We're approaching five years since Tool released their long-awaited 2019 record Fear Inoculum, which of course means that everyone is asking when new Tool is coming out. Bassist Justin Chancellor has made it known that Tool is diligently working on new material, while vocalist Maynard James Keenan prefers not to comment until the band is much further along in the creative process.
Now drummer Danny Carey has piped up in an interview with Revolver, saying Tool is feeling a newfound sense of freedom in a post-record label world. "We're free agents now, [that Fear Inoculum is out]" he said. "We aren't signed to a label anymore. We are free to do whatever we want."
So what does Tool want? Carey said they're not exactly sure, but everyone's keeping an open mind about things right now. "Who knows? It could flip-flop and we could just go back to doing an Undertow [type of] record of shorter songs. That's kind of appealing to me. I always like change, whatever direction it goes." He later added that everyone's pitching in new ideas and that "it's going well so far."
As for the Undertow comment, the average Tool song back then was roughly five or five-and-a-half minutes. As opposed to Fear Inoculum, whose non-interlude songs all exceeded 10 minutes – "7empest" was damn near 16 minutes.
Carey also talked a little about Tool's creative process, addressing the fact that new music takes time but that everyone in the band is very happy with the end result.
"Our filter system is pretty intense. If it gets by the four of us in the band, then we figure it's going to work," he said. "It's a really painstaking process that we go through to finish [an album], and get it where we are all completely convicted. It pays off in the long run because we never really get tired of performing our songs. It gives rise to a vehicle that we can all believe in."
Tool will hit the road in North America with Elder starting tomorrow. Get your tickets here.
1/10 Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena
1/12 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
1/13 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
1/18 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
1/19 Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood
1/21 Charlotte, NC Spectrum Center
1/23 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
1/24 Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena
1/26 Birmingham, AL The Legacy Arena at The BJCC
1/27 Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum
1/30 Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
1/31 Austin, TX Moody Center
2/2 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
2/3 Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center
2/5 Denver, CO Ball Arena
2/7 El Paso, TX UTEP Don Haskins Center
2/9 Phoenix, AZ Footprint Center
2/10 Phoenix, AZ Footprint Center
2/12 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
2/14 Los Angeles, CA Crypto.com Arena
2/15 Los Angeles, CA Crypto.com Arena
2/17 Ontario, CA Toyota Arena
2/18 Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
