Tool return, fans still burning down message boards - grab a coffee for this one.
Even though the album has leaked into every orifice of the Internet and even if you've downloaded it, please support Tool and buy this album when it comes out.…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
Article comments
— go to most recent comments76 - Karl
I respect everyones opinion completely except for those few people that think their getting "ripped off" for waiting 5 years for this CD. Its still one of the few bands that consistantly have songs that are over 5 mins long, they change their guitar riffs throughout the song and arent the same stupid chorus, like just about every other band alive. I think song #5 "the Pot" is the only song that sounds somewhat like APC and thats only cuz maynards voice. This is gonna be the best CD I can buy probably since Lateralus, cuz the rest of music is very repetative and lame. U dont need drugs to listen to it, but if you've had shrooms and try listening ,its simply amazing.
I really cant believe some TOOL fans are disappointed with this. Why? I could understand u ranking it last compared to the others, especially this early, but how can it suck. To each his own. I'm so fuckin excited for the CD though, a Hoax CD simply wouldnt make sense at all, A double disk CD would be a nice surprise, but unlikely. TOOL is the most creative band I've ever heard, and I don't need these reviews to tell me my opinion, Its interesting though. all thats important is that I heard the CD and I love it, its already one of my favorite, Aenima, Opiate and this one should be the only ones where I dont skip any songs. Lateralus unfortunately had a song or 2 I skip, and same for undertow, which still rocks.
77 - DWI
I love this album and haven't stopped listening. So yeah there are a lot of "quiet" parts but how is that different than Lateralis that you all seem to love the most. I like all Tool albums almost the same...aenema is prolly got the edge. Tool is a band that will NEVER put out something they don't feel. Everything on this album is exactly how they wanted you to hear it and if you are a true Tool fan than you couldn't ever hate it. FYI I love Jambi and The Pot. Thanks for reading...kill bitches and smoke weed
78 - R Shah
On a separate note I hope the CD is mastered as a HDCD like Lateralus becuase it will sound amazing, just think of the clarity of sound on Lateralus. Also I hope they decide to remaster the back catalogue in the DVD audio format, imagine listening to that, amazing music made to sound even better!
79 - Drexl
Great review, Jessica! I'm 37 and have been extremly excited about this album :) Tool never fails to impress me. Greatest band ever and an unbelievable album. Period!
80 - SpiralOut
Different than anything else, Yes. What did you want? Another Lateralus? Another Aenima? Tool continues to evolve with each album and always will. Listen to the album. LISTEN. Do Not Hear It. Listen to it. If you do not like it then, your expectations are unnrealistic. 5 years can make you build a HUGE expectation. This album is everything and more I thought it would be. The review was great although we all get something different from each lyric and a songs interpretation cannot be defined from one person alone. I feel any TOOL fan will surely love/grow to love this album with some time with it. Become friends and rock out with 10,000 days. Also, go buy the fucking album. Support Tool. I know I will.
Peace
Spiral Out
Keep Going
81 - k dawg
Amen SpiralOut! TOOL!
and seriously, where are your peoples patience?! I thought you were all TOOL fans!?
TOOL!
82 - Dude
Where can this be downloaded? I finally heard Vicarious and am psyched to hear the rest. I'm buying it on the 2nd, but would love to hear the whole thing now.
83 - tamtamDD
10,000 days will turn some heads. I have been waiting two months for this CD. I cannot stress how much I need this CD. In Tool I trust.
84 - TheSicilian
Judith Maire Keenan did not die many years ago...she died in June 03'....other then that great review...the album is amazing!!!
85 - Vicman
go to this page:
www.myspace.com/7real7ism7
Here youll find photos of the album... someone allready has it!!
i don't want to believe the rest of the songs are not what we all espected. But if its so(hope not), 10,000 days will be the first album with an awesome first single and the rest of the songs...
Lets hope for real tool stuff... may 2nd
Peace!
86 - maynard
hey, I'll bet you by the time you read all of these damn posts, the album will be out! BUY, BUY, BUY!
87 - Mark
Tool hates it sooo much when people download their shit... so that would give them good reason to protect the album that is coming out.
Think about it...they have had over 4 years to play and make good songs... I think the REAL cd is going to be all their great songs, while this cd is the songs that didn't quite cut it.
They allowed this Cd to get out so that know one will expect the real one when it comes out.
88 - Dutchie
When I heard Tool had finally brought out a new album I was stoked... got on the net and downloaded it right away - After listening to it a couple of time.. im disappointed.. definetly wont be buying this album.
Flush summed it up pretty well. "Ambient noise ridden, drawn-out, built-up, pretentious and tired."
10k Days doesn't compare to their other albums.. I hope that it is a hoax.
89 - Finn
For me 10,000 days is the greatest album of tool. Disapointed to see how other people judge it especialy for those 10 years fans. A deeper meaning is in this album each in every song all you have to do is just see it!not only listen to it but to see it. It will grow on to you much faster than the late albums. As we all now tool songs grow in to you...
90 - Dr.Fever
anynone who has listened to 10 000 Days very closely at least 20 times, will realize that this has once again far surpassed their previous endeavours. Every album has successively been superior to the previous. It's an evolution and an ascension.
91 - macg
The only song I have listened to is Vicarious and is one of the most amazing songs I have ever listened too. The lyrics are some of the best I have ever heard. I do agree that Tool is the modern day Pink Floyd and their music is contagious. I can't get enough of their music. 10,000 Days will be nothing short of spectacular. I pray for May 2nd to come.
92 - Ozzy_SS
Yes the album is real, yes it is different. And screw everyone who says you have to like this album to be a Tool fan. I love Metallica but St. Anger sucks. Im not saying 10,000 days Sucks, but people are entitled to their opinion. Personally I dont think this album is anywhere near a 5 year wait, or better than Opiate, AEnima, or LAteralus, or Saliva for that matter, serisouly find me a better song than No Quarter. But I cant wait till May 8th, seeing them in Dallas! Section F, Row J!
93 - Kasper
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the song No Quarter a Led Zeppelin cover?
94 - Trauma
Well. i cant say that i had to listen to the album over and over again to love it. i heard the first song Viscarious and was indeed hooked. some have been saying that it doesnt sound like tool. i say thats a load of crap. they sound exactly like they should and always have sounded which is simply excellent. ive been listening to the album over and over again. not so i can learn to love it more but because i love it already. i will be going to see them in june too and i will definatley be buying the album. i cant wait till its released
95 - Dianction
Don't download the album! how do u think you can judge an album on shite MP3 quality, and dont you think that 5 years in the making deserves some cash and a proper listen in better quality?
SO BUY IT
96 - soma
Personally, when the single came out on the radio, i felt a little bit alienated.. since i've been a lingering die-hard tool fan for the past 7 years. "Vicarious" is.. to say the least.. different. After a few times and getting the lyrics down i've grown to have chills every time it plays.
Anyway, it's been at LEAST 4 years since i've bought an album of any sort. Time to break that record..
97 - k-dawg
THIS IS THE LEGIT ALBUM. THERE IS NOT ANOTHER ALBUM. THIS IS NOT A COLLECTION OF B-SIDES. THIS WAS ALL STARTED BY PEOPLE UNSATISFIED WITH THE MUSIC... SO IF THIS IS A FAKE, PROVE IT...OH, YOU CAN'T? WHY NOT?
BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER ALBUM.
CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW INSULTING IT MUST BE FOR TOOL TO HAVE PEOPLE CALL THIS A FAKE. THEY PUT THERE BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS INTO THIS. YOU DON'T LIKE IT, GO BUY A POP ALBUM AND SHUT THE HELL UP.
WHAT MORE, I THINK IT'S AMUSING HOW PEOPLE BASHED LATERALUS WHEN IT CAME OUT BECAUSE IT WASN'T LIKE AENEMA. NOW THOSE SAME PEOPLE ARE CALLING LATERALUS A MASTERPIERCE. YOU WANT AENEMA, GO LISTEN TO AENEMA. YOU WANT LATERALUS, GO LISTEN TO LATERALUS. DON'T CRITICIZE THEM FOR BEING A BAND WITH A GROWING SOUND, THAT IS A RARITY MOST BANDS TODAY CANNOT HOLD A CANDLE TO.
OPEN YOUR MIND.
THINK FOR YOURSELF.
98 - azurescens
'vicarious' starts note for note the same as 'the patient' only harder. like... throw some overdrive on... the drums start at 11 seconds in both songs...
this is a remix/remake album.
hoax? lazy album to exploit fans?
we'll see.
99 - Disgustipated
When Alice In Chains came out with their follow-up albums to Facelift, were they too met with such abrasive reactions? When Pink Floyd released Animals, did they receive mixed reviews the likes of which 10,000 Days is receiving? Given that the internet was at its infancy when both aforementioned bands released their masterpieces"we have something here to evaluate. Has this band not delivered on every previous album? So allow me to explore something: “Album Evolution and Experimentation”
Tool has chosen to explore different sounds, moods, transitional methods, life experiences, vocal experimentation etc. This was also done on eMotive. Bands like Radiohead, Dream Theater, Queensryche, Pearljam, Metallica, Fear Factory, Sevendust, and Anthrax, to name a few, have all made risky transitions. With every above example, they have lost substantial fan-base through poor experimentation, and failing to evolve. Most of your classic rock artists were pioneers of the techniques of album evolution and experimentation"thus largely explaining why they never failed to deliver. Unfortunately, Tool has failed to deliver, and their evolution is bordering extinction. Now, we can do one of two things:
1. We can accept this album and force ourselves into liking it, just as we were forced to like disagreeable foods as children.
2. Take the advice of Tool and think for yourself.
I choose to think for myself, and plan to pass on buying this album.
100 - Indorock
interesting
101 - kojo
i live in australia and bought the album at midnight last night at a special release party. the album is real, all the songs you have downloaded are included in it. the limited edition packaging is a digipack with little magnifiers to see closely into the artwork. This album far surpassed my thoughts of what it would be and is only rivalled by Aenima.
go out and cop the album you wont regret it
102 - Indorock
thought I had to join to say something. The music is quite different frm previous albums, however, there is something that is new and this novelty in their music is quite explicit and possible be better than their older stuff. Rosetta stoned was created with some depth. There is no way this is a DECOY. I keep seeing that. You can not enjoy something until you experience it. Some things need to be able to connect cognitively before one's dopamine is released. BE PATIENT...
103 - Indorock
see... my mate from australia agrees. Too bad it is not released in Indonesia so soon.
104 - Hoping it
"Now where was I?.. Oh yeah, TOOL!.. I'm not going to reveal my source, Mister Patience, but do you want to know the kind of things that have been going on while this record was being recorded? Okay, first there was the decoy record just to confound all those would-be bootleggers out there. This took, oh, about a year, just because the band members wanted it to sound pretty close to the real thing (so as to be believable), along with equally believable art design."
Quoted from here...
105 - shizzle
damn... thats gotta make you ponder.. FAKE OR NOT!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
106 - R Shah
Well this album is clearer a grower and you need to listen to it several times to appreciate all the detail, now that I have listen to it countless times I agree with some of you its on a par with the previous albums. Given time Im sure most people will learn to love it and rank it as amongst Tools best work.
107 - figaconsumer
i'm not listening to Lateralus, i'm not listening to Aenima anymore since i've bought this album....i don't think it's a bad reaction :)
108 - Matt
This album is amazing. It is the essence of Tool. You know it when you hear it. I haven't even listened the whole way through yet (the album was just released here in Australia today), but I can already tell that it will by far exceed the other albums in complexity and intensity. For those of you who downloaded it, good on ya. Now do the right thing and go buy the album. Well worth the 30 bucks that they charged for the limited edition here. Hell, I would have paid 100 bucks for it if required. And to even say there are tinges of A Perfect Circle on the album is an understatement. Big Fu**ing deal?!? I think it makes it that much better. I can't wait to see the new material performed live.
Now get your A$$E$ out there and buy this album!
109 - Tony
I've never heard anything as pure and emotional as this album. Wings for Marie and 10,000 Days have some of the most powerful lyrics I've ever seen. I absolutely can't wait until tuesday. It will be an honor to pay for this album, even though I've already heard it many many times.
110 - Tony
This is definitely an evolution of sound. As before, Tool has almost completely disregarded "Pop" elements such as song structure. The absence of such elements provides for a very unique sound. If you are used to hearing heavily distorted guitars, repetitive drum beats, and dragging vocals, then neither this album nor any of Tool's past works will fully satisfy your habits. 10,000 Days is something new; it is idiotic to expect it be exactly as Tool's past albums.
After many hours spent listening to this album, I have decided that is my favorite Tool album. It is, by far, the most thought provoking and personal album they've ever produced. If you aren't already an experienced Tool fan, this album may come as a shock to you simply because it is so much different than anything ever done before it.
This album has influenced my outlook on life a great deal. It has an extremely positive theme and approaches many of society's deepest problems. My advice is to embrace the band's progression and your own. It isn't often that something this epic comes around.
Long live Tool.
111 - willis
I don't believe for a second that this album is fake... howver if it turned out that Tool had pulled one over on us and they released a completly different album next week... I would be an extreamly happy tool fan. because I love the current songs that I'm digesting and that would just mean I'd have a double dose of Tool to hold me over for the next 5 years.
112 - eric courtney
Has anyone really figured it out yet. Whatever you say "could be, or most likely isn't true about the meanings of the songs. All the band wants you to do is to use the music to fit your life, and decide for yourself.EternalRevolvingIntelligentCreature.
Love,Respect,Truth
113 - fool
I like it
114 - lovegear
'I have found some kind of temporary sanity in this shit, blood and cum on my hands' is one of the heaviest line ever written in the history of rock and 13 years on from the angry young man that listened to undertow over and over I still get a real kick out of the album, long after I've pretty much given up on the likes of Slayer, Napalm Death, Meganerd, Anthrax, and bands of that ilk kicking round at the time. At the same time, I would feel strangely unsatisifed if Tool released an album like undertow again. My tastes have moved on and Tool is one of the few bands who keep it interesting enough for me to keep listening to their stuff. Ænima and Lateralus are always on the CD rack or the mp3 player, and 10,000 days will be no exception. Its a monster album you need to listen to and absorb....slowly. Track I like the most so far is Intension, least is probably Vicarious.
Thanks Tool for keeping it interesting for us over 30 year olds, lol.
115 - machineflesh
Like any of my favourite albums, the first time I listened I wasn't particularly blown away. But that's not a bad thing. Tool never has, and never will be, about first impressions. This is the thinking mans metal outfit. Which is why I'll still be listening to this album next month, next year, and for years to come, unlike most of the other trash that gets released these days.
For those that don't understand Tool, stay away. For those who's idea of metal is a pop song with reverb, fuck off. For those who heard about this forthcoming release and decided to wait and hold off on terminating their sorry existances until hearing it - life is good. So good in fact, it's probably worth hanging around another 5 or 6 years for the next one.
116 - 25 minutes of ambience?
About the supposed "horrible 25 minutes of ambience music" on the album... How long would you say an average CD is? 45 minutes sound about right? Well, there's this thing called deleting music off of an mp3 player, and this thing called burning cd's but leaving some tracks off. Even if you do that to this CD, it's STILL longer than most CDs.
I DL'd the album, but still plan to buy it the moment I get a chance... just trying to keep an open mind and let it grow on my like all other tool albums did. When I first got Undertow and Aenima, I hated Aenima but loved Undertow. After awhile, Aenima grew on me and I liked it as well. Then Lateralus came out and I got it, hated it; I thought all the tracks sounded the same instrumentally, but I liked The Grudge.. finally, Lateralus (the song) started to grow on me... then Schism... you get the idea. It really takes multiple listens to get used to anything released by Tool other than Undertow. As for the APC thing? Like Maynard and people here have said, Tool is his yin, APC is his yang. Tool is his masculine side, APC is his feminine side. Now that APC is done, the two have combined; he now has to let his yin and yang creativity out at once.
117 - v3r7ig0
HOORAY! I'm an Aussie and 10,000 days was released yesterday (29/04/06)over here. I loved it from the first listen although i am sure that further listening will give me a much deeper appreciation of all of the songs that Tool have to offer. As for will others like it? - i think that if u loved Lateralus (as i did) u will find a lot to like in this albumn too. Lateralus is by far my favourite album of all time so i was hoping for a lateralus-esque evolution (but can still hear touches of Undertow in there strangely enough) which i think is what they delivered here. It may also help that i have been getting into a lot of Meshuggah lately, and tool themselves admit their time listening to Meshuggah has probably had an influence on the record.
Long story short: I bought the official album, am thoroughly enjoying it and would recommend it to any long-time Tool fan
Cheers
118 - Adam
Please…this is no masterpiece, and Tool is not some mysterious band. They come out with an album every 5 years, and rarely do interviews. They aren’t mysterious…they’re just weird rich bastards, that get rich off of people who think that they’re mysterious musical geniuses. That’s how they create hype. Yeah, they’re good musicians, Lateralus, and Anima are amazing albums…Lateralus is my favorite. 10,000 Days, not so great. The only reason why there were so many rumors that what was leaked online was a decoy, was because there was so much hype about a new album coming out after 5 long years, that no one wanted to think that what they were hearing was what they had been waiting for. Listen to “The Pot”…”Who are you to wave your finger. You musta been out your head.” What, is MJK now into Ebonics? After 5 years this is a huge disappointment, but of coarse with all the die-hard Tool fans, they’ll turn a pathetic effort into a masterpiece.
119 - roland
absolutely, didnt you know he was a poor black raised with rich white tendencies. My god where have you been?
120 - roland
apologies for the overlooked cheers
action over the appreciation...maybe
121 - Rory
Hi,
I have only had time to listen to it once, and my first impression was the guitars were drowning out much of the other music. I am listening it to a second time, have turned off all silly things like bass boost and lowered the some of the Hz and it is sounding a bit better. i am not sure if this was undertaken on tools part, or if they are experimenting. I am yet to make complete judgement, how can you after one listening, but eeven this second time i am hearing some of the nuances of this music, and yes it is beginning to grow on me.
122 - ALock
As I reside in Australia, and purchased my copy of 10,000 DAYS on April 28, I can categorically tell you this album is no hoax. If it is then , its the most expensive cd hoak in music history. When you buy your personal copy, you will know what I mean. The cd package is nothing short of brilliant, let's say its like having a truncated form of an abstract art gallery in your hands, and in something approaching 3D to boot! In comparison, other bands cd packages seem as worthy to keep as a greasy, used pizza box. So forget the bloody hoax theories, they're simply perpetuated by petty minded geeks with single digit brain cells.
The album itself is suffocating, complex, thought provoking and meant to piss people off I suspect. Its still 100% tool, though, only its 100% tool in 2006, not 1993, 96, or 2001. Tool create music for themselves not for " fans ", and even their thinnest perceived material promotes more discussion than 99% of most other bands epics. Listen carefully, and don't bloody judge too soon. Otherwise you just make yourself look like a fu&*%#g hypocrite,..savvy.
123 - Mac D
So much as been said about this album, and really, the only comments I've seen of true value are that of the originator, Jessa. The interpretations are nothing short of breathtaking -- as not only have I taken about the same meanings from 10,000 Days, but a lot of them is what I think and feel, myself as a human being. MJK is an amazing songwriter and musician, in general, and just because he threw a few swear words (like in previous albums) and is speaking more in slang does not speak for the intelligence and complexity of his message.
10,000 Days, to me, isn't as "experimental" as people keep making it sound. To me, it sounds like... like TOOL! The signature tune and melody, the haunting and other-worldly aspects, the enigmatic progression, the lyrics so sincere and brilliant (Especially on the two "Wings" tracks) -- they're all constructed beautifully to make an epic, yet at times, down right strange experience. This is an effort that speaks to fans of their actual combined MUSIC, not just one aspect of it from a previous release in the 90's.
The only thing that spooked me was the opening vocals to "The Pot" -- I didn't "get" them at first, you could say, but I stuck with the song, and quickly, it and Jambi became my two favorites, when it comes to their overall playability.
I do hear some influences from Meshuggah here (though idiots will repeatedly continue to lament about it not being "Meshuggah-like" enough). There are complex melody/rhythm patterns that are created by the instruments all catering to different pieces of a melody of polyrhythm and power. In this way, it is very much an effort INFLUENCED by Meshuggah, as stated to in previous interviews.
There is also a slight aspect of A Perfect Circle (a band I am also quite fond of, with the exception of eMOTIVE), but only because Maynard sings somber and low in parts. Other than that, there are really no other aspects of it (contrary to what kids who hate APC will whine about).
Just... all in all, it needs to be heard -- like they've said -- more than once. Go BUY it (as I intend to), and listen to it, completely before you just search a random blog site and trash Tool because it's "kewl" to you.
Oh yeah, and another thing, USE SPELL CHECK, PEOPLE!
124 - chlomo
2 more days and you get it right.
Who cares by the way. Fake not fake, il's good music, it's good Tool, and if it gets even better, I 'll buy it. Wake up, they're still alive...
125 - Alan Eddie
The packaging is impressive, another extension of their well thought out art. I bought the album because their efforts at thought provoking aesthetics should be rewarded given that it is so easy to get stuff on the net. The album is hard to review over a few listens, like a lot of their work it takes a little while.
Thanks.