10,000 Days, the upcoming album by the band Tool is arriving in stores on the 2nd of May. For an anxious Tool fan like myself, that may as well be as far away as the title of the new album suggests.
It's been 5 years since the release of their last album Lateralus, which was well received by fans and critics alike. Apparently, you don't just have to listen to the album from track 1 to the end any more like we used to do back in the old days. Fans have created specific sequences to listen to the album. That's right, the fans have created this, not the band. The fans have also created something else for Tool - a hardcore protective fortress.
Maybe I should explain myself a little better. I am a new Tool fan - new to the Tool party as it were. I've only been a fan for roughly six months. However, I have encountered many Tool fans before I liked the band and let me tell you something; they are the most one-eyed people I have ever met. Try telling them that Tool sucks, and they'll beat you down to a bloody pulp. Why? Because to them, Tool is the best band in the entire world. That's why.
To say their fan base is one-eyed is probably not very fair, but my conversation with three Tool fans on Saturday night reinforced that view. Apparently, you don't even have to say "Tool sucks!" to get them to (verbally) beat you down. You just have to fumble for ten seconds or more to tell them what your favourite song is or mispronounce an album name for them to tell you that in fact, you suck and that you are not a real Tool fan.
I was having a conversation with a friend of mine recently when I asked him if he liked Tool, since many of my friends don't exactly rave about them. His eyes grew wide and he stopped talking and raised his hands as if I were about to shoot him and he said: "Ooh…do you like Tool?"
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - JELIEL³
Damn right... TOOL TOOL TOOL TOOL TOOL
2 - Duane
A favorable comparison to J Lo is faint praise indeed for Tool. But the point is taken.
It's not because they are the real deal that Tool is the best band in the entire world. Lots o' bands are the real deal. Many real deal bands suck eggs. Real deal bands are often made up of musically inept strummers, whackers, and screamers with nothing on their minds beyond being real.
Tool, real or not, is made up of fine and adventurous musicians. But there's more to it than that. They write songs that can be violent, dark, sometimes almost hypnotic. No ballads. No goofy love songs. No filler material. The music is challenging to the listener. No headbangers need apply. What a unique blend of crushing chords, flashy explosive drumming, subtle bass lines, and haunting vocals, mixed with polyrhythmic asymmetry. Great stuff.
3 - Steve C.
I used to be a Tool superfan. Guess I'm not anymore -- I didn't even know there was a new album coming. I suck.
4 - Guppusmaximus
Sure... I guess you could leave this headbanger out because I stopped listening to them with Aenema... (I just don't like the spacial element to their music anymore) But, if I do recall correctly, MTV's Headbanger's Ball helped their "Undertow" album make a ton of sales which helped create this fan base. But, it's not abnormal for a good band like Tool to make it on their own. Dream Theater has been doing that for 20 years. Anyways, I'll have to take a listen to the new release... Maybe it will spawn a new love.
5 - gonzo marx
OMFG....
of course i knew about the Album...and thanks to the Poster for giving us a release date...
Duane in comment #2 sez it much more eloquently than your humble Narrator ever could...
to me, TOOL is to the 90's-now the epitome of musicianship that Rush dominated so much between the 70's and 90's
let me just say, there are few bands this middle aged ex-bassist will go to see live any more...Motorhead, Rush...TOOL tops my list
/joygasm at a new album/tour
nuff said?
Excelsior!
6 - DJRadiohead
Lateralus ruined music for a friend of a friend when it was relased. All other music became stupid to him.
I can't say I go quite that far but I do like that record and am looking forward to hearing the new album.
7 - Mark Saleski
interesting. i read tons & tons about Lateralus and the greatness of Tool.
so i went out and bought Lateralus.
nothing there for me. nothing at all.
8 - gonzo marx
that makes me sad to hear Mark...
i'm interested in what type/band/musicians do trip yer switch?
even those musicians who despise the genre that TOOL plays whom i have forced to listen to Undertow/AEnima/Lateralus have admitted that they were "tight" and solid musicians....
so i'm curious as to what you like...
Excelsior!
9 - Mark Saleski
like most things with me, it ends up being about the vocals. i just can't stand that guy's voice. it just leaves me cold.
10 - gonzo marx
a far cry from "nothing at all"
but it does explain a lot...different strokes i guess
i think he has an excellent voice, good pitch and intonation...not to mention the lyrics
but, to each their own, i guess
Excelsior!
11 - Mark Saleski
yea, some of these things you really can't explain. to me, his voice is just cold and emotionless.
this is the same great/blah thing that i have with Elliott Smith. many people hear lots of emotion in his voice. when it gets to my ears, i just hear boredom.
12 - gonzo marx
well Mark, i think i am getting what ya are saying...
might i suggest, fer a bit more "emo" in the vocals...you try and borrow a copy of "Undertow" instead?....the songs Sober and Prison Sex especially show off a much broader range of vocal ability...the Lateralus album is much more cerebral on purpose...
just a Thought
13 - Mark Saleski
i've borrowed that cd and Aenema too...and had the same reaction. it's really just the voice.
i can't even get past it to the words (which are always the very last things i listen to anyway).
we have past proof of this...where in an old comments thread i used the word "nihilism" in reference to Tool and you posts a buncha lyrics prooving that i didn't know what the hell i was talking about: which is true, because i never heard the words! oh well.
14 - gonzo marx
lol..no worries Mark...it is all subjective anyway
but, you do get partial credit for at least trying
Excelsior!
15 - Guppusmaximus
I just have to give credit because they made their own niche...Not too many bands doing that nowadays.
16 - vanessa
interesting article. i think it's funny how everyone has ended up talking about tool!
17 - zingzing
um, yeah. tool is the subject of the article.
anyway, tool is just 70's art-rock, warmed over with a little (admittedly intersting, if a bit underwhelming) metal thrown in. it's a little to meticulous (sp?) for me. detail is a wonderful thing, but... it seems that any true emotional weight is just buried under all that "complexity" for complexity's sake.
just my opinion, but i got over tool a while ago.
18 - gonzo marx
zingzing sez...
*just my opinion, but i got over tool a while ago.*
ah well....more for me!
but, cereally...one might take umbrage to your dscription of the bands "sound"....
however, to each their own...what some might hear as "overly complex"..others might find "symphonic"
i do find it fascinating that i appear to find the same correlations between TOOL fans and Rush fans...both pro and con
biggest thing with those who don't like it are the vocals...
second biggest come from non-musicians
just an Observation
me, i will be eagerly anticipatiing not only the Cd release, but looking forward to when they come up here for some shows...last time they played both Lewiston and Augusta...and i was a happy gonzo
we will see...
Excelsior!
19 - zingzing
who says i don't play music? and who says that non-musicians opinions are any better or worse?
and "symphonic" is a bad word. icky. rock n roll shouldn't be "symphonic," because everyone knows what happens when classical music and rock collide: boredom. maybe that's the problem with tool... they're kind of boring lately.
and rush sucks too.
20 - gonzo marx
now zingzing...did i say you fell into any category?
read carefully, cuz i am a tricksy bastage at times
and yer last line sez it all, we can just agree to differ, since matters of taste and music are purely Subjective...
Excelsior!
21 - MusicLover
May 2nd US release. Single (Vicarious) hits radio THIS Monday (4/17). Small venue US tour in May (Boston & Seattle confirmed so far) before heading overseas all summer. Full North American tour starting in September.
"10,000 Days"
01 Tool Vicarious 07:06
02 Tool Jambi 07:28
03 Tool Wings For Marie (Pt 1) 06:11
04 Tool 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2) 11:14
05 Tool The Pot 06:22
06 Tool Lipan Conjuring 01:11
07 Tool Lost Keys (Blame Hofman) 03:44
08 Tool Rosetta Stoned 11:14
09 Tool Intension 07:21
10 Tool Right In Two 08:56
11 Tool Viginti Tres 05:01
22 - zingzing
gonzo--true, true. i reacted. i am sorry. taste is subjective. but.. christ, rush? yish! get thee back to outer space!
23 - Mark Saleski
biggest thing with those who don't like it are the vocals...
second biggest come from non-musicians
go figure. i love Rush...and like Geddy's voice.
and i'm a musician. don't know what any of this means.
24 - DJRadiohead
It means you have cement in your ears. Wow... a line that takes me back to a flamewar from many moons ago... heh
I like Maynard's voice. And of course Mark types the words "Elliott Smith" to get a rise out of me...
25 - Duane
Zing... I mean Zingzing (after the prison?), it's all well and good that you don't like Tool (or Rush for chrissakes) ... but ...
... any true emotional weight is just buried under all that "complexity" for complexity's sake.
Similarly, I could criticize your favorite bands by simply pointing out that they are intentionally injecting emotion just for the sake of being emotional. It's a non-point.
Besides, Tool certainly does compose intentionally complex music. Amazingly enough, some people like complexity in their music. A lot of jazz and classical music is ridiculously complex. Some people are drawn to that. Some people like chess because it's complex. Other people prefer Crazy Eights. The Crazy Eight fan could complain, "I hate chess because it's complex for the sake of complexity. Chess sucks. Games should be fun." This seems to parallel your musical philosophy.
... rock n roll shouldn't be "symphonic" ....
Eh? Who says? It should be whatever the musicians want it to be. Right? It's so opposite the rock 'n' roll mentality to try to impose rules. Music is wide open. That's one of the great things about it. You don't have to like it.
I don't really care for jazz because I find it to be too intellectual. But you wouldn't catch me saying "Jazz sucks." It's just over my head at this phase of my life. Many jazz players would view Tool as being simplistic. Jazz musicians have taken complexity and woven into their art form. I am ignorant of most of it. In all my years of playing rock and dance music (20-some years ago), not once did I have to play a D13 flat-5 flat-9. I am musically uneducated compared to jazz players. I respect jazz, but it does not speak to me. This bears on Gonzo's comment that a lot of musicians like Tool. They can appreciate what's going on in the music. The interweaving, the patient repitition, the tension, the surprising shifts, the unconventional choices.
Of course, all that complexity has to hang together. The whole has to function. Something has to be conveyed to the listener. Tool music resonates with some. Others don't get it. And I mean nothing insulting there. I just mean that it does not speak to you. It doesn't resonate with you. But I find comments like "Rush sucks" to be devoid of weight. It's like saying, "Sushi sucks." The most you can really say is, "I hate Rush." OK, that's a different matter.
There are a few objective things that one can say about a band or one of their songs. Technical ability can be evaluated objectively. Tool, with the possible exception of Maynard's singing, is technically among the best in "rock" music. You can say, objectively, that the music is complex. Yes it is. You no like? To each his own.
But when you start talking about the emotional content, well, that's purely subjective. I find many of Tool's songs to be full of emotion. Not necessarily kick-up-your-heels kind of emotion, but still. More exactly, though, certain music evokes emotions within you. I think that's what you mean when you refer to "emotional weight." For example, La Mer by Debussey has one 20-second part right about half way through that always gets me. It makes me think of being on a boat with the wind and spray and feeling free. I play it for someone else and they look at me with a blank stare. Subjective. Whitney Houston is very emotional sounding. She's technically brilliant. Objective. I would not plop down a dime for one of her CDs. I hate that stuff. Subjective.
Another thing ... why can't you like different kinds of music? There are times when ZZ Top is just the thing. Billy G wringing the life out that guitar. Yes, indeed. Simplistic stuff. Other times, King Crimson (talk about complex) is just the thing. I like ambient music, too. I play it while I work. And old-style funk. You bet. "Oh, they're trying to be funky just for the sake of funkiness!" Well, sure. Some people like that. Not much emotion packed into funk, is there?
Anyway, open your mind, grasshopper. That pretty well sums it up.
Master Po: Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Caine: I hear the water, I hear the birds.
Master Po: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Young Caine: No.
Master Po: Do you hear the grasshopper that is at your feet?
Young Caine: [looking down and seeing the insect] Old man, how is it that you hear these things?
Master Po: Young man, how is it that you do not?