Some albums simply cannot be judged on an initial listen.
The last album that really embodied this was Tool’s 2001
release, “Lateralus.” Its song structure was bizarre,
with an opening track, “The Grudge,” written in 10/8
time and an overall structure that leaned more toward progressive
rock than ever before.
Critics and fans have noted that “Lateralus” was
Tool’s most prog-influenced album to date, experimenting with
multi-layered songs that ran into one another (particularly the
closing trio of “Disposition,” “Reflection”
and “Triad”). That was true until now, because the
band’s new album “10,000 Days” is so complex it
makes “Lateralus” seem like Top 40.
The disc opens with “Vicarious,” a classic Tool
song. It displays thundering guitars, heavy bass, drumming that
sounds like it was done by an octopus, and distorted vocals belted
by lead singer Maynard James Keenan, who displays a range which had
not been seen to this extent in Tool’s previous releases.
Keenan’s vocals are most shocking on “The
Pot,” a song about hypocrisy that begins with Keenan singing
in a voice so high that it bears a striking resemblance to Maroon
5’s Adam Levine. Throughout the song’s first minute,
Keenan’s voice decreases in pitch before reaching his normal
level as he asks, “Who are you to point the
finger?”
The album is built upon two epic suites: the title track
“10,000 Days” and “Rosetta Stoned.”
“10,000 Days” builds to a satisfying pay-off, but
doesn’t simply go from soft to loud. It instead goes back and
forth before reaching its ultimate apex. Some Tool fans may be
initially put off by the seemingly subdued tone, but once
“10,000 Days” reaches its peak, it’s hard to deny
its power.
Everything that makes Tool one of the greatest musical
consortiums on the planet is on display in “Rosetta
Stoned” ““ Adam Jones’ writhing, shifting guitar
work, Justin Chancellor’s commanding bass and Danny
Carey’s pulse-shattering drumming, not to mention
Keenan’s barking vocals.
Other tracks display Tool’s continued musical
experimentation. On “Jambi,” Jones makes use of a Talk
Box during a solo. Though the Talk Box was popularized by Peter
Frampton and was most recently used in Weezer’s
“Beverly Hills,” Jones gives the sometimes goofy device
a sinister, jarring sound.
What keeps the album from being a masterpiece is an unexpected
flaw. It doesn’t close as strongly as it starts, nor does the
finale reach the epic heights scaled by “10,000 Days”
and “Rosetta Stoned.” This is a shame, because Tool
albums are typically known for their intense conclusions.
The album’s closing track, “Viginti Tres,” is
five minutes of uninterrupted ambient noise. Ambient noise is great
to break up tracks, not to close a hugely epic album. It feels like
there should be more, whereas Tool’s other albums offer a
definitive sense of closure.
Even so, the production on “10,000 Days” is
masterful. The album is impeccably clean ““ every sound is
crisp, and on an album this sonically demanding, it would be easy
for the production values to suffer. Thankfully, the band and its
production team do not allow this to happen.
Is “10,000 Days” Tool’s best album? No. That
position is occupied by the nearly-flawless
“Lateralus.” However, at the very least, “10,000
Days” may well be Tool’s most interesting work. And
perhaps a few years from now, the brilliance of a five-minute
ambient-noise album-closer might be easier to judge.
E-mail Humphrey at mhumphrey@media.ucla.edu