In fact, it's a great collection of Tool tracks, it's just hard to call it a great Tool album when you have to compare it to the likes of ¿nima, Lateralus and even Undertow, albums that flow with an extremely cohesive feeling of purpose. That's not to say that this is a bad album by any stretch of the word. This is somewhat appropriate given the album's stereoscopic artwork, but we'll hit on its unique and sweet packaging at the end of the review. It's an album that feels a tad disjointed, more like a photo book rather than a large, continuous mural. It's a bit unfair to judge this album directly against their previous work, but when you're talking about Tool, one of the most respected and acclaimed metal bands of the past 20 years, it's almost impossible not to. Granted, quite a few songs on the album are rather outstanding, at least in sections, but most tracks fail to live up to many of the takes on the band's previous few efforts. But while the band has never played better, it's hard not to argue that they've written better. And vocalist Maynard James Keenan, well, let's just say that Maynard has never shown so much range. Guitarist Adam Jones again mixes calm, almost hesitant and shy clean sections with ripping and scraping chorus and rhythm work. Complimenting him in every way possible is Justin Chancellor on bass, once again ripping out hopping, rhythmic and trance-inducing bass lines that go even beyond his phenomenal work on Lateralus at times. While he was maybe a tad more prevalent on 2001's Lateralus, Carey continues to dive on floor toms with almost reckless (but perfectly refined) abandon, pound the bass drum in offbeat tempos and ride the hi-hat in otherworldly, complex patterns. Drummer Danny Carey has gotten better with every record, and his work here is no exception. Instrumentally, the band really has never been better. Every new listen connects a few more pieces, but it'll take a while before the whole thing comes together.
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For starters, being that it's the band's first release in five years, it's almost impossible to guess where the album is going to take you, and listening to it for the first time is like trying to solve a jigsaw without seeing the photo on the box. 10,000 Days is, like every past Tool release, a rather hard album to digest.