With most songs clocking in over six minutes, the exercises in songwriting wouldn't work as well with any other band. Most of the songs are a bit long in the tooth when compared to most metal songs these days, but then again, Tool isn't exactly just another band, either. In a way, it's voyeuristic to listen to someone working out family issues on disc, but Keenan does it in a way that's sensitive and honest without ever treading the careful line between melodrama and sincerity. The 17-minute epic 'Wings for Marie/10,000 Days' is an ode to his mother, who passed away during the band's hiatus after dealing with paralysis from a stroke for 27 years. The album starts out with 'Vicarious,' which features some of Maynard's most straightforward lyrics since Ænema's 'Hooker with a Penis.' Essentially a biting commentary on reality television, information stimulus overload, and living through others' experiences, it's only a brief glimpse of what's to come, as 10,000 Days also offers some of Keenan's most confessional lyrics. It's not only a step forward for the band, but a re-embracing of the epic-length rock songs found at the roots of early heavy metal. Thankfully, 10,000 Days was worth the labor pains and wait to deliver. The group defied expectations (and even got radio airplay) with Lateralus, but would fans stick with them during the hiatus? There were moments when Maynard James Keenan would emerge courtesy of A Perfect Circle, and there were also several stunning video DVDs to pacify while 10,000 Days was being written, along with cryptic messages via their website, but that was about it. Namely: a lot can happen in five years, especially with a fickle rock audience that is overinundated with constant new bands' songs. But with this absence comes changes to the popular music landscape, as new bands and sounds (as well as a new generation of heavy metal fans to entertain) replace and stimulate the charts. This ability to patiently craft their musical direction has paid off for not only the band, but for listeners, as they've been able to expand their musical vocabulary from album to album with great precision, all the while remaining true to the foundations that built such a loyal, if not cult-like, following. Thankfully, Tool has somehow managed to circumvent these rituals, releasing a record every four to five years as they so feel the need. In an age where major labels dictate that new releases from bands appear on record store shelves every 18 months or so, rare is the artist given freedom and ability to reflect and stretch out to explore creative evolution and release music as an artist, rather than the prepackaged predictability of an entertainer. Boast about the day when the rivers overrun. Listen to the tales and romanticize, How we’d follow the path of the hero.

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