10,000 DAYS

Well, here we go, I bought this album today, have listened to it five times through, and though it was worth my signing up to this site to express how much i love it. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for this album, mostly saying it's either an undeniable masterpiece or it's awful. As you've probably guessed, I agree with the former. I am of course a die- hard Tool fan, so this review is probably fairly biased, but I'll try and be as honest as I can.

After the mammoth album that was Lateralus - my favourite album of all time - my expectations were very high indeed for this album, and those expectations have just about been exceeded. I heard Vicarious a couple of weeks ago, and I was very impressed - not quite as blown away as I was when I first heard The Grudge, but more than when I first heard Schism. What struck me most about this song, and the album in general, is the aggression in it, compared to Lateralus. The riffs seem to be a bit faster, a bit more angular, a bit more random - songs like Jambi and Rosetta Stoned really threw me on the first listen, they weren't what I expected at all, and they are all the better for it. The Pot too had a similar effect on me, and it's quite a different style - a funky Tool song, if you will. Immediately had my head banging!

However, the stand out moments on this album for me are the quieter ones. Wings For Marie/10,000 Days is one of the most epic pieces of music I've ever heard. One of the things I've always loved about Tool is the way they subtley build things up, and the title track is a great example of that. It's an emotional song, and not in an obvious way - much like Reflection, it's an underlying feeling that just creeps up on you and grabs you when you don't expect it, usually in the quieter moments rather than the heavy moments towards the end of the song. I have a feeling this will soon replace Reflection as my favourite Tool song. Intension is another subdued song that is more like a 7- minute build up to Right In Two, both very atmospheric tracks. The way Intension leads into Right In Two is a perfect example of how effective Tool's subleties are. It's hard to describe the feeling I get when the opening riff to Right In Two begins - despite the fact it's a simple acoustic melody - and that this song is probably one of the most commercial songs from Tool yet - when it comes in after Intension, it has the same impact as the climatic moments of King Crimson's 'Epitaph' have on me. It may have just been the overwhelming feeling I got from realising I finally had the new Tool album, and it was coming to the end of the record, but that's the effect it had on me none the less.

Usually, at this point I would say if you loved Lateralus, you'll love this, but this obviously isn't the case with everyone. Personally, in the long run I don't think it'll beat Lateralus, but good christ it comes damn close. The one thing it lacks that Lateralus had in spades was the huge variety in the style of the songs - each track on Lateralus sounded completely different from each other, and the album in general had this other- worldly like feeling to it, a feeling which only comes across on a couple of tracks on 10,000 Days. Yet at the same time, I have never heard an album like this one. Whilst it may not be better than Lateralus (though that decision is going to take some time to make), it's better than pretty much any other album I've ever heard. High praise indeed, and praise worth giving. They've done it again. Which just leaves me with one question... how on earth are they going to beat this one?