re: Lateralus

When I first listed to 10,000 Days, I was fairly disappointed. I listened to the entire album and felt that there was too much filler noise and not enough incredible songs.

Of course, Vicarious and Jambi were solid. No doubt. But the rest of the album seemed like unnecessary noise.

I spent a few months just listening to Vicarious, Jambi, and The Pot on repeat until I wore myself out. I put the album away and didn't listen to it for at least half a year. This is my normal habit when Tool releases a new album.

Then, one day I was driving from Springfield, MO to St. Louis, MO - a 3 1/2 hour trip. I scrolled thru my playlist and noticed Tool. I thought to myself, "I haven't listened to Tool for a while...I'm in a Tool sort of mood."

First I put on Opiate for some immediate rock agression. Those 6 songs flew by quickly, and I started to listen to Lateralus.

By that point, I got to the point where I hated knowing what song would come next, so I put the Tool playlist on shuffle.

The moment I put the playlist on shuffle, "Rosetta Stoned" began to play. It was like I was hearing an incredible Tool song for the first time! Super progressive, super strange, full blown testosterone driven...it was a magical moment for me. I'd never heard this song, or at least I never listened to it from beginning to end.

How did I miss "Rosetta Stoned" when I first bought 10,000 Days? I was convinced that when I first purchased the album, the "filler noise" between Jambi and The Pot so aggravated me that I failed to give the second half of the album proper attention.

This song was INCREDIBLE! I put "Rosetta Stoned" on repeat and listened to it the entire trip to St. Louis, with each listen it only got better.

By the time I arrived in St. Louis, I was convinced that 10,000 Days contained Tool's best work to date.

The filler noise was Tool's way to test their true fans. The filler noise was their way to troll sidewalk listeners and to reward the patient.

We can debate all day long which Tool album is the best. And everyone makes legit arguments for their choice because all of their albums are great.

I just can't take anyone serious when they claim that 10,000 Days is weak. The song "Rosetta Stoned" alone destroys most of their previous effort. It's in a completely different universe of awesome.

I've found that people who claim that 10,000 Days sucks haven't listened to all of the songs from beginning to end. I've also met many Tool fans who claimed the same thing, and then I played Rosetta Stoned and the song blew their minds...which confirmed my suspicions.