Finally, we have a new album. After a long and drawn out absence, Tool have finally returned to the music scene with their eagerly anticipated 10,000 Days. Eagerly anticipated could be a bit of an understatement. Die-hard fans have been scratching themselves silly, waiting some 5 years for this album to come out. I have been pretty eager too. So, after the back-to-back brilliance of Ænima and Lateralus, how does Tool's latest offering compare?

Disappointing would be the word that immediately comes to mind. While I can genuinely say that I loved the entirety of their last two albums (except for the last tracks and that weird buzzing one on Ænima), Tool's 10,000 Days falls a bit short of the mark. For me, Vicarious and Intersection are the only two tracks that I can completely listen to and think "wow, that was an awesome piece of music". Lost Keys and Right in Two aren't half bad either. The rest are generally good but unfortunately contain moments of mediocrity. I can't stand the middle tempo-changing riff of Wings for Marie and 10,000 Days, Jambi climaxes well but the rest is just noise, and the first part of Rosetta Stoned simply bewilders me (I usually skip ahead to about 3 minutes). It still is a good album. I was just expecting more.

I've also been reading a few online reviews of 10,000 Days. There seems to be a lot of mixed reviews. I don't think the fans were expecting this kind of album. At least there appears to be some agreement on one thing - the riffs in Vicarious are awesome!

I'm going to watch them with my cousin Richard at the Apollo Hammersmith on the 13th. I hope they play a lot of their old material.