I have studied the works of Crowley, McKenna, Peterson. I have listened to music, and I have done drugs, and I have often combined the two.
10,000 Days will make you trip out like crazy. A lot of people say you can't make music in old age but Tool proved that wrong. Maynard is still pissed, spreading his message of giving up fear. Adam Jones is laying down some heavy beastly riffs. Danny Carey sounds like I'm doing mathematic equations. And the bass is also very very cool, like a cucumber. Imagine a cucumber on DMT. Refreshing, like the width and depth of Tool's music. In a modern consumerist world it is great to have prophets spreading the word.
"The Pot" is aptly titled. It is like a boiling pot of good riffs, good bass, good drums, good vocals, wacked out mathematic guitars. But obviously there is another connotation there. This song is a bold yet tasteful reference to marijuana, THC. The sticky stuff. Maui wowie. You know it. Cheech and Chong. This song grooves so intensely it even made it on the radio. One of the rare instances of society embracing something intelligent.
Another song here is "Rosetta Stoned." Many know Rosetta Stone as the language learning program. Well, Tool was quite aware of this. Maynard represents the trickster in Pagan and maybe Kaballah too. He is the tarot reader who farts in your face while you're hypnotized. Much like the real Rosetta Stone teaches us languages, Tool uses this song to teach us the language of THC. And aside from a great message, it is also a rocking track, providing some powerful music for our ears and our brains.
A less known highlight on this album is "Vicarious." Wow, this is dark and evil, or so it seems. Juxtaposition is another trick of the jester known as Maynard. Beneath the dark is the light. Think about it. No, this song is not about marijuana. You have to listen deeply to get this. Living vicariously is bad for us. Maynard tells us to go our own way.
10,000 Days is another trippy outing by Tool. These songs I just mentioned are but a few of the many highlights of this tour de force. If you think Tool was best left in the 90s, think about this: Maynard makes wine. Wine matures with age. Tool is wine.
