Tool - 10 000 Days

Blurb
I have said it before, and will again - in Tool we trust. One of the most anticipated albums in modern rock, this does not disappoint at all. It has everything you know and love about Tool, and yet that elusive little bit more that keeps you coming back for more. But at the same time I will go out on a limb and say this is not one of their better albums. For a band that releases an album every five years, I had really expected more.

The album is a bit of a rollercoaster, starting with some crunch, and then levelling out into a mellow phase, a sudden bump, some more mellowness and then leading up to a climactic ending. There are too many 'filler'-type songs in this album, and I don't get most of them. 'Vicarious' and 'Jambi' start it off with a bang, and bear all the Tool hallmarks of melody and heavy riffs. the two parts of 'Wings For Marie' are contemplative, and then follow up with an ode to marijuana, 'The Pot', which is a delightful song!

Tool's fascination with Aloke Dutta's tabla rhythms continue in this offering too, with 'Right In Two' easily being the best song on this record. In fact, it would easily vault into a greatest hit collection too! 'Rosetta Stoned' is an interesting play on words, and all about the conspiracy theories MJK loves to expound. But with lyrics about human monkeys and loose bladders working, one does wonder what happened to the song writing quality!

The short club tour they start off on next week got sold out in under a minute thanks to fucking scalpers, but they will be back in the end of summer for arena concerts. I really hope to see if this album sounds better live. I also hope the next album doesn't take another five years to come out!

Track Listing
1. Vicarious
2. Jambi
3. Wings For Marie (Pt 1)
4. 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)
5. The Pot
6. Lipan Conjuring
7. Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)
8. Rosetta Stoned
9. Intension
10. Right In Two
11. Viginti Tres

Overall Rating
This is an awesome album for any other band, but for Tool, it's okay - 8.5/10