After a five-year absence, seminal band Tool has returned to the forefront of modern music with “10,000 Days,” the follow-up to already-legendary albums “Aenima” and “Lateralus.”
“10,000 Days” is vintage Tool. Never a band to embrace convention, nine out of 11 songs are more than five minutes long, which is unfriendly to radio. Tool has built such a name for itself that chances are none of these songs will be edited down for radio – a fate that not even Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” could escape.
The first single, “Vicarious,” is like a collage of past Tool hits. The intro is reminiscent of the interlude of “Schism” and the main riff is a quick and complex rhythmic power-chord assault that sounds like something System of a Down would attempt.
Following “Vicarious” is “Jambi,” which features the lead bass famous in most Tool compositions and the quick and small guitar bursts found in classics such as “Stinkfist.” “Jambi” could very well become the favorite track from this record. About halfway through, listeners are treated to a rare solo that sounds like it belongs on a Rage Against The Machine record.
The bulk of the first half of the album is the two-part epic “Waiting For Marie” (PT 1) and “10,000 Days” (PT 2). PT 1 is a slow and quiet arpeggio-driven song with haunting low vocals that continue into the title track which maintains the slow tempo before hitting a violent crescendo which lasts for about five minutes.
Next comes “The Pot,” a track that might cause listeners to fast forward when someone sounding like Maroon 5’s Adam Levine begins singing a cappella. After that confusion, the song quickly becomes fierce and reminiscent of “H.”
The middle of the record is a track just more than one minute long, which sounds like an Indian prayer. One might be reminded of “Die Eier Von Satan” from “Aenima,” the German chant thought to be one of Hitler’s speeches, but is actually a recipe for chocolate chip cookies.
The second half of the album begins with the forgettable “Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann).” Following is the sprawling and fast-starting “Rosetta Stoned” which slays from the start. Think “Stinkfist,” “46 & 2” and Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” thrown together. The song is more than 11 minutes long, but could easily be four different songs.
“Right In Two” seems to come out of nowhere to remind listeners that Tool is a metal band which draws heavy influence from ’70s prog-fathers King Crimson. The song is perhaps the closest any band has come to capturing the essence of King Crimson. The solo has the feel of the insane classic “21st Century Schizoid Man.”
“10,000 Days” ends with “Viginti Tres” which features no singing or instruments. Instead it’s just a thunderstorm and a strange growling chant until it fades to nothing.
The album might never be held in the same regard as “Aenima” or “Lateralus,” but even if it goes down as Tool’s least popular offering, it is still better than 95 percent of their contemporaries’ albums. If the weird album packaging doesn’t compel anyone to purchase it, then the music sure as hell will.
