Tuesday, May 02, 2006
First Listen Review: Tool - "10,000 Days"
A train leave San Francisco traveling east at one thousand miles an hour. At that moment, another train leaves Cambridge, England, traveling at one thousand miles an hour. The train that departed from San Francisco contains the music of heavy metal band Metallica. The train that left from Cambridge contains the music of legendary acid rock act Pink Floyd. Ignoring the obvious fact that the Atlantic Ocean separates the two trains, our supposition is that when the two trains collide, the resulting trainwreck produces the glorious, monstrous cacophony that is the music of the "acid metal" band Tool.
Tool is one of my favorite bands. In the top three. I think they're amazing musicians, and I'm always excited to hear their infrequent new album releases.
Tool's first album in five years (and only their fourth full-length album since '92) is released today. This is largely intended to be a "first listen" review of 10,000 Days..
Of course, dumbing-down Tool's music by saying it's a cross between Pink Floyd and Metallica is the easiest and silliest way to convey some sense of their sound to the uninitiated. There's a lot more going on in the confines of a Tool album than that simple description implies, and really the best way to discover their sound is simply to hear the band. I'd recommend picking up any of their full-length albums as a way to sample the band. They're one of the few great "album rock" groups that exists these days. Their work is almost always centered around the complete listening experience of an entire album; they aren't a singles band. Tool produce big, throbbing, loud, demanding albums. They pack a lot of sound and sonic force into about an hour of listening. 
The thing is, appreciating Tool's amazing music is the only easy part of being a Tool fan. Tool's guitarist (Adam Jones) and drummer (Danny Carey) craft some of the most intricate, ambitious, and-yet catchy music in all of rock... so getting into the albums is a no-brainer. Being a fan of the band itself is more of a challenge. The band's singer, Maynard James Keenan, is an able and often amazing vocalist. Unfortunately, he's also the classic posturing, self-possessed, B.S. rock star. In true Jim Morrison fashion, Keenan sees himself as a poet/prophet/rock-star for the ages, and his fans (as distinct from Tool fans) lap up his pronouncements like Mother's Milk. Keenan's meanderings run the gamut from frequently thoughtful observations to juvenile pranks engineered solely to offend those he looks down on. For fans of progressive rock/metal, listening to the guy sing is a sublime experience. For people over thirty, however, his off-stage antics are just annoying.
Being a Tool fan is also difficult because, based on my experience, 99.9999% of the other Tool fans in the world are complete a-holes. For one thing, many of them presume that, if you're a Tool fan, you buy into all of Maynard's anti-Christian, anti-Conservative, "forward thinking" garbage. It never crosses their minds that you can enjoy a guy's singing and never once give a crap about the words he's singing, much less the words he says in the press. Based on my experience, Tool fans are often so pretentious and goofy that they're downright funny. You know the comic book guy on The Simpsons? Imagine him with cheesy tattoos and dirty hair. Now imagine him wearing a "Tool" t-shirt. Now, imagine him telling you that you obviously don't really get Tool's music... that he really gets Tool's music... and that you don't deserve to call yourself a Tool fan. Now, bite your lip and struggle to control that fist that seems to want to nest in his face. The great irony is that the silliness of their fans isn't lost on the band itself, given the vulgar (but spot-on) lyrics to one of their songs.
The new Tool album 10,000 days is playing as I write these words. Here are my first impressions.
Track one - Vicarious Wow. Great, great rock track. Man, I love Adam Jones and his nack for riffs. I can't understand people who consider Tool inaccessible. This song is a prime example of how damned catchy Tool's music can be. Catchy and complex at the same time. You don't always see where a song is going, but it is always rewarding when it gets there. Wow. This song is like a freight train. I'm back to the train references. Great song.
Track two - Jambi This one doesn't grab me right away. OK, now it has me. Damn, Adam Jones knows his way around a guitar. To hell with Keenan, for me, Tool has always been about Jones. I guess that's why I never got into "A Perfect Circle." Maynard without Adam is like jelly without peanut-butter. Wow. OK, there it is... that tightening-of-the-gut that you get from an insanely good rock song. Yeah, this is Tool. Damn. Man!
Track three - Wings For Marie Sounds like a Tool "intro," like Parabol on the last album. This could really end up as something amazing, like Parabol's second half, Parabola. Actually, this is more accessible than Parabol was. I don't think this is as easy to predict as those two tracks on the previous album were. This song is building to it's own force, it isn't necessarily just an intro. Sounds good. Swelling. Taking off.
Track four - 10,000 Days Alright, this is where Wings was going. It doesn't begin with a sonic boom like Parabola did. If Parabol was really just an intro to Parabola, then Wings and 10,000 Days seem to really qualify as more of a two-song suite. Building slowly. Hey, cool... thunder, rain sound effects. That's actually the first time I've heard that effect used without a cheesy result since the first Black Sabbath album. It actually works here. Man, this is good. The song is going somewhere without the typical rock bombast. Nice. This song conjures up images from the trailer for the upcoming film Apocalypto. It does for me, anyway. I'm loving this. This is my favorite song on the album so far. Wow.
Track five - The Pot A cappella intro. Wow. Never heard that in Tool music before. OK, here comes the bass, guitar, etc. Oh, yeah... good ol' Tool riffing. Nice bass. Fat bass sound. Good groove. Justin Chancellor on bass really stands out here. I guess this is a "pallet cleanser" after the last track. More of a "classic" Tool sound. Reminds me of the stuff on Undertow. OK, yeah... here we go. Sounds great. This is one of those songs that needs to be played loud. I gotta crack this a little bit. Oh, yeah. This works. Good track!
Track six - Lipan Conjuring OK, this has intro written all over it. It's like the silly little "transitional" tracks that the band threw into the otherwise awesome album AEnima. This is a little odd. It's native American chanting or something. OK, whatever, as long as it's not eight minutes of this kind of thing.
Track seven - Lost Keys Lipan Conjuring was just a short transitional track. We're into the next outright song now. Slow Adam Jones guitar intro. Sounds pretty good. OK, spoken word stuff. Theatrics; a nurse talking to a doctor. What's this, then? Operation: ToolCrime? I don't know what this is supposed to be about, it sounds like filler to me.
Track eight - Rosetta Stoned Alright, Lost Keys was an intro. That's fine. Here we go. Whoa. Weird vocals. Cool. I kinda like this. Odd song. Good guitar part. Oh, yeah... this works. Wow. Good deal. Could have done without the hokey intro, but this works really well. I like it. Oh, MAN! Oh, MAN! DAMN! Yeah, this is it. This is the good stuff. This album is going to OWN my CD player this summer. Man, this sounds so damn good. ... ... ... OK, we're at the four minute mark in an eleven minute song and I'm anticipating a tempo change and not getting one. This could get a little bit monotonous. We'll see. ... ... ... alright, seven minute mark and I'm into it again. Good bass, drums... It isn't going to turn into a Ticks and Leeches kind of thrasher like I was expecting, but it still works. Good track. Again, the Apocalypto kind of thing. I'm into it. 
Track nine - Intension More sound effects. I'm getting a little tired of the sound effects. I guess I was expecting more of a Lateralus kind of album.... just more of a straight-forward music-focused thing. I guess that's what I get for thinking I knew what to expect from Tool. You should never think you know what to expect from Tool. This is pretty good, though. Good sound. Let's see where it goes... ... ... I like what Carey's doing percussion-wise. That's going to be what gets me into this song eventually, but I don't think this is the kind of song that'll grab me in the first few listens.
Track ten - Right In Two Seamless transition. I didn't notice the track had changed until I noticed the big change in direction of the music. ... ... ... OK, six minute mark and I'm LOVING this song. The first part up 'til here reminded me a bit of Jimmy on AEnima... now this is reminding me of that album's title track. Which is fine, a band with a sound as distinctive as Tool is going to be a bit self-derivative from time to time. Damn, this song sounds good. This is going to be one of those songs that I really look forward to hearing on this album. Wow. Good track.
Track eleven - Viginti Tres Alright, one of those soundscape type things to close the album. One of those tracks that would only work after listening to the whole album at one time. The kind of thing Tool does all the time. Remember, they're an album-oriented band. This is really creepy sounding stuff. Weird noises, voices, etc. It works as an album closer. It's giving me some serious chills! Creepy, man. Kinda like the first time you hear that guy ranting from the "Art Bell" show at the end of Lateralus. Wow. Freaky.
Overall, I have to say that this album is really good, based on the first listen. I don't think I'll like it as much as Lateralus, my favorite Tool album... but then again, the first time I heard Lateralus, I didn't think I'd like it as much as AEnima... and I didn't originally think I'd like AEnima as much as Undertow... so, heck, ya never know.
Wow. New Tool. My summer's listening is pretty much planned out for me now.
I'm not that into the crunch metal anyway (that's what they are, right? Geez I sound like an old fogey) - The heaviest I get is Led Zep, which isn't available online either, BY THE FRICKIN' WAY.. harrumph!
I have my XM playing right now and Sheryl Crow is serenading me along with Sting.
D, I certainly don't know Jerry that well - but I think he was being smart alecky :-(
Album Review
In an age where major labels dictate that new releases from bands appear on record store shelves every 18 months or so, rare is the artist given freedom and ability to reflect and stretch out to explore creative evolution and release music as an artist, rather than the prepackaged predictability of an entertainer. Thankfully, Tool has somehow managed to circumvent these rituals, releasing a record every four to five years as they so feel the need. This ability to patiently craft their musical direction has paid off for not only the band, but for listeners, as they've been able to expand their musical vocabulary from album to album with great precision, all the while remaining true to the foundations that built such a loyal, if not cult-like, following. But with this absence comes changes to the popular music landscape, as new bands and sounds (as well as a new generation of heavy metal fans to entertain) replace and stimulate the charts. Namely: a lot can happen in five years, especially with a fickle rock audience that is overinundated with constant new bands' songs. The group defied expectations (and even got radio airplay) with Lateralus, but would fans stick with them during the hiatus? There were moments when Maynard James Keenan would emerge courtesy of A Perfect Circle, and there were also several stunning video DVDs to pacify while 10,000 Days was being written, along with cryptic messages via their website, but that was about it. Thankfully, 10,000 Days was worth the labor pains and wait to deliver. It's not only a step forward for the band, but a re-embracing of the epic-length rock songs found at the roots of early heavy metal. The album starts out with "Vicarious," which features some of Maynard's most straightforward lyrics since Fnema's "Hooker with a Penis." Essentially a biting commentary on reality television, information stimulus overload, and living through others' experiences, it's only a brief glimpse of what's to come, as 10,000 Days also offers some of Keenan's most confessional lyrics. The 17-minute epic "Wings for Marie/10,000 Days" is an ode to his mother, who passed away during the band's hiatus after dealing with paralysis from a stroke for 27 years. In a way, it's voyeuristic to listen to someone working out family issues on disc, but Keenan does it in a way that's sensitive and honest without ever treading the careful line between melodrama and sincerity. Most of the songs are a bit long in the tooth when compared to most metal songs these days, but then again, Tool isn't exactly just another band, either. With most songs clocking in over six minutes, the exercises in songwriting wouldn't work as well with any other band. But when you have such high-caliber musicianship as Danny Carey and Adam Jones anchoring drums and guitar, respectively, it's hard to make a wrong turn. The anger that served as fuel for some of their greatest works has been replaced with calmer and more introspective moments as they patiently work out rhythm and melodic passages from one theme to the next. That's not to say the anger isn't still there; it does check in from song to song, but like most of Tool's fan base that has stuck with them through their first recordings, the group has evolved beyond that stage and has moved on to new concepts to explore. So depending upon which Tool you are looking for, you're either going to love or hate 10,000 Days. If it's the hard-driving band with an intellectually driven existential anger and fits of Hot Topic-laden angst, they've fled for other pastures (probably to Arizona Bay). But if you're looking for the Tool whose passion and introspection is complemented by intense emotion, brutal honesty, and musical maturity, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better metal album in 2006. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide
http://meanmarine.blogspot.com/
I love Tool. I've been down with them since near the beginning. My brother introduced me to their albums. In fact, I saw Tool live a few years ago and spent some time - a very short bit of time - in the mosh pit. But I bruise easily and had to bail.
Man, BIG props to you, Jerry! I haven't been to a rock show in years... the last one was Nine Inch Nails ten years ago, and I wasn't willing to get NEAR the pit, much less in it. I felt like an old man. ;)
Really.
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