1838 days later: "10,000 Days"

It has been nearly five years since Tool's last album release, Lateralus; naturally, there was considerable anticipation about their latest album, 10,000 Days. Whether intentional or just a consequence of a pursuit of perfection, bands that release albums every five years take a risk: high expectation from their listeners. This is especially true for Tool since Lateralus, for the most part, is an exceptional album. I attempted to trump all expectations by avoiding a single review or listening to a single track before the release of 10,000 Days. But in the tradition of Radiohead releases (also plagued with infrequent new material), I couldn't help but wonder, "What will (or can) they do next?". And on Tuesday, May 2nd, I got my answer: "Oh no, this packaging is ridiculous". I flinch when artists sell their music embellished in profligate artwork as though it is a guise for the music. But Tool has always wrapped their music in adventurous artwork and the music has not suffered, so I yielded. And when I got home, I realized that the artwork was something quite special. Alex Grey, who also created the artwork for Lateralus, is a truly gifted, albeit extremely psychedelic artist that is a worthy companion to Tool's gifted, albeit extremely psychedelic music. At the very least, the 3D stereoscopic glasses built into the packaging adds a nice "whoa, dude, it's like I'm on 3D mushrooms...or something" effect.

Ahem...the music (see, maybe the artwork is a distraction!). By the time the first notes of the first track, "Vicarious," traverse your auditory neural circuits, you will be rewarded with that distinct feeling that is "Tool:" geometric time signatures of guitar and bass coitus. At the 00:45 mark, the heavy petting is over as coitus turns to raucous. Nice. It is then I realize in all certainly that I am listening to a Tool album. But then something interesting happens at the 01:07 mark: Maynard sings with the restraint of a horny priest. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as restraint in music is a fine art in itself, especially when you have the skills to elicit "auralgasm" at will like Tool. Lateralus demonstrated that the key of mature song writing is to tantalize the listener with slow builds, executing only parsimonious climaxes. This leaves this listener constantly wanting more – consequently, the album becomes a permanent fixture in the music library. But the restraint on 10,000 Days, both vocally and instrumental, is so refined throughout the entire album that the auralgasm is never achieved. So yes, I was let down despite “Vicarious” being a decent song. Guilty as charged: I ultimately did have expectations. Track two, “Jambi,” begins with a quick-wristed guitar mangle that even the Swedish metal-heads would applaud, however, the only climax we get is a one-octave-up, yet-still-restrained Maynard. And then the pace slows for the first of the expected (there I go again!) minimal-vocal-noise-tracks-are-so-profound-but-we-can-get-away-with-it-because-we’re-Tool (or Radiohead) tracks, “Wings For Marie (part I)”.

And now for the positive spin. Track four, “10,000 Days (Wings Part II),” is a rock epic worth every slow-building second. This song is a story. Don’t ask me what the story is about lyrically (I clearly don’t do enough DMT), but for all purposes, it doesn’t matter. This song exemplifies Tool’s ability to forge new soundscapes, as this track slams through a solid two-minute swing in the middle of the track, exploring intricately beautiful, yet elegant jazz-infused rock. Innovative, interesting, and seamlessly performed. I would love to hear more of these sounds from Tool in the future. “The Pot” is another highlight. Maynard’s voice here is brash and reverb-free as he explores a new vocal aesthetic of mantra-chanting, lyrical engineering. This is the only song on 10,000 Days that really lets those Tool-specific endorphins flow as I turn my stereo up to eleven. MORE PLEASE! Oh wait, another noise track. Two of them. By the time the album picks up pace again, I’ve made up my mind: this is a good, but not a great album from Tool. They explore some new sounds, but abandon embracing them. The result is that 10,000 Days falls flat. Tool needs to accept they cannot be both mythically underground and bombastically profound at the same time without eliciting high expectations from their listeners. At nearly 70 minutes in length, 10,000 Days provides almost 30 minutes of “noise tracks,” which, while they may make for a profound acid trip, I get tired of waiting for Tool to do what is does best: music.

NEW ASTROSITE FEATRE!
Click Here to hear a sample of "10,000 Days (Wings Part II)"
Click Here to hear a sample of "The Pot"