Reviews list for Tool - 10,000 Days (2006)

Tool is a tough band to decide if I want to keep listening to or not. Their progressive side is really out there, but they also have more of the mainstream side of alt-metal. Alter Bridge made a more pleasing perfect balance for me. However, vocalist Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor and drummer Danny Carey push their sound out of mainstream despite sounding like they're in it, with their long journeys of songs. But then we have the fanbase who expects them to stay in the underground and not go so progressive. Despite those earlier fans staring daggers at them, they know how to please other fans who accept the band as they are...

Tool's innovation and humor scored them high points with fans and critics, but the praise started to fade away. All the different and unconventional time signatures and song structures that were used in their first 3 albums ended up being deemed low quality. This might be due to lack of new ideas the band had at the time, and yet there are fans hoping for a sequel to Lateralus. Now let me just say that the band's success is still on top, and in this album 10,000 Days, nothing is highly different, nor is it highly the same.

The aggressive opener "Vicarious" picks up where Lateralus left off with Chancellor's crashing bass. This menacing 7-minute track has the exciting guitars and drums played alongside Keenan's plain lyrics which seems relate to any TV viewer who enjoys something so fun yet time-wasting, "You all feel the same, so why can’t we just admit it?" Letting loose with the groove is the second track "Jambi", especially the riffing surrounding the guitar solo. Next track "Wings For Marie" is the prelude to one of two epics. Atmosphere goes on for a little long, but it's saved by the clean guitar buildup. The title epic is dedicated to Keenan's mother who, when her son was 11, suffered a brain aneurysm that left her paralyzed until her passing 27 years later. 10,000 Days is a reference to that amount of time along with the orbital period of Saturn. The lyrics have great sentiment, though they're a bit jarring, "Should you see your maker's face tonight, look him in the eye and tell him? I never took a life, but surely saved one."

"The Pot" shows the bass rhythm being less snappy, instead synchronizing with the beat in a groove-powered breakdown perfect for some live moshing. Maybe that Plankton AI cover would level up the mosh pit even more. Yeah, that version of the song is what my brother was listening to that made me interested in checking out this album. "Lipan Conjuring" is a one-minute interlude that breaks the album flow with its ritual chanting. In "Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)", you can hear a nurse and a doctor talking to each other talking as guitar echoes through. It leads to "Rosetta Stoned", in which we enter the mind of the coma victim the doctors are keeping an eye on. Keenan can pull off different vocal styles very well from unclear alien garbles to clear desperate cries. The guitar is also performed well, from rumbling echoes to an intense frenzy.

Electronics enter in "Intension" which is fine despite its lack of heavy progress. The supreme "Right in Two" finishes off the progressive greatness in a breakneck climax. But the moaning outro "Viginti Tres" I find a bit unnecessary.

I can talk about an album's highlights as much as its more critical moments, like when previous album Lateralus attracted newer fans and repelled earlier fans. Although 5 years is a long gap, it's quite short when you think about their next album Fear Inoculum. But at least the more progressive fans had an album to savor in 10,000 Days....

Favorites: "Vicarious", "10,000 Days", "The Pot", "Rosetta Stoned", "Right in Two"