Hey guys,
I've been reading this board for a few weeks and decided to join. I just wanted to give my thoughts and feelings about the new album. Right now, I don't know how I feel about this album because it is so different. It's not "Tool" per se. they did something completely different this time around. I think that's why a lot of you don't like the new album.

We're all entitled to our opinions, but I'd like to say that I am appalled at some of things you all are saying. Some of the things you all are saying are even mean and disrespectful towards Tool. They have worked SO hard and have definitely earned the right to make the album the way they want it. Maybe this time around they wanted to put certain kinds of melody in some of their songs. Maybe they wanted to put photos of themselves in the album artwork. If they wanted to put a pop song on there they definitely have that right.

The main problem is that we're so spoiled now with the internet. We want things the way WE want it and we want it NOW. Before everyone had the internet, we had to wait until the album actually came out. What one has to do is just actually LISTEN to the album and take it for what it is. Tool can't be doing the same thing every album. They can't have the same attitude towards music all the time. Again, just sit back and listen. You may find that you have missed something that you didn't notice before.

so different?

have you heard ANY tool songs before? because 10 000 days is a medley of all previous material.

the only new thing tool have done with 10 000 days is been unoriginal for the first time.

Unoriginal for the first time?

I don't think Maynard has ever expressed himself so openly and eloquently on his mother, and HIS spirituality as he has in Wings for Marie/10,000 days. And calling it a melody of past Tool songs is absurd. The song is stylistically different than any others. Even so, wouldn't a song that combines diffirent musical elements be an example of creative progression? Is it not true that music today is in actuality a combination of music from the past? This album is a step forward from the last, as is every Tool album so far.

I agree with you TSarge. This album, to me, has some similarities to Lateralus but that is it. I don't think Maynard has ever been so straightforward about his mother or any family member for that matter as he is in "Wings For Marie 1 & 2".

Except for in Judith!

Jesus, and he's not expressing his spirituality in WFM/10KD
Fucking christ, is that why this song is so popular? Do we have previously closet-christian tool fans coming out of the woodwork for the first time, misinterpreting the song to be some sort of apology towards all the nasty nasty things he's said about jesus over the years?
If so, that would be hilarious.

I absolutely agree with the original post.

When I heard Opiate for the first time all those years ago I thought it was some weird alt rock of no interest to me. But it grew on me to the point where I just wanted more. Undertow came out and I thought it too polished in comparison and I was dissappointed to the point of not listening to it for over a year. But it too grew on me until I starter absolutely loving it. And I distinctly remember Tool being considered an "uncool" metal band by then everpopular grunge kids I hung out with. Then Aenima came out and I was ready, I gave it time and sure enough it did not disappoint. It was awesome. But then something weird happened, Lateralus came out and I just hated it because I though it didn't move the game on at all. This might sound weird in hindsight, but back then it felt stale from the ofset. But I was absolutely wrong, more I listened to it more it stood out and now it sounds so different to Aenima I can hardly believe I had thought it didn't. It's one of the finest albums recoreded, in my humble opinion.

Tool records just take time and patience, but that is why they last and I imagine they will be as impressive in 50 years as they are today.

And I agree, this board is full of some of the rudest, illmanered people I've ever come across. Very strange considering that we are all here out of common interest.

Wrong. I never said anything about his spirituality having ANYTHING to do with christianity. The song is clearly about his mothers christianity (and her struggle on earth), but there are some subtle clues to some of Maynards beliefs.

For example, "10,000 days in the fire is long enough, you're going home" along with other refrences to "home" reveals to me that he not only believes in an after life but that we are 'returning' to it. I don't know if i'm reading into the lyrics too much, actually I know that i'm not, but I think there are things here that we can learn about Maynard.

I also think people like this song not only because its emotional, but it is emotional about something that unites many of us here at TDN: our curiosity on the topic of spirituality.

**EDIT - And Judith is a great song, but Maynard makes himself vulnerable in Wings 1 & 2, something he avoids in Judith.

he wrote a song about his lame mother on judith, and that song is much better. the whole 17 minute song is unoriginal, it is using one main riff the whole way through that was created way back in the lateralus days.

but your right, it is still the most original song on the album, the other songs use other riffs far more blatantly.

well, whether you realized it or not, lateralus still had a hell of a lot of the good tool elements from their older stuff than 10,000 days does.
this shit is stripped/dumbed down crap.

read my last post

Why are people like you still here? thats my question, why dont you just leave then? you have nothing else to say obviously, we get it, you hate the album, now go listen to linkin park please just leave

I don't think that's the case at all. One can be accepting of Christian ideals and not be a Christian. And I think this song is just a story and Maynard used his experience from his mother's death and what he knows of Christian literature as the structure. The lyrics and the music are amazing, whether the song is thought to be about him "becoming Christian" or not.

Do you understand that 95% of their songs are in the same key? Thats about all this album has in common with the previous.

Also the "christian" views in 10,000 days, I believe he is speaking from his mother's viewpoint....

You hit everything right on the head

roflarious.

Whats rolfarious is that you say they are being unoriginal this time around but I bet the real reason you don't like the album is because it doesn't sound like what you're used to and expecting.

Ok.

If you guys hate it so much what is the point of posting on the 10000 Days forum? It can't be just so you can tell everyone repeatedly how much you hate it? It's not like anyone who likes the album will suddenly hate it based on someone else's opinion. And it can't be that you have nothing better to do but be rude to random strangers on line because that would just be absurd.

no one cares.

i am here because i get off by provoking people about the new album.

plus i have been here for a long time, since 2003, till i got banned, so it is like home to me.

i do see the LOGIC behind your comment of: only people who love the album should stay.

but seriously, this album offers NOTHING, the whole thing is utter crap, you are all in denial.

It offers a lot if you're open minded enough to listen to it for what it is and not for what YOU WANT.

well, you said he was openly and eloquently expressing HIS spirituality. I dunno how I took that wrong.
There's not a bit in the song that isnt anything about his spirituality. He's actually voicing the same resignation and disgust towards organized religion as in Judith, only toning it down this time and making it a bit more subtle.

I don't see what the fuss over this song is really. Do we really learn anything from this? He loved his mom. He thought she was a good person. She had wacked out beliefs that she would be going to "heaven" up to the day she died despite being stuck with some pretty shitty circumstances for most of her life.

What am I missing still?

Don't be rediculous. Open up your mind (or your third eye). Think about why you are uncomfortable with this album... The album is different but that is exactly what it offers.

Besides, its not like they released an album like "St. Anger"... (any metallica fans?)

Lagomorph, at least you seem at peace with the fact that you are effectivelly wasting your time on riling up absolute strangers you will probably never meet. It's like pissing in the ocean, it dirties it up yes, but it's insignificant and pointless.

Yeah. That's why we've already reached about a dozen posts in this thread and half of them supporting me. This is the kind of rudeness that I'm talking about and it's quite pathetic.

have you heard 10 000 days? intension, the pot, lipan conjuring? i agree there are parts of rosetta stoned, vicarious, and 10 000 days that dont absolutely annoy the shit otu of me. but the rest of it is just disgraceful.

seriously go back and listen to the grudge and notice the subtle genius and creative use of the instruments, they work as a team, and the music isn't predictable, it also goes somewhere and has some emotion and genuinity to it.

of course this opinion. but i really can't see how anyone could like 10 000 days in the slightest.

I disagree, I do feel as though we can learn about Maynard's own beliefs. He is speaking about something, these are his own thoughts, there is definitely something there.

Something you might be missing is the message of respect for the faith of others? Maynard clearly disagrees with organized religion, but some of his lyircs could have been considered a tad disrespectful? (eulogy & judith)... only thinking out loud here. Could it be that he has matured a little bit, at least in his understanding of his mothers life?

I don't understand how someone can eat marmite, it makes me sick, but my wife absolutely loves it. If I told her how stupid she was for liking it every time she ate it she would probably stab me in my sleep. As the saying goes: Opinions are like assholes...

i like marmite, i prefer vegemite though.

oh boo hoo. call me pathetic as much as you like. In the end, its your opinion, and no one truly cares.

plus your math is off douche. 24 does not equal a dozen.

Wow, you're living life with a blindfold and earplugs huh?

Isn't the whole idea of a forum based on the fact that people DO care about the opinions of others?

actually, i have to very sadly agree with you. I hadnt really thought of the word s for what i think of this album before, but "dumbed down" is probly pretty spot on.

Dumbed down huh? A lot of the songs are more intricate than even on Lateralus. They play "in the pocket" but a lot more loose on this album. Thats a good thing to me as it adds a totally different flow. Lateralus sounds a lot more mathmatic and mechanical which I think this album pulls off the odd times and feels with an organic flow.

Look, back on the original topic. I never thought Tool was the most original band, or the most radical, or even the most technically advanced... but they are very good at what they do, they are a great aggro-prog band which take themselves too seriously but rock out some of the best prog-rock this side of Pink Floyd. To be honest I don't care if they are satanists or mormons, I don't listen to them for spiritual guidance, I like their music and their uncompromising perseverance with doing their own thing. It's not a religion for me, it's just about good music and nothing else. I am the biggest Faith no More fan but I won't drink my own piss just because Mike Patton did it. Another favorite band of mine is Front 242 so that tells you how much I care about genre boundaries, I just want to be moved in some way by music I listen to be it rock, electro or black-metal, doesn't matter one bit as long as it sounds good to ME. I don't give a shit what anyone else might think, approve or disapprove of my tastes...

To me this album feels like an expansion of what they started on Lateralus on a musical and technical level. It feels more organic while actually being a lot more complex because they've gotten better at it. The odd time changes don't stand out because they are less jarring since they pull it off seamlesly. Which, I think, is all the more accentuated by the fact that they are using a more raw sound than on Lateralus. Each instrument stands out at given times more and blends back in letting another surface, while before on both Aenima and Lateralus they sounded like one giant organism playing in unison. That's at least how I see it.

edit/ I don't mean in unison as in all playing the same thing, I mean as in so much production and effects which bled everything into a singular beast.

you guys are classic.

Fuck you guys, I'm drunk, and I can tell you that this is not unoriginal, nor is it untool. This is the first TRUE tool album, and it is NEW, fuck you, eat my ass, suck on my scabby dick... fuck off.

All I got to say on the matter is that, even though the new album lets down on the first impression, if you listen long enough, you'll like it (but hey, what's the merit in liking something after listening to it A LOT, like most tool fans on this board?). And on the other hand, I feel that on this album, the guys are lettin' lose somehow. I feel they were somehow constrained up until ÆNIMA, then after MJK had his APC 1 experience, Lateralus came out (which was definitely different and liked from the beginning). Now, 10k days is comin' out after APC 2, and there are a lot of things changing, as we can all appreciate. I mean, when I first heard "The Pot", I was blown away. I said to myself, "finally, they're lettin' lose!" "they're jammin'!"

Another thing: You can't say that this is a legitimate introspection of MJK on his mother, bc since day 1, the guys have reduced almost every argument from a fan to the absurd. So the same can be done for Marie and 10k days. Like Bill Hicks said, "There's nothin' sacred to these fucks", not in reference to Tool, but in reference to workers in marketing and advertising. But I apply it to them. I'd like for someone to tell me openly what has Tool stood up for openly and fearlessly in front of their fans. THAT would be interesting.

That's what I think aboot the matter.

haha thanks for the idea. pissing in the ocean. good comparison