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Tool bassist Justin Chancellor has provided an update into the band’s famously-protracted album release schedule, revealing that the Los Angeles quartet will be hitting the studio following their upcoming tour of South America.
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Speaking to Summa Inferno, Chancellor explained that after Tool – whose last album arrived in 2019 – wrap up a run of March shows in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil, they plan to “dedicate the next three months after that in the studio to organizing our ideas”.
“There are a lot of stages in the process,” Chancellor continued. “We all have ideas. When they’re good, when we like them, we kind of save them or memorize them. The really difficult process is when you actually get together and make decisions about how it’s going to end up. And that becomes a little more mathematical, a little more like in the classroom — there’s a blackboard and there’s numbers and you have to make decisions. So that’s the stage we haven’t completely pulled off yet, but we’re committed to do that when we get back.”
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Noting that the band “have a really good pile of stuff” after its members shared their individual ideas with others, Chancellor noted that the next stage of the process is where things become a lot more complicated.
“You have to make those decisions, and you have to kind of wrestle with each other a bit to get to that next stage,” he explained. “And then you have to record it, which is a whole other thing as well. It’s like a pregnancy, almost. When you go to the studio, you have to make this final decision of how it’s going to sound and how you’re going to play it, and it’s going to live like that forever.”
Though Tool celebrate their 35th anniversary in 2025, their lengthy history has only brought with it a comparatively-meager five full-length records. Famously, a 13-year gap followed the release of 2006’s 10,000 Days, with fifth album Fear Inoculum giving the band their third consecutive Billboard 200 chart-topper upon its August 2019 release.
While the band were forced to contend with a long-running lawsuit that delayed the production of their most recent record, Chancellor – who joined Tool ahead of 1996’s Ænima – defended the length of time the band spends working on material.
“It’s a real delicate thing to be able to pull off,” Chancellor explained. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable that we take a long time at all. I think that’s only natural, and that’s why I’m proud of it, because it was worked on really hard.”
Tool’s Fear Inoculum record also scored the band a pair of Grammy nominations, including Best Rock Song for its title track, and Best Metal Performance for “7empest” – with the band winning the latter.
Notably, upon the release of 10-minute-and-21-second lead single “Fear Inoculum”, it became the longest song to enter the Hot 100 – dethroning David Bowie’s 2015 single “Blackstar” by 24 seconds in the process.
Tool were themselves outshone by André 3000 by almost two minutes in 2023, when his New Blue Sun album opener “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time” entered the chart at No. 90.
The Beastie Boys may have asserted there was “No Sleep till Brooklyn”, but a recent admission from Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale has indicated this may extend to Tool concerts in Pennsylvania, too.
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Speaking to Guitar Player magazine recently, Hale opened up about ten records that changed her life, specifically focusing on the impact of albums by artists such as Black Sabbath, Jeff Buckley, Alice Cooper, and even Hanson.
Another artist that she focused on was Tool, whose 2001 album Lateralus came about four years into the life of Halestorm, which she had co-founded with her brother Arejay. The record was a major success for the metal outfit, giving them their first of three consecutive appearances atop the Billboard 200, and resulting in the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for lead single “Schism”.
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For Hale, however, the record represents something of a humorous memory which can be traced back to Tool’s performance in Philadelphia in September 2001.
“My little bro Arejay was getting really good on the drums,” Hale told the publication. “He had learned Tool’s song ‘Schism’ from the radio, so I thought that I should get him the whole album for his birthday. We just devoured it. I ended up getting really into it myself. Listening to their music was just like watching a horror film.
“I had a shitty waitress job, and I got us tickets to see Tool at Hersheypark. I was so stoked. Then Arejay did something to piss off our parents, so they wouldn’t allow him to go. I thought, Okay, this could be an opportunity to ask somebody out on a date, which I did. I asked this guy Nate, and he said yes. I was like, Sweet! We didn’t have great seats, but it didn’t matter — the show was amazing. I was singing every word. Halfway through, I looked at my date and saw that he had fallen asleep — total deal-breaker for me. So in a weird way, Tool’s Lateralus was a life-changer. My brother still teases me about it: ‘I wouldn’t have fallen asleep.’”
Though Halestorm haven’t yet managed to score a support slot for the likes of Tool, the two bands have however performed on the same lineup from time to time, no doubt inspiring plenty of sly jokes between the Hale siblings.
Just two months on from the departure of longtime drummer Tim ‘Herb’ Alexander, Primus are back in the saddle ahead of impending auditions for a new percussionist.
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The band’s first show since Alexander’s final appearance in August, the performance took place as part of the band’s New Year’s Eve celebration shows at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, on Monday (Dec. 30). Opening with sets from bassist and vocalist Les Claypool‘s other bands Holy Mackerel and Frog Brigade, the main event was a six-song performance from Primus with Bryan ‘Brain’ Mantia on drums.
Mantia had previously served as the drummer of Primus in 1989, before being replaced by Alexander, who would play with the band until 1996. Following Alexander’s initial departure, Mantia returned to the kit until Primus’ split in 2000. Alexander would remain the band’s drummer for the majority of their career following a 2003 reunion, save for another absence between 2010 and 2013.
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Primus announced on Oct. 29 that Alexander had resigned suddenly on Oct. 17 via email “effective immediately”, citing a “loss of passion for playing”—a reason that Claypool and guitarist Larry LaLonde admitted “came as a complete shock.”
“On the heels of a wonderful spring & summer of touring and some fabulous plans ahead, it has been a bit bewildering for us that Herb would so abruptly opt out,” Claypool and LaLonde said.
“After several attempts to communicate with Herb, his only response was another email stating that he has ‘lost his passion for playing.’ As disappointing as that is, we respect his choice and it’s forced us to make some tough decisions.”
In the wake of Alexander’s passing, Primus announced they would be “taking submissions from all points in the universe for the position of Primus drummer/percussionist”. They added: “Flashy chops are wonderful, but groove, pocket, and the ability to listen, react, and contribute to the musical conversation is a must.”
The band took to social media again in late December to warn applicants of scammers who had begun contacting hopeful applicants ahead of in-person auditions taking place.
“It is our duty here in the Primus camp to at least give a ‘heads up’ as it were, to those who may be duped by these sad individuals who are obviously struggling with their own insecurities and shriveled genitalia,” the band wrote.
Currently, Primus are scheduled to be joined by Tool‘s Danny Carey for festival dates in the Dominican Republic in March, with a joint tour alongside Puscifer and A Perfect Circle set to launch in April.
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