10,000 Days

"This long-awaited release encompasses the familiar Tool style that their many fans have grown accustomed to, with such cuts as the blistering opener "Vicarious" doing the business nicely. However, some of the lengthier numbers such as the title track, "Rosetta Stoned", "Intention" and others see the band exhale a torrent of explorative musical forms onto the listener, illustrating most satisfactorily how this quartet of rockers still have plenty of innovation to offer.

Produced by the group themselves and mixed by Evil Joe Barresi, '10,000 Days' is tight and muscular where it counts, flexing this ensemble's incredible instrumental prowess through fascinatingly dynamic songs. Danny Carey's drumming is particularly meaty whilst Adam Jones' guitar riffs are as visceral as anything I've heard in the time between this and Tool's last studio effort, 'Lateralus'. His sparse soloing is extremely sonic too; creating blissful sound sculptures on pieces such as the instrumental "Lost Keys". He's also the perfect foil for Maynard James Keenan's darkly resonating vocals. Finally then, there are Justin Chancellor's grinding bass grooves that round out the concentrated aural assault that is the Tool sound. His tone is superlative and he knows just how to lay it down amidst Carey and Jones' powerhouse onslaught (check out "The Pot" for a first-rate example of this).

Get '10,000 Days' - it's dead good. Oh, and the CD packaging is utterly superb, featuring further cosmic artwork from the totally original and very gifted, Alex Grey!!!"
-MARTY (21/04/2006)

"Under the record industry's model for success, Tool should have been dead and buried a long time ago. Whereas most bands "get it while the getting is good", releasing albums and touring to support them every year and a half or so until the public loses interest, Tool disappear from the public eye for excruciatingly long periods between albums and tours. Some critics have even joked that the new album is titled '10,000 Days' because that's how long it took them to make it - although 27-plus years is quite an exaggeration, even by Tool's standards.

Tool have defied the record industry's penchant for overexposure. They maintain their mystery by not plastering their faces all over album covers and videos, and by performing mostly in the shadows of the stage while overwhelming the audience's senses with stunning visuals and sound."
-GUITAR WORLD - MAY, 2006