The February newsletter is now up on Toolband/Toolarmy and it’s a somewhat revealing one:

• Tool are in the process or writing new material., though Blair personally hasn’t heard any.
• Joe Baressi has, which suggests to me he’s probably going to engineer the album again.
• Adam has a new pedal he’s been playing around with, and this may or may not feature.
• Danny has some new percussion instruments, and they definitely don’t have a water bong in the room.
• The cover from the mini tour was from the band The God Machine, and it wasn’t played because a member of the band had recently passed away (a friend of Justins)
• Apparently the male doctors voice on Lost Keys is the bands manager, not Justin as has been suggested to me in the past.  The man in question, Pete Riedling if I remember correctly is an Australian.
• The Big Thing is the website updates.  It will happen sometime in the future.  My sources tell me around September.

It’s an interesting read, a mini-FAQ in some ways and I suggest you all take a look.

Thanks to Nathan for the tip!

Blair just made a quick update on Toolband & Toolarmy:

Danny will be attending tonight’s battle between the KU Jayhawks and Texas Longhorns in Austin, along with the band’s favorite Texas Ranger. And before boarding the Silver Dillo(?), "yes", that was Paola Kansas transplant Carey eating Texas barbecue with Texas-style rubs and seasonings at Iron Works BBQ this afternoon. Barbecue blasphemy some from the Sunflower State might say. At any rate, Tool’s drummer will return to L.A. tomorrow, so that possibly the ‘process’ can begin in earnest on Wednesday…

Hopefully the ’process’ is what we hope it is…

According to a recent Blabbermouth post, Maynard shouldn’t necessarily be blamed for the lack of Tool action:

"I can’t sit still, so when those guys hesitate, it takes us so long to do stuff, and it’s like a snake eating its own tail situation, ’cause then I get distracted and I go off and do a thing, and then I get blamed for not being around to do the (TOOL) thing," he said. "But nothing was getting done when I was standing there, so I got bored and left. It’s just an endless cycle."

Sounds fair to me.  It’s been pretty clear that Tool is a team effort for a long while, and singling out any one member for a lack of a new album is a little harsh…

I stumbled across this extremely short interview with Danny by Artisan News Services on Youtube, where he mentions briefly that they might start writing a new album this year.  Skip to about 1:20 for the 10 seconds or so of actual DC interview (the rest is just filler).

To be honest, it doesn’t say much, and the article is making a bigger deal of this than it really is, but it’s comforting to know that at least there are plans to get stuck into things, hopefully soon!

As fact, rumour and innuendo start to dribble in about the new Tool album, I thought I’d start a new page containing all known information.  At the moment, it doesn’t have much, but obviously as time progresses, more and more info will appear.  If anyone has any news I haven’t heard, or I’ve just plain missed something, let me know and I’ll make sure it gets up on the page.

It has been confirmed that Tool are planning on recording a followup to their last album 10,000 Days.  While little is know about the album at this stage, this page is a collection of all know facts and rumours surrounding the album.

Facts

• Blair on Toolarmy – Adam and Justin started playing what I BELIEVE was part of a new Tool arrangement (NOT to be played on this tour), with what little I heard being somewhat reminiscent of "Wings", having some fairly complex chord progressions.
• Adam at Doctors Without Border fundraiser – we are in the finishing aspects of the writing process for the new album.
• Danny mentions in a short Youtube interview (see 1:20) that they might start writing soon, but aren’t rushing things.
• February 2010 Newsletter revealed that writing has commenced.

Rumours/Speculation

• Recording for the album will most likely be in mid 2010
• Expect a release somewhere in late 2010 or early 2011
• A post on Toolshed suggests that "Lots of rumors are being posted online about a new Tool record, but it is important to remember that in years past, there have always been interviews with band members saying "we’re writing some new music", often more than a year before an album gets released. For what it’s worth, a recent conversation I had with one of them left me feeling that it might be a little while yet".  From memory Kabir at Toolshed has mentioned he speaks with Maynard semi-regularly.
• February 2010 Newsletter suggested that Joe Baressi might be involved again.

Old/Obsolete Updates

• According to Toolband the ‘process’ should start later this month.  No confirmation what this ‘process’ is, however the assumption is that it’s songwriting.

Updated 4-March-2010

dustinspoly from Toolarmy also headed along to the recent Doctors Without Borders fundraiser, and he took the opportunity to as Adam a couple of questions we’re all dieing to know the answer to:

Why don’t they do H, 3rd Eye, Prison Sex or Hooker with a Penis live anymore?

AJ: Because Maynard picks the set list he feels comfortable with singing.

What music video they’re working on?

AJ: I am working on a new music video for Tool.  No more CGI it was a pain in the ass.

What was your favorite video out of all the Tool videos you created?

AJ: I like them all.

My favorite was Parabola

AJ: I love that one too it was a challenge to build the forest that Tricky was walking through.

What song is the new video going to be for?

AJ: I wish I could say but I am sworn to keep it on the hush until it’s done. But you will love it… I am doing some amazing special effect work on it.

Anything interesting he mention about the live shows?

AJ: A couple new visuals added for the mini tour…

Are the future projects Tool related or Adam solo projects?

AJ: We are in the finishing aspects of the writing process for the new album.

Will this be your last tour?

AJ: No way we love touring.

Thanks to Bellami for letting me know about the post on Toolarmy.