MORNING_GLORY

The first 7 songs of Lateralus are NOT about his mother...
god damnit Tool comes out with an album about a very long and harsh period of time... and now every Tool album is about his mother. Bullshit.
Think about what 10,000 days means. Its a long, painful period of time. It can mean literally the 10,000 days his mother suffered, or it can mean figuratively... such as how the psychedelic traverler in "Rosetta Stoned" asks "will I ever be coming down?", he feels caught in the moment as if he were there 10,000 days, or just a long stressful period of time.
Now look at Lateralus. "to the side", taking a step aside from the trivial and the insignificant. And while Lateralus seems more like a CD about resolution and ELEVATION, 10,000 days seems like a CD more about getting it all off your chest. Two very different themes...
ALTHOUGH....... Maynard has most likely been influenced by his mother thoughout his life (like many of us), so it would be ignorant to say she didn't influence anything on Lateralus. But the songs themselves are not directed toward her. They have their own special meaning.
I think its great people are still thinking about Lateralus, but you can't take 10,000 Days concepts and apply them to Lateralus. That would be like me saying "You know, Muslims believe in a God, and so do Jews, so therefore they must have something in common!"
Wrong. Two very different things.