Tool - 10,000 Days [2006]

Did I mention I love Tool? Anyway. "10,000 Days" is the most recent album from them (even though it was released five years ago). This piece of work further continues Tool's trend of becoming more progressive, with the overall sound of this album showing influences from Maynard Keenan's side-project: A Perfect Circle.

Oddly, some of the tracks on this album divide fans. The 11-minute title track is dismissed by some as 'a whole lot of nothing', whereas others (myself included) consider it among the album's strongest tracks, owing much to the atmosphere it creates. However, with straight-up metal songs such as "The Pot" and "Vicarious", most fans agree that the Tool machine is still going strong, even if the album's final two songs aren't really anything special. Definitely worth checking out if you liked "Lateralus".

M4a, ~320 kbps (VBR)

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Tool - Lateralus [2001]

I LOVE Tool. If you're even remotely in to prog metal, you'll have heard of "Lateralus", if not just for the frankly hilarious amount of conspiracies surrounding it. Get past all that though, and what you end up with it an amazingly constructed, surprisingly tight piece of progressive metal.

Further shedding the grittiness of "Undertow", this album is big on complexity, such as a fibonacci sequence in the lyrics of the title track, multiple time signature changes and some riffs which make you rewind to make sure you got everything. I can certainly understand why this album is considered a classic and the definitive Tool album, but I personally think Ænima is a better experience.

Mp3, 256 kbps

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Tool - Ænima [1996]

I love Tool. And "Ænima" is by far my favourite album of theirs. Much like its predecessor, this album provides solid heavy tracks combined with longer pieces (now showing clear evidence of progressive influences, mainly of King Crimson (another discography for another time)). Also interesting to note is the more 'industrial' sound of this album, from the screeching guitars on "Hooker With A Penis" to the metallic scraping on "Die Eier Von Satan".

However, what this album did which "Undertow" did not is flow. Don't get me wrong, the tracks on "Undertow" are great, but that's just what they were. Tracks. "Ænima", on the other hand, felt like it was composed as an album. Each track leads brilliantly into the next, enhancing the overall experience by untold amounts. This doesn't mean the songs themselves aren't good, though. Favourites of mine are "Hooker With A Penis" and "Third Eye" (both prime examples of the short song / long song duality of the album).

Mp3, 256 kbps

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Tool - Undertow [1993]

I love Tool. They're my favourite progressive metal band, if we're not counting Iron Maiden's recent years. Although the three albums following this, their debut, were more interesting musically, "Undertow" still provides an experience which is as satisfying and intelligent as it is angsty and delightfully jarring.

This album is a combination of extended pieces (a-la "Bottom" and "Flood") and shorter, more 'commercial' songs - well, about as commercial as songs about getting raped as a child can be. And although this album was already very progressive, there was still a very strong, gritty feeling of 'fuck you' that would slowly fade on Tool's more recent efforts, and as a result this album will sit well with those who aren't necessarily that keen on progressive music.

Mp3, 192 kbps

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