10 Best Number One Rock Albums Of The 2010s
3. Fear Inoculum - Tool
There have been a few albums on this list that came after lengthy gaps in an artist's output, but none of them come close to the 13 years Tool fans had to wait between the release of 10,000 Days and Fear Inoculum.
The much-cherished alt-rock icons had been promising an album for some time before just about sneaking into the 2010s with this August 2019 release. Was it worth the wait? Well, the album went to number one in September, dethroning Taylor Swift to do so.
So, yeah? Kind of?
As for the music itself, it's more of the same from the immaculate craftsmen of progressive metal.
More long songs (there's only one song on the whole record that isn't over 10 minutes, and even that's nearly five), more intricate melodies and calculated bass lines, more smooth-as-silk singing from Maynard James Keenan. Basically, Tool hadn't lost a single step, despite their mammoth hiatus.
It had been a long journey, one that many thought they'd never see the conclusion of, but Tool were back, and back to their best.
Fingers crossed they release something else earlier than 2032.