It’s no secret that fans of Tool have long grown accustomed to waiting, but bassist Justin Chancellor has offered a promising update on the band’s next chapter. In a recent interview with Mexico’s Summa Inferno, he revealed that the group has already been exchanging ideas and has a clear plan for the coming months.
“When we get back from our dates in Mexico and South America in March — I think it’s only three weeks we’re gonna be over there — but we have already shared a lot of these new ideas,” Chancellor explained. “But when we get back, we’re gonna dedicate the next three months after that in the studio to organizing our ideas.”
For a band known for its meticulous approach to songwriting, shaping raw ideas into a finished product is no small task. Chancellor broke down the process: “There’s a lot of stages in the process. And much of it is just every day—we all have ideas and when they’re good, when we like them, we kind of save them or memorize them. But then the really difficult process is when you get together and make decisions about how it’s going to end up. 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.”
“So that’s the stage we haven’t completely pulled off yet, but we’re committed to doing that when we get back. Before the summer, we’re gonna spend those few months organizing our ideas. We already know what we like. We’ve all shared our individual ideas with each other, and we have a really good pile of stuff,” he added.
But even with a strong foundation, bringing those ideas to life requires a certain level of creative struggle. “You have to make those decisions, and you have to kind of wrestle with each other a bit to get to that next stage. And then you have to record it, which is a whole another thing as well.”
Chancellor likened the recording process to something deeply personal and permanent. “It’s like a pregnancy almost. When you go to the studio, you have to make this final decision of how it’s gonna sound and how you’re gonna play it, and it’s gonna live like that forever. So it’s a really delicate thing to be able to pull off. And 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.”
The way music is released has shifted significantly in recent years, and Tool is open to adapting. When asked if fans can expect new music within the next two years, Chancellor responded: “Yeah, well, the other thing is the climate of releasing music has completely changed, especially when you take a long time to make new music. It’s always a bit different when it comes out. So, we’ve talked about releasing a single, just one song — we could do that. We could also release an EP. And I think because we have such a dedicated fan base, everyone’s gonna be up for it. They’ll all be interested, whatever the way it comes out.”
Rather than waiting to perfect a full-length album, the band is considering a more flexible approach. “So we might not necessarily have to wrestle out a whole album. We talked about the option of just maybe doing it a little differently and doing a song at a time. 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.”
Chancellor acknowledged that there are no strict rules when it comes to making music. “I’m not really answering your question fully, but it doesn’t have any rules when you’re making music,” he admitted. “We’re just kind of making it up. But I can tell you that we absolutely have to write new music to continue doing what we’re doing. We wouldn’t be happy just to sit on our laurels and play the same stuff over and over again. We want to create new music to be able to continue doing what we love. So it’s coming. Trust me.”
Despite high expectations from fans, Tool isn’t letting external pressure dictate their creative process. “Um, not really,” Chancellor said when asked if they felt the need to satisfy their audience. “It’s more of a pressure on ourselves to be proud of what we allow to go out into the world. And part of that is working hard on it and creating something that you’re proud of, not kind of being flippant about it, really taking it seriously as an art form.”
He acknowledged that music will always divide opinions, even among the band members. “So the pressure really is on ourselves, I would say. And as far as everyone else, you can’t please everyone. So, there’s always going to be people that don’t like it, and there’s gonna be people that do like it. There are songs that I don’t like that Adam likes. And then sometimes that changes over time. There’ll be a song that I don’t like playing, but then, all of a sudden or over time, I start to be fond of it and see the beauty in it.”
Ultimately, Chancellor believes staying true to their vision is the most important thing. “It’s art. Each to their own. And if you try to please everybody, it’s not gonna work. So you just have to be true to yourself.”
The 13-year gap between 10,000 Days and Fear Inoculum tested Tool‘s fans’ patience, but if we are to believe Chancellor‘s reasoning at least this time, the wait may not be quite as agonizing.
