Tool are not known for moving quickly when it comes to new music. Still, Adam Jones and Maynard James Keenan have suggested the band’s next album could come together in 2026.
During a recent appearance on Loudwire Nights podcast, the bandmates were asked about Tool’s plans for next year.
“Writing, I guess,” replied Keenan, before jokingly turning to Jones. “You guys are busy, Adam?”
“We want to get another record out and play, do what we do,” the guitarist confirmed. “The three of us [myself, drummer Danny Carey, and bassist Justin Chancellor] have been jamming. I don’t know if you go, ‘Oh, the writing process has started.’ It’s always there. Between preparing for an upcoming tour or whatever we’re doing, there’s points where someone goes, ‘Oh, I got this and I got this.’ But I think we’re going to dive deep soon.”
Tool’s last album, 2019’s Fear Inoculum, was a critical and commercial success, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and earning the band a Grammy. Naturally, Tool’s passionate fanbase have anxiously been awaiting word on more new music especially considering Fear Inoculu was 13 years in the making.
During the Loudwire conversation, Keenan noted that one of Jones’ new riffs sounds like Black Sabbath.
“I’ll probably bug those guys again about trying to turn that into a future Tool song,” Jones admitted. “I’ve got lots of riffs, we put them together, tear them apart and try to make something that we’re all into.”
While fans await further hints regarding new material, Tool will wrap up 2025 with a handful of performances, including shows in Japan and their first concert appearances in Hawaii in nearly 15 years.