Tool Bassist Delivers Good News on Upcoming Album Audio Ink Radio

Tool Bassist Delivers Good News on Upcoming Album

2025-02-16

For those waiting for a new batch of Tool songs, Tool bass player Justin Chancellor is giving some positive news about new music. – Author: Cat Badra, Photo via Tim Cadiente

For those waiting for a new batch of Tool songs, it may seem like it’s been taking forever. Not that it’s anything new for the Maynard James Keenan-fronted project. They often take their time between releases, but it’s also more often than not worth the wait, so nobody should be complaining.

Now, Tool bass player Justin Chancellor has given a positive update about new music from Tool. Their upcoming studio album will mark the band’s follow-up to 2019’s “Fear Inoculum,” their fifth studio album.

Justin Chancellor Says Tool Are Planning to ‘Dedicate the Next Three Months’ to New Music

In a February 14 interview with Summa Inferno, Chancellor discussed the state of Tool’s new album and gave some good news that new music is coming together as we speak. After the band’s upcoming Latin American tour, the bass player said the band is planning to “dedicate the next three months” to getting their ideas together in the studio.

Chancellor told Summa Inferno that the process of creating the new album has “a lot of stages” and that Tool’s band members “all have ideas” and have “shared our individual ideas with each other, and we have a really good pile of stuff.”

That doesn’t mean to expect a new album from Tool tomorrow. These things take time, and Chancellor described what it’s like for Tool to work on new music in the later stages.

“The really difficult process is when you actually get together and make decisions about how it’s going to end up,” he said. “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.”

He added that he’s talking about “the stage we haven’t completely pulled off yet, but we’re committed to do that when we get back.”

It’s great to hear that Chancellor and the band are “committed” to get this new album rolling after their Latin American tour. That trek will set off in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, in March with the band’s Tool Live in the Sand festival.

Why Tool Takes So Long to Create Music

Chancellor also discussed the fact that Tool take so long to make new music and stood up for their lengthy music-making process.

“It’s a real delicate thing to be able to pull off,” he stated. “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.”

Chancellor also hinted that Tool might released the new music a different way than via a traditional album, which is pretty outdated. He explained that “the climate of releasing music has completely changed” and because of that, “We’ve talked about releasing a single, just one song… We could also release an EP. And I think because we have such a dedicated fan base, everyone’s gonna be up for it.”

He added, “So, we might not necessarily have to really wrestle out a whole album… Or you could release a single and then another single, another single, and then after a year of releasing singles, you could put them all together on a record and make that an album.”

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.

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