a bit, creating a more balanced sound with much crisper bass response. Gee.

Rosetta Stoned is a masterpiece. Must be amazing live. I would say Tool is the Led Zeppelin of our time, except that Tool seems healthier (lifestyle-wise) and more musically capable right now than Zep ever was at their peak. Thanks Tool for an amazing new album. Now I'll step aside so the angsty "BOO HOO I WANTED ANOTHER AENIMA BOO HOO HOO" gripe-n-moan fest may resume.

5 years after the release of Lateralus and 3 and a half since they last performed a live show, Tool finally has a new album out. And it's about damn time. As usual, the wait is more than worth it, and while, like many of my favorite albums, I didn't quite get it upon the first listen, subsequent, repeated listenings have revealed not only a more structurally complex record than anything in the bands catalog to date, but also lyrically one of vocalist Maynard Keenan's most personal offerings. So many influences have come together to form this sonically unique album that it becomes hard to pinpoint exactly what these guys were on, and/or listening to when they recorded it. 10,000 Days is still an expansion of the bands first four albums, the psychedelic edginess, hammering rhythmic full band attacks, long melodic solos that cut straight to the heart, and overall atmospheric nostalgic touch giving it that distinct Tool signature. The songs are now even more progressive than on the epic Lateralus, the structures rarely depending on repeating any one part of the song, no matter how good it is, but never lacking in hooks despite this and the truly heavy quality of the material, giving the songs an almost Opethian writing quality not present on any previous release, all of which still depended heavily on choruses to grab the listeners ear. The sometimes Middle Eastern feel of the instrumental passages stay true to drummer Danny Carey's tribal tom assaults with a flair for tabla and exotic percussion, and Adam Jones use of a talk box for his guitar solo on Jambi is exceptionally prog-rock-ish and hints at a (if very slight) Frampton influence. However many childish fans still upset at this great bands fame cry and moan, it simply doesn't change the always undeniable fact about Tool: they simply keep getting better and better, all members united more structurally and rhythmically than ever before. This is, I might add, bassist Justin Chanellor's shining moment with the band, whom he has been with since AEnima, and his truly exceptional melodic bass playing strays from the typical path followed by his instrument of choice, his sense of melody and unique skill probably being enough to supplement the need for a guitar player in any other band that didn't have Adam Jones on the axe. Jones and Carey truly seem to see eye to eye on this album, guitar stroke matching every single rhythmic blast from Carey's monstrous drum set.

And of course there is Maynard James Keenan, the man himself. He has always been a master lyricist, from the humorous satiric debut of Opiate through the mind-opening pschedelic enlightenment of Lateralus and throughout his second band A Perfect Circle, the influence of which is also undeniable through Keenan's political yet intensely personal lyrics. While I may be wrong in my interpretation, the album seems to follow two vastly end of the spectrum themes, one being the state of humanity and politics in the world, which has always been the target of not only hope, but also machine-gun scrutiny in coming from MJK. The album's opening track and first single, Vicarious takes a well-deserved crack at fast-food fed, TV-droned Americans and their lust for televised violence, while Right In Two openly condemns the state of the Middle East, Keenan comparing humans to "monkey killing monkey killing monkey over pieces of the ground."

Of equally powerful, if drastically different, importance is the presence of Keenan's mothers ghost throughout the record, whose time in a wheelchair (the years of which add up to 10,000 days) and eventual death has had a profound effect on the singer, painfully crooning on the title song "10,000 days in the fire is long enough...you're going home." The effect is tear-jerking, being the closest this man has ever let his fans get to his soul. This is not the first time his mother has been the subject matter for his songwriting techniques, drawing namesake in the angry Perfect Circle anthem titled Judith, upon which Keenan rebukes her for her faith in a God who has left her "broken down and paralyzed." 10,000 Days seems to be the cure and elevated perspective needed for him on this very personal subject.

I am reluctant to go into a song by song analysis for two reasons, one being how cohesively well the songs flow together to make the album as a whole truly a listening experience, while secondly it was just released yesterday and I haven't had quite enough time to let the subtleties of each sink in yet. But the 20 or so listens I have already had have shown me enough to know that my favorite band has failed to let me down again. Many will insult this album, as many ignorant "fans" do in terms of any good piece of art, but as 311 says "F the naysayers 'cause they don't mean a thing." If you have remotely enjoyed anything by this band in the past, 10,000 Days will only serve its purpose in opening your mind to their message that much more. Give it a chance.

As everyone knows, this album was leaked about two weeks ago. I, like most others, am a simple, simple human, and thus lacked the fortitude to wait the extra two weeks.

But I made up for it by buying two copies of this amazing production.

Tool fans often get ragged on for being very high-strung and arrogant about being a Tool fan. There is some truth to this.

But after opening this CD package up and looking at the art, as well as digesting the astonishing production and technique that this band exhibits, and reeling over the emotional landscape they cover, I can honestly say that there has not been an album like this ever made, which ever way you look at it.

Tool is a constantly innovative and progressive band; none of their CDs sound alike. This CD almost seeks to violate every assumption someone has about what makes something "epic". The two-parter about Maynard's mother occurs on tracks 3 and 4, and the end of the album is a 5 minute non-song.

But once you really sit down and listen to it, this album is quite simply Tool singing the blues. I can picture the singer sitting on a Mississippi bayou writing the lyrics to this. There are so many allusions to Christian mythology in an attempt to convey very simple human emotions. The songs about drug use in the middle of the album seem to suggest the way we deal with tragedy and loss.

This is NOT Lateralus, both sonically and thematically. The band shows such a progressive landscape, and whereas Lateralus emphasized Danny drums and Maynard's vocal, 10,000 Days showcases Adam's guitar and Justin's unbelievable bass playing. He really has to be heard to be believed; get a good sound system for this CD.

Thematically, this album goes in the opposite direction. Where Lateralus ended celebrating the potential unity of humanity ("we are all one mind"), this album ends with a song about humanity's dark side, aptly titled "Right in Two".

If the artistic direction for the CD package doesn't win an award, then there is no taste left in the music industry. I will simply say that Alex Gray and Tool have changed the way I'll evaluate "liner notes" completely.

The entire spectacle of this CD has completely affirmed my "arrogance" at being a Tool fan, and I'm proud to say it! Go buy this CD. Now. You will not f*cking regret it.

Wow. This album is incredible.

It technically has 6 songs, each a masterpiece:

1.) Vicarious

2.) Jambi

3.) Wings for Marie

4.) The Pot

5.) Rosetta Stone

6.) Right in Two

They all get better and better which each listen. Wings for Marie is divided into two tracks and Rosetta Stone has a lead-in track (Lost Keys) which works very well. Lipan Conjuring is somewhat of a transition track between the first and second halves of this album. Its not much but it doesnt detract either. Intension is a hauntingly beautiful piece that segues perfectly between Rosetta Stone and Right in Two. Vigniti Tres brings the album to a close with eerie sounds.

I cant say enough about this album. The songs are like treasures that you discover more and more of each time you listen. To be honest, my first impression was ho-hum, now I'm totally blown away.