10,000 Days
by Tool
  • Record Label: Volcano
  • Release Date: May 2, 2006
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. Alternative Press
    100
    As with everything in Tool's oeuvre, 10,000 Days packs enough beauty, heartache and triumph that it will be dissected, studied and envied by younger bands for years to come. [Jul 2006, p.196]
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  2. AllMusic
    80
    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.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    80
    It's probably the most engagingly brilliant heavy metal album that'll be released on a major label all year.
  5. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    It's clear this group have ways of getting beneath your skin. [20 May 2006, p.33]
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  6. E! Online
    75
    Sounds exactly like you would expect a Tool album to sound.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    75
    If "10,000 Days" lacks the absolute intensity and focus of 2001's "Lateralus," the new album at least stands as a stirring repeat of the Tool musical manifesto. [6 May 2006]
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  8. Rolling Stone
    70
    On 10,000 Days... Tool maintain a level of craftsmanship and virtuosity unparalleled in metal. [15 Jun 2006, p.92]
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  9. Spin
    70
    Essentially a synthesis of the various phases of the band's career. [Jul 2006, p.85]
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  10. Amazon.com
    60
    When Tool sounds as good as it does on ["Jambi" and "The Pot"] it's hard to get enough. Which makes it all the more baffling that a surprisingly large chunk of the disc is given over to mood-enhancing soundscapes like "Lost Keys" and "Vigniti Tres."
  11. PopMatters
    60
    Stupendously packaged, the music robustly mixed and often achieving new levels of bleak beauty, 10,000 Days is too strong a work to call a disappointment, but the constant need to fill out a CD to 75-80 minutes is threatening to become the band’s undoing.
  12. Billboard
    60
    The entire record is a disquieting trip.
  13. cokemachineglow
    60
    Neither funny nor thought-provoking, the band strains for touchstones beyond the technicality of prog-metal and rarely achieves them.
  14. Tiny Mix Tapes
    60
    I, myself, will likely revisit 10,000 Days for plenty of extended listens, partly because I'm a percussion whore and partly because I want to be able to enjoy it with my Super Metal Friendz. But this is Soy Tool, a rubbery substitute for the real thing.
  15. Uncut
    60
    As daunting as its title suggests. [Jul 2006, p.114]
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  16. Blender
    60
    It presumably adds up to Something Important, but good luck deciphering what. [Jul 2006, p.103]
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  17. Pitchfork
    59
    Rather than delving further into experimentation or exploring their strengths, Tool have made an...A Perfect Circle record.
  18. NOW Magazine
    50
    10,000 Days sounds messy and poorly paced.
  19. Austin Chronicle
    50
    Nothing here to best the hungry creativity of Aenema's "Eulogy" or Lateralus' "The Grudge," which is particularly frustrating given that drummer Danny Carey dazzles again.
  20. Stylus Magazine
    33
    "Progressive" doesn’t mean clocking in at over seven minutes no matter what. It doesn’t mean hitting every goddamn skin, tom-tom, and cowbell on your drum set. Being "Progressive" doesn’t justify an album cover that looks like a stoner stumbled upon a documentary on Mayan civilization. I’m not sure, but I think "Progressive" is about growth and change.

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Most Discussed Album of 2006
18
#18 Most Shared Album of 2006

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 517 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 440 out of 517
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 517
  3. Negative: 43 out of 517
  1. MattO
    May 1, 2008
    10
    It's safe to say that most of these critics probably spend too much time judging the "quality" and "ability" of several genres; in doing It's safe to say that most of these critics probably spend too much time judging the "quality" and "ability" of several genres; in doing so, I think they somewhat lose their perception on what is inspirational. Songs aren't meant to be a "ballad of the moment." Songs are supposed to move people, motivating them to become something more than themselves. If you ask me, the critics are all on pot, not the listeners. They are on something else entirely. One of my favorite albums of all time, and I've listened to far too many different genres, from Kenny Rogers' "First Edition" to "all the damn Li'l's in rap music today."… Full Review »
  2. MikeP
    Apr 21, 2008
    5
    Your comments are meaningless ..beware the new world order.
  3. RichardG
    Oct 21, 2006
    3
    I find it laughable that people clamour to tool, like a flock of mindless sheep.
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