I like Tool when they are in their melancholic mood but at times I long for a blast of distortion to keep things interesting. 'Right In Two' has a similar rhythm, slow and patient with soft vocals. The guitar is beautiful on this song, understated and melodic. It builds to more power until the melodic vocals return. When the rhythms stop a lone guitar echoes in the night, before a bass joins and then percussion. It is one of the quietest moments on the album, but threatens to break out any moment. The bass emanates nicely and there are harmonised vocals, so effectively layered over. 'Intension' follows on with a weird intro of shifting glass and leaves with an stoned atmosphere of loneliness, and the air is intense with whispered rage. The last three tracks are linked well making the album culminate in some intricate riffs and time sigs. One of the best tracks on the album without a doubt. The polyrhythmic riffs are mesmirising and inspiring, and the bassline solo on this is incredible. It builds eventually to the zinging guitar effects done by slashing a pick over the strings, and an excellent time sig change moves the track into a new direction. A very weird vocal is soon heard, overlayed growls and phased vocals enhance the ominous atmosphere. This is an 11 minute prog metal blaster, with chunky riffs and speed rapping. We hear his breathing and then the band launch into 'Rosetta Stoned'. They have a patient who is experiencing some kind of catatonic state. A nurse's voice converses with a doctor about a situation of concern. It is dominated with sustained lead notes feeling very dark and downbeat. It is a transition into 'Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)', a track that really made me sit up and take notice when I first heard this album years ago. 'Lipan Conjuring' is one of the short Tool tracks with tribal vocal intonations and a mystical percussion feel with some guitar. Keenan's guitar is interminably locked into a D minor pentatonic scale but it is recognizable as trademark Tool, and the sound really haunts well after the album is over. I like the pulsing riff that locks in at the end as a snarling guitar blasts over it is an enduring track. The melody on this is more accessible than previous track and has the repeated phrase 'you must have been high'. The tribal percussion and strange guitar effect is soon joined by a chugging riff, as heavy as distortion can get. 'The Pot' is next beginning with a capella vocals 'who are you to wave your finger you must have been out of your head'. It gets heavier at the end until the whispered portentous vocals 'never lived a life, never took a life', capping of a masterful track. The lead break has sustained feedback and some wonderful string bends with soaring elegance. It breaks into a loud instrumental break powered by phased guitar and a vibrant bassline. It kind of sits on the one note musically but is very effective with its brooding atmosphere. It builds with looming menace as the thunder gets closer and some violining guitar swirls, sounding like Pink Floyd's 'Empty Spaces'.Д®ventually loud thunder crashes lead to a fast hypnotic motif and some more forced vocals. The clean low key vocals speak of a river, the tales of a saviour, trials and tribulations, 'a congregation gather round spewing sympathy, spare me', and 'blinded by choices' you are 'safely on your way'. This is a masterful track beginning with stormy distant thunder and a guitar picking phrase. '10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)' is where the complex musicianship really comes into effect and all in 11 glorious minutes. Justin Chancellor's bass drones menacingly and then the percussion explosion of Danny Carey augments the chilling soundscape. On 'Wings for Marie (Pt 1)' the droning ambience of layered guitars and extended vocal intonations are ethereal and atmospheric. Tool have a relentless rhythmic pace that is familiar to all Toolaholics, from previous albums 'Aenima' and 'Lateralus.' The angular guitar phrases and odd time signatures are a key feature and the dark lyrics sung with so much passion by Maynard James Keenan. The lead breaks are as well executed as the distorted riffs, such as the wah-wah vocoder effects of Adam Jones' lead guitar on 'Jambi'. The attitude of the band has always been to attack at the jugular vein of society and reveal the uglier side of humanity. It begins with a blast of riffing elegance on 'Vicarious' with the Tool signature sound, razor edge riffs and emotive raspy vocals that echo more anger than the average screamer. The riffs are like machines in factories churning out iconic metal prog, check out that machine gun attacks on 'Jambi' for example. Tool blaze a trail of glory on '10, 000 Days' with raucous metal riffing precision and powerful song structures. A psycho-drama of technical riffing and atmospheric gloom.

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