Tool; the band that’s known for their surreal music videos; songs containing deep, intricate, (and often laced with humor) lyrics; and large time gaps in between album releases. 10,000 days was released back in 2006 and is their most recent release; featuring the well known tracks of Vicarious (Grammy nominated), The Pot, Jambi, and the nearly 11 minute Rosetta Stoned.

Currently they have 4 studio albums, one EP, and one special box set album which had a limited release. This album has some alternate intros to the songs ‘Pushit’ and ‘Third Eye’. Along with some additional formally unreleased tracks, and some live versions of some of their songs. This also includes a live cover of the Led Zeppelin song ‘No Quarter’.

Another thing they’re known for is their absolute die hard fans. Tool has been going through a near decade long lawsuit over copyrights on artwork, and it was finally resolved recently; freeing up their more of their time to work on new music. Their lead singer, Maynard James Kennan, is also involved in some side projects. Predominantly with his band Puscifer, along with making his own wine.

The abrasive fan base has been demanding a new album for years. With the constant badgering, Kennan has been known to not really want to get vocal about Tool really at all. Let alone put as much effort in in pushing out a 5th album. I myself am a huge fan of them (seen them live twice); they’re my favorite band after all. I too have also been a little guilty of posting the occasional ‘waiting for the new Tool album’ memes. But I do it in good taste as I still highly respect the band.

As much as I would love to see a brand new Tool album, I’ll always be fully content with the gifts these musical legends have already bestowed to us. Think about it, their average album length is around 70-80 minutes. The average length of the the CD’s I own (nearly 100) are around 40-50 minutes in length. So even though they have only release 4 full length albums since 1992, they overall have given us 7-8 regular albums worth of total content.

With the large time frame between releases, you’re also getting a lot more quality in the music, and album packaging. They are known to be perfectionists in their craft. The music they currently have is fantastic, and actually gets better with each listen! It’s such unique music, and no other band sounds quite like Tool. So many other fans bitch that we’ve been waiting a long time for new music; that they owe it to us.

In reality, they don’t owe us shit. It’s their music. People who are true fans of the group, and not band-wagoners, will (and should) always appreciate what we have currently. It’d be wrong for fans to take Tool for granted as very few bands have come along, and given us the same musical experience. So take those albums you have from them, keep on listening, and give the band some time to do their thing. Perhaps then, they’ll gift us with another masterpiece.