Rating:
Date: 2008-06-20
Tool's most melodic release thats also amazing
Now, before I continue, I normally would ignore any hater reviews, but they've gone so ridiculously insane that somebody has to say something. Its alright to dislike 10,000 Days, but you haters are the poseurs. Why don't you try being aggressive and hard hitting if a loved one was dying? Every band goes through a stage when they try to be more emotional than angry, it DOES NOT MAKE THEM EMO. Anyone saying that is clearly a fanboy who refuses to listen to anything soft. Quit calling people who enjoy 10,000 Days fanboys because for one thing, ya'll are the fanboys, and at least fans of this album have more taste in music than these 1-star haters like you, you, you, etc.

Put it this way, 10,000 Days is the best album of 2006 because not only does it have some good melodic pieces, but some other nifty surprises. Progressive metal can't get any better than this and this album shows that Tool can still kick Bass [I'd probably get banned if I say the actual word.] Let me get to the songs:



VICARIOUS (10/10): The album's first single and it punches hard after about 30 seconds. Its message is about people who sit around watching TV just to see people die rather than helping those people. Oh, and did I say its a hard hitter?

JAMBI (10/10): Another amazing song and while I still haven't found out the message yet, it could be about a man that goes after rich and valuable treasures (possibly including a woman) and he is ridiculed for that.

WINGS FOR MARIE (10/10): Breath taking and very slow. Gone is the anger and ranting and memorials for the lead singer's mom are in. Trust me, this song does work out and kinda has a Dream Theaterish feel to the song.

10,000 DAYS (WINGS Part 2) (10/10): Continues the mellow trend of Wings, except it does bash certain people that disliked Marie (Maynard James Keenan's mom I'm guessing) for a while before ending its few minutes talking about when Marie is led into Heaven. Truly tearful but thoughtful :)

THE POT (9.5/10): Maynard's singing gets better when he bashes possibly people in his life that lied about him. Although not as hard as Jambi or Vicarious, its still memorable.

LIPAN CONJURING (7/10): I wouldn't skip this, but if you like South American native chantings, well, you'll feel right at home.

LOST KEYS (BLAME HOFMANN) (7/10): Nothing too special here, except that it does turn out to be a story about a doctor, a nurse, and an extremely strange patient who reveals a rather strange tale on the next track.

ROSETTA STONED (10/10): The story is too weird to mention in this review, but all I know is that it lets you decide what the message is (personally, I'm guessing this is anti-pot.) Its very hard hitting and should be able to quench some people's Tool thirst)

INTENSION (8.5/10): The mood changes back into mellow, but yet it also seems to peaceful. I have no idea what its about though.

RIGHT IN TWO (9/10): Although this has a Darwninian nod, it also mixes in some references from Genesis, the first chapter of the Bible (its about after Adam and Eve sinned and how it brought in all kinds of terrible things.) Its still good, but not as special as Wings.

VIGINTI TRES (6.5/10): Basically silence with possibly a few Latin phrases being utters. The title means "23" in Latin (wow, someone knows a bit of Latin) and although it has Latin, it still is my least favorite.


If you've bought 10,000 Days from the store, you probably noticed the clever artwork plus a few things to keep you busy (if you bought this online, then you could be missing out on something to do if you are somehow bored.) The artwork features magnifying glasses because they expect you to look at the rather interesting pictures (some of them features the band members, a trend that Tool refused to participate in for years.) Thats pretty much the "nifty" surprise I was talking about earlier. Although this isn't the greatest Tool release, its still worth buying (if you are buying because of the cool artwork, you'll more likely be disappointed.) If you are still a Tool fan wishing for something softer and mellow, well, this will be a gem.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-15
10,000 Day's = Different , but still TooL..........
I'd just like to add that there are no "filler" songs on TooL's albums.........each song has a purpose in time or "out of time"...
Otherwise this a great album(a bit different)but still TooL. Like no other............ More trippy stuff than any other TooL album but just like any other TooL album, ya gotta listen to it 3 , 4 times before you really get in to it.
Like Aenema from Aenima album , Very Good Song but took me more than a few listens to really get in to it.....uhhh, "See you down in Arizona Bay"......All about falt lines in the earth that give way the whole of California to the Pacific Ocean...hehehehe............enjoy!.. 4 .7 stars from me....
Listen to it more than once and in different frames of mind and it will grow on you.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-15
Blah!
For a Tool album, this is utterly unoriginal and bland. Completely self-indulgent, it comes off as a grandiose prog-jam session by a bunch of otherwise extremely talented musicians who figured they could showcase their technical abilities instead of playing good, hard, emotional music.

I had originally considered "Lateralus" as the album that turned me off to Tool, but that album comes off as a classic compared to this one.

Oh well, at least we can credit Tool with creating the whole mallcore genre. Thanks a lot guys.

Rating:
Date: 2008-06-08
Not Tool's Best But Still A Cut Above The Rest
For such an innovative band this work was a bit of a dissapointment lyrically. Best recommnedation for a first listen would be their album Lateralus. Recommendations off this album are Vicarious, Rosetta Stoned, and The Pot.

Rating:
Date: 2008-05-23
Tool - At Their Most Progressive
5 Years elapsed between new Tool albums, but with this release it was certainly worth the wait. Tool's reign as one of the top bands in progressive metal remains intact with another killer album, although not without some controversy. Reviews from fans for this album seem to be the most diverse of any Tool release yet. Fans of the more hardcore metal school of Tool tend to be disappointed while fans of the more progressive rock school of Tool tend to laud the disc. I fall into the second category and really think that this album my be their best yet. Many of the songs are long and although there are some very heavy moments, much of the disc is melodic and even ambient in nature. For me "10,000 Days" is a natural progression of a band that continues to evolve. I like the change of pace to a somewhat more introspective moody style, and for me there is still enough of the heavy brutal Tool on the disc to fill that craving as well. It is interesting to me that in these times of short attention spans I see reviews complaining that some of the tracks are too long. Really by progressive rock standards there is nothing overly long on the disc, and I like the fact that Tool is willing to prolong their works beyond the standard 3 minute rock song Your reaction to this disc will vary depending on your personal musical taste, but for me I think this was one of the top albums released in 2006, and possibly Tool's best so far.