Tool frontman Maynard James Kennan wasn’t shy in letting fans know his intentions in regards to an upcoming Tool album. Recently, the Tool frontman sent out the following to his legions of followers.
Update- Final vocals tracked MONTHS ago. Then U.S.-UK-Euro run w #APC. If Tool all inst are tracked, long process of Mixing now. Meanwhile write/film/track w @puscifer for #puscifer2020 & troll the band FBs with wine posts. #funnyshit #whileyouwerewhiningiwasworking
— Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) January 4, 2019
To which a fan named Tim Brown replied, hinting at fans speculating about an April 1st release date and at another April Fools joke from Keenan:
The date is 01-04 if you reverse it, that’s April fools! Way to go MJK!!! pic.twitter.com/On22gBkaBQ
— Kenny Brown ✌ (@KennyBMF) January 4, 2019
Keenan liked the fan’s tweet and conspiracy theory, though based on his recent comments he doesn’t seem too optimistic about an April 1st release. Tool fans have speculated that Tool will be dropping their latest album, which will be the band’s fifth studio album, on April 1st. Blair recently published the December 2018 Tool Newsletter on the band’s official website, and it’s an interview with Matthew Smith, the owner of the Tool fansite Fourtheye.net. Smith proposes the idea that Tool’s new album could come out on April 1st, and Blair did not respond to this idea.
Radio/podcast personality Eddie Trunk addressed the tweet on his SiriusXM show a couple of days ago and had concerns for the chemistry and communication amongst the Tool members through the recording process, and described their ‘dysfunction’ as he sees it.
“If you read that tweet, it does not come off like in any way, shape or form there’s any new Tool record imminent. Because what he’s essentially saying in that tweet, and the way I read it, is he is basically passing the buck on that record to the other three guys. It’s pretty blatantly clear over time here that you’ve got Maynard on one island and the other three guys on another island and I don’t think there’s a lot of camaraderie or interplay between them. They seem [as if they are from] very two completely different worlds. Some feel that Maynard is the reason why this stuff takes forever. Maynard has countered that it’s the other three guys, they always change stuff; they can’t settle on anything.”
Keenan’s tweet says “if Tool inst tracked.” It’s as if the singer doesn’t know if his band is done yet. Trunk then pulls apart the plans Keenan laid out concerning his other bands, claiming it’s obvious the Tool singer doesn’t have his heart totally in Tool:
“So what he said in that tweet is that he recorded all the vocals and if the other guys finish all the music then after that, there will be a very long mixing process. Then basically he laid out his own plans through like 2020. Puscifer, A Perfect Circle, wine. To me, I took that whole tweet, and I don’t think you have to be a dummy to look at it that way, is him saying, ‘hey I did my part, this ain’t on me anymore, when they get together, the record will come out. I’m booked for the next year- see ya.’”
Maynard’s tweet ends with a passive aggressive #whileyouwerewhiningiwasworking, without addressing it to anyone in particular. But to Eddie, it’s obviously related to Tool. Trunk thinks it creates more of a question about the future:
“That’s huge right there. That’s all you need to know about the disconnect between these guys. Here, he’s saying, ‘I did my part, I’m done, while you guys were whining, in his words about whatever was or wasn’t happening, I was doing work.’ All of that translates to me as to say: ‘y’all still ain’t gonna see anything from Tool for a whole lot longer.’”