Tool: 10,000 Days
When we last left Tool ... I am more amazed it's been five years since the last one. Weighing in at a whopping 75 minutes and with with most songs north of six minutes, again Tool has delivered a musical experience rather than your run of the mill, present day 40 some odd minute album (if you're lucky)
Tool: 10,000 Days: B
Finally one of my favorite bands has delivered new music that rocks ... unfortunately, anyone who listens to it will realize that the album as a whole does not rock hard
Our favorite progressive heavy band basically delivers straight out of the box -- reminding us of how amazingly good they can be, or more precisely, still are ... Vicarious and Jambi are straightforward heavy, classic Tool ... bouncy basslines, machine like precision, great percussion, one of the most emotional voices in music, and great arrangements
The thing that feels stronger on this album is its concept nature. There are a lot of non-traditional music tracks. Some have called this filler and other adjectives to declare mixed reviews. I just think it is par for the course with any Tool album.
For me, I would love for them to have one full 10+ song album with heavy Tool songs ... but that will never happen. So, I play the songs that rock, skip over the experimental stuff ... and smile because in addition to the two tracks mentioned above, The Pot, Rosetta Stoned, and Right in Two are all cool in that uniquely great Tool way. In many ways, the album scatters great music among concepty musical noises and arrangements ... which post-Undertow has been the order of the day. But it is the great music (rather than the great art, concept, or statement) that keeps me coming back to spinning Tool albums happily many years after their initial release
Tool is back, that's a good thing ... I assure you