Disclaimer: These are just my interpretations of the music. Nobody really knows what anything Tool makes means, but they like to pretend they do to sound smart! ( like watching a David Lynch film.)
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So, I gave this album a couple of listens. Let me just cut to the chase and say I LOVE IT!!

Tool grows and changes with each album, but yet with each released there is a sense of continuity, as if all of them are part of a story. Many sounds and textures within the instrumentation make recurring appearances throughout all of them, yet with new twists. This also applies to the meanings of the songs themselves. Furthermore, in the music videos too. There are recurring images. ( Is all of this sounding like Star Wars?) For example, with each album, the accompanying videos usually share the same color scheme and moods. Certain images make recurring appearances too, even in videos from separate albums, like images of weird creatures mutilating themselves, others, and going through transformations. (What did you say? "EEEWWWWWWW!!") Well, I think these images metaphorically represent growth and change. Think of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly and you get the idea. Growth, change, and improvement in the self (and society, if you choose to think that way) doesn't come without struggle and pain, biologically, mentally, and spiritually. I'll connect this to Star Wars somehow: According to Jung, many cultures have "universal archetypes" that recur throughout their mythologies. One of these things is death and rebirth. Many times, this involves bodily dismemberment and mutilation. In Egyptian myth, Osiris gets chopped up by his evil brother Set and gets sent down the river. Then his wife (and sister! Gross!) Isis, puts him back together and he is reborn. This happens in SW. Anakin gets injured, then resurrected by Vader. Han Solo gets frozen in carbonite. Threepio gets dismembered and put back together multiple times. This all relates to the individual journeys of each character, as elaborated upon by Joseph Campbell in his books on the role of Mythic storytelling in the worlds cultures. (He was also a freind of Papa George.)

The Songs, and Interpretations

(the lyrics in the links provided may not be 100% correct.)


1. Vicarious (7:06)- First single. Music video is sure to follow. This song is about the role the mass media plays in our lives, and how we live "vicariously" through it. This album is definitely more direct than usual for Tool. It isn't the first time, but in the past they have been quite esoteric. The lyrics on this album are more straightforward. They deal with current events. Many bands are doing this (always have in the past, always will in the future.) teh_dude said the same thing in his review for the new Pearl Jam album.

2. Jambi (7:28)- Ooookay. Remember when I said this album isn't as "esoteric"? I was wrong. I don't really know what this song is about. But, the instrumentation itself is very much more "metal" than expected from Tool. It has some of that "JUN JUN JUN" palm-muting stuff common in metal music. But, Tool isn't exactly a metal band. Far from it, in my opinion.

3. Wings for Marie, pt. 1 ( 6:11)- I believe this song is about Maynard Keenan's mother. She died after the release of the last album. (so it is said... remember, Maynard is very private.) This song is very personal. It is sad and beatiful, yet with anger. Maynard has said in the past that he grew up in the Southern Baptist faith, which he became disillusioned with when young. Much of this is because of the way the other members of the church acted like when his mother fell on hard times.

4. 10,000 Days-Wings pt.2 (11:13)- This is the "sequel" to the preceding song. I did some research on the lyrics. One of the popular interpretations is that it is about his mother. She was paralyzed for 27 years. When she first became paralyzed, it seemed to Maynard that the other members of the church betrayed her. They stopped seeing her, and it seemed to Maynard they were blaming his mother for her condition because she didn't believe in God strong enough, even though she was very religious. Yet again, this is speculative. And if you multiply 27 by 365 (days in the year), it equals 9,885. Roughly 10,000. So, it is quite possible the album is dedicated to his mother.
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This blog is too long. I just decided to make a Part III! (Later tonight. It is beautiful outside and I want to get off the computer.)