Review by Dave Anastasi

I saw a kid on my way to work the other day. I'm sure you've seen him before. He was covered head to toe in black with the exception of the the large white word on his chest: TOOL. I thought to myself, "Gee, I wonder what I'm missing out on..." So, when a friend handed me the first Tool album released in five years, it was curiosity that made me listen.

Here's what I expected to hear: Morbid, pretentious metalheads spewing out juvenile poetry about angels and vampires accompanied by obnoxious riff-laden fuzz guitars, backed by a 100-piece drum kit pounding out completely irrational time signatures. As it turns out, I was half wrong.

10,000 Days begins with Vicarious, a rather cliché (or classic, depending on who you ask) metal tune attacking mass media for the desensitization of America. Jambi follows, featuring those chunka-chunka guitars, and the album picks up steam, only to have the momentum stopped abruptly for the 17-minute two-part epic Wings For Marie / 10,000 Days. This is vocalist Maynard James Keenan's touching tribute to his deceased mother. It is heartbreaking, sincere, and very effective, even if a bit long-winded and meandering at times. I have to wonder about the placement of the piece though, as it really seems to disrupt the flow of the album.

Things pick up again with The Pot, which is the highlight of the album for me. It is everything that metal should be in my mind. It is concise, it's got a great groove, a solid riff, and the thing that is lacking in most of the album: an effective melody that does a good job showcasing Keenan's fantastic voice.

To my ears, things deteriorate after that. The second half of 10,000 Days is notably weaker than the first. Maybe there's a reason why most albums don't clock in at over 75 minutes.

Even still, there was enough here to leave me hopeful about metal. Maybe my wardrobe could benefit from the addition of some darker clothes...