TOOL Won't Take 13 Years To Release Next Studio Album

In a new interview with the Cleveland Scene, TOOL drummer Danny Carey said that the band's fans won't have to wait another 13 years for a new studio album, like they did prior to the arrival of 2019's "Fear Inoculum".

"It was frustrating not having new material to play, but that time really flew by quickly," he said. "I guess that's just the nature of life. It's like when you have kids, and they're grown up, and you go, 'What happened?' It took a long time, but we did a lot of touring and tried to grow in different ways and take a break from each other to keep things fresh. We also wanted to bring in outside influences, so we would have something new to say to each other musically. It all came together really well on this one. I'm sure it won't take us this long for the next one. We even had some stuff left over from the last one that we'll develop. We have head starts on three or four new songs."

Carey also said TOOL is readying a live DVD that will be "a good mind blower for all the hardcore fans." He explained: "Most of it will be from the 'Lateralus' tour from 2002."

"Fear Inoculum" arrived in August 2019 following years of anticipation. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and earned heaps of critical praise, with NPR saying "Fear Inoculum" was "worth the 13-year wait," Revolver proclaiming the 10-track album "a masterpiece to be dissected for years to come" and Consequence Of Sound saying the release finds "TOOL in peak performance."

Two and a half years ago, the "Fear Inoculum" title track became the longest song to ever land in the Billboard Hot 100. The TOOL cut has a running time of 10 minutes 21 seconds, 24 seconds longer than the previous record holder, David Bowie's "Blackstar".

"Fear Inoculum" shifted approximately 270,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 248,000 of those in traditional album sales.

TOOL kicked off its 2022 tour in support of "Fear Inoculum" on January 10 at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. It marked the band's first live appearance since March 2020 when TOOL's trek was cut short following a gig in Portland, Oregon due to the burgeoning pandemic.

TOOL was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in January 2020 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. TOOL was nominated for "7empest", a track from "Fear Inoculum".

TOOL already had three previous Grammy Awards under its belt: "Best Metal Performance" in 1997 and 2001 for "Ænima" and "Schism", respectively, and "Best Recording Package" in 2006 for "10,000 Days".

TOOL formed in 1990 and has released five studio albums thus far: "Undertow" (1993), "Ænima" (1996), "Lateralus" (2001), "10,000 Days" (2006) and "Fear Inoculum"; two EPs: "72826" (1991) and "Opiate" (1992); and the limited-edition boxset, "Salival" (2000). The band has won four Grammy Awards: Best Metal Performance (1998, "Ænima"), "Best Metal Performance" (2002, "Schism"), "Best Recording Package" (2007, "10,000 Days") and "Best Metal Performance" (2020, "7empest").