Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has reacted to his bandmate Justin Chancellor stating that Tool are ‘90% there’ when it comes to the music on their new album.
Reddit user Conrpnc recapped MetalSucks‘ new podcast interview with Tool bassist Justin Chancellor.
Great interview. It’s short and Justin’s interview starts around the 12 min mark. I recommend a listen. For those at work I’ll paraphrase some of the major takeaways I got from it:
He says they really reached a new level together on this tour. This statement mostly seems to relate to their interpersonal relationships in that they really enjoyed being around each other.
- He says they’re really ready to work on the album when they get back from the tour and just “bang it out”.
- He estimates 90% done in terms of writing and selecting material and putting things together creatively as would relate to the writing process (as mentioned elsewhere in this thread).
He talks about how the process has changed for this album specifically in that they’ve never had so much material to work with before (presumably just due to the time they’ve taken) and that they are being really picky about what is going to go on the album.
He talks about how important it is that they do something new and unique (for them).
He stresses the importance of the band working as 4 people coming together and not having one person who is a conductor or ringleader in the creative process and how that contributes to the time it takes to get stuff done.
He also was very forthcoming in that, as far as they are concerned, taking time from each other, giving each other space, and letting members pursue other projects, hobbies and lives (family) has contributed to the delay but was also an essential component of how they stay together as a band and not burn out on each other. This also applies to how when they reconvene to work on material it is new and fresh as they are coming back together as different people with unique experiences making the creative process less stale.
He was genuinely flattered by compliments such as people covering they’re music.
He would not be pressured into giving a release date or time frame for the new album.
- I would really caution against fans running wild with these statements. They were general reassurances that the band is getting along, is still working on new material and frankly will finish when they are happy with it and not a moment sooner. It was a great interview with positive news, but let’s stay level headed here.
