Around about this time every year, Australian festival promoters release details on the lineups for their summer music festivals. One of these is the popular rock/metal festival Soundwave 2016. Tool, being regular Australian tourists routinely get mentioned as a possible headline act for these festivals. Since the release of 10,000 Days, Tool have headlined the Big Day Out Festival twice, as well as a headlining tour following a Japanese Ozzfest date.
With Soundwave announcements around the corner, I thought I’d investigate the possibility of Tool, or related acts appearing on next years lineup.
Many of you who have read the August 2015 Newsletter will be aware that Tool, Breck and Junior are working on a new stage production designed specifically for festivals. While it seems likely Tool will play plenty of these in the long term, in isolation it seems a little strange that they’d do this with just one festival show on the cards – Monster Mash in Arizona. The Australian Festival circuit would seem to be a good opportunity for the band to further refine this stage before touring it on a large scale off the back of a new album. Junior elaborates a little on the festival production plans in a post he made on Toolnavy.
The obvious obstacle here is that Tool don’t appear to have a new album ready, and it seems increasingly unlikely that they will be recording this year. Will Australian fans support Tool for a fourth time around without a new album? Aussie fans are some of the most loyal in the world, but I’d expect enthusiasm levels would be lower than normal without some new material. A new lighting rig may excite a few of us die hards, but perhaps not the more casual fans out there.
I have had it suggested to me by a reliable source recently that the next Tool shows might be a bit closer to my neck of the woods. Will this pan out? With a Soundwave announcement expected in the next month or so, we will know for sure soon enough.
What we do already know is that Failure will be playing at Soundwave 2016. I’d also consider Puscifer could be a candidate as well. We know Puscifer have a new album out in October, with a tour US to follow, and that they have played Soundwave in 2013 as a double header of sorts with A Perfect Circle. Perhaps this time around we might see both Tool and Puscifer playing at Soundwave in 2016.
Ye have little faith, I could be on the money here and it may cost you a beer hellboy…. or at least half a glass full
If Tool do play, the beer will be on me. Which Soundwave would you be likely to attend?
Sydney – already got a ticket!
Sounds like a plan – if Tool does play then keep in touch!
I’ll go if they do play but I’m actually hoping they come back down under next summer with a new album under the belt. The shows are well worth the money but the $$ are adding up yo!
I imagine Tool would tour Oz at least 6 times after the release of the new album!
The band members should be denied access to Australian soil until they have released a new album.