TOOL – comprised of Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor, and Danny Carey – will be heading into the UK and Europe for the first time since May of last year (2022). The band are currently in the middle of a tour of North America, which ends in February next year.

The tour starts at the ZAG Arena in Hannover, Germany on May 25^th before continuing in Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome two days later. The band then heads into the United Kingdom for three shows, the first being at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on May 30^th and then heading to the AO Arena in Manchester on June 1^st. They then conclude the UK part of the tour with a show at London’s 02 Arena two days later, on June 3^rd.

TOOL then continue their tour on June 5^th with a show at the FR Accor Arena in Paris, France. They will then subsequently play shows in Berlin, Wien, Stockholm, Budapest and many more. The tour ends with a show at Oslo’s Tons of Rock Festival on June 27^th.

The bands last album was Fear Inoculum, released in 2019, with a massive 13-year gap between the album before that, 10,000 Days, released in 2006. The band blew up in 90’s with the single “Sober” in 1993 from the album, Undertow. The band later became renowned for albums Aenima in 1996 and Lateralus in 2001.

Bassist Justin Chancellor, spoke about how the band has been writing material for the next album, saying: “So we’ve got all the ingredients in place. We’ve just got to really bang it out and spend that time when we’re not touring”. When asked about any unreleased music, he said: “Tonnes from the last album. We have tonnes of ideas. But not recorded to the standard that we’d put on an album. Just kind of… lots of demoed stuff. And just tonnes of ideas that are just stored away.” Drummer Danny Carey, said “We have tons of material. It’s not going to take 12 years, or if it does, I’ll probably be so old I probably can’t pick up my sticks anymore! But my hope is we’ll do another record and just keep moving forward.”

Tickets for the show go on tour this Friday (November 17^th) and can be purchased here. Furthermore, tickets are available via presale for members of the bands fan club here.

Visual artist Dominic Hailstone (made famous for his work on “Alien: Covenant” or “The Eel”) worked with Adam Jones (the band’s guitarist) on the 10-plus minute film, which is the band’s first new video in 15 years. The clip continues TOOL’s knack for merging the aural and visual worlds, creating an all-encompassing experience for the listener that has been a hallmark of the outfit since their inception. Hailstone and Jones also collaborated on the filmed pieces featured on the current Fear Inoculum tour. The physical release features a Blu-ray housed in a 46-page art book with behind-the-scenes and making-of photos as well as interviews and insights from special guests. “Opiate^2” pre-orders are available now:

TOOL are also currently on tour, after beginning a worldwide string of dates in early 2020, the band obviously had to cut all of that shortly after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, 2 years later, the dates have been rescheduled, and as soon as they’re finished with their lengthy US tour the band will be coming over to tour the UK and EU.  Beginning in May, the group will play 5 shows in the UK bookended by an extensive list of EU dates. See here for ticket information, on what few tickets may remain that is.

TOOL also hit the headlines recently after fans kicked off a little over the price of a signed 5-LP box set the band were selling at their shows. Featuring limited edition etchings on the records, and even a signature from each of the band members wasn’t quite enough to justify the $810 (£600-ish) price tag. Fans took to the band’s socials after the announcement was made. One person queried, “Any chance of a non-silly variant too, you know, just be able to listen to on a record player?”. The band have since lowered the cost.

TOOL’s Fear Inoculum Tour Dates:
2/5/22 – AO Arena – Manchester
4/5 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
6/5 – 3Arena – Dublin
9/5 – O2 Arena – London
10/5 – O2 Arena – London

Photo Credit: Travis Shinn

Tool announced via Twitter that the group would be accompanying them as a support act, stating that they were captivated by their covers of “The Pot” and “Lateralus”, two of Tool’s most revered songs. Brass Against announced via their Twitter: “This is so fun to write… we are the special guests on Tool’s European tour in the spring!”

.@BrassAgainst captured our attention after posting their covers of “The Pot,” “Lateralus,” and more. We’re excited to share that they’ll be joining us for our Spring 2022 European tour. Curious about their music? Visit https://t.co/IQZhYPcq8W #toolband #brassagainst

— TOOL effing TOOL (@Tool) October 27, 2021

For Tool, these upcoming shows will be their first since 2019, giving them the opportunity to further tour their 2019 album Fear Inoculum. According to NME, drummer Danny Carey said: “These past 18 months have been trying to say the least but from great trials come great lessons and great rewards.”

The album itself was highly anticipated by fans of the band, having endured a thirteen-year wait since 2006’s 10,000 Days. The album was generally well-received by both fans and critics, with NME rating it five stars and calling it: “a languid and blissful work-one that will richly reward future listens.” Fear Inoculum is available on all streaming services, and physical media can be purchased at this link.

Active since 2017, Brass Against describe itself as “a collective group of musicians who share the goal of creating music to inspire social and personal change. The band curates songs from a variety of influences from Tool, Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, Black Sabbath, Run The Jewels as well as their own compositions in a heavy brass filled symphony.”

The group emerged via YouTube in 2017, making waves with a series of explosive covers, including numerous Rage Against The Machine songs such as “Bombtrack”, “Bulls on Parade” and “Wake Up”. According to the band’s website, the covers caught the attention of Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who said that the group were an “Incredible brass band”. As of last year, the band has begun to release their own original music, and have released a self-titled E.P consisting of three songs, “Umbra”, “Pull The Trigger” and “Blood On The Other”. The EP is available on all streaming services, alongside a catalogue of the group’s covers.

The upcoming tour will commence in April 2022, with the UK leg beginning in May with a show in Manchester. Tickets can be bought here, and the dates are listed down below.

02/05/2022- AO Arena- Manchester
04/05- Resorts World Arena- Birmingham
06/05- 3Arena- Dublin
09/05- The O2- London

“It is with great pleasure I get to announce our return to the road,” said drummer Danny Carey in a statement. 

“These past 18 months have been trying to say the least but from great trials come great lessons and great rewards. We are genuinely looking forward to sharing them with you.” 

After years of anticipation, Fear Inocolum album hasn’t disappointed. It debuted at No 1 spot on Billboard Top 200 and received critical praise. mxdwn review said that “it seem as if 13 years did not pass and Tool just picked up right from their last release. The prog-metal band continues to defy boundaries and deliver engaging songs that, despite their length, keep people hooked until the last note“. Adding: “Ultimately, one listen is not enough and fans will find themselves hitting repeat. Each listen-through gives people more insight and with so much going on in the album, as well as individual songs, the album deserves multiple listens“.

Tool formed in 1980 and so far released five studio albums: Undertow (1993), Ænima (1996), Lateralus(2001),10,000 Days (2006), and Fear Inoculum (2019). The band also did two EP’s and a limited edition boxset Salival. They have won four Grammy Awards, three of them for  Best Metal Performance including hit single “Shism”. They also received Grammy for Best Recording Package for an album 10,000 Days. This release knocked out the competition that year, it doubled up the sales of back then, the eighth studio album of Peral Jam. They also headlined the famous Lollapalooza Festival in 2009.

Tool’s live shows are always successful, from the way they connect with their audience to the way they capture stage performance. No wonder they win so many prestigious awards. Don’t miss your chance to see them live in your city across the UK and Europe. See full tour dates below. Tickets will be available to purchase here from 1st October.

23/04/2022  Royal Arena – Copenhagen- DK
25/04 Spektrum – Oslo -NO
26/04 Avicii Arena – Stockholm – SE
28/04 Barclaycard Arena – Hamburg – DE
29/04 Festhalle – Frankfurt – DE
02/05 AO Arena Manchester – Manchester – UK
04/05 Resorts World Arena – Birmingham – UK
06/05 3Arena – Dublin – IE
09/05 The O2 Arena – London – UK
12/05 AccorHotels Arena – Paris – FR
13/05 Sportpaleis – Antwerp – BE
15/05 Mercedes-Benz Arena – Berlin – DE
17/05 Lanxess Arena – Cologne – DE
19/05 Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam – NL
21/05 Tauron Arena – Krakow – PL
23/05 O2 Arena – Prague – CZ
24/05 SportAréna – Budapest – HU

Photo credit: Press/Travis Shinn

Keenan posted on twitter an update, announcing that final vocals had been tracked months ago, but that a long mixing process lay ahead of the band. Various updates were shared during 2017, with the debut track ‘Descending’ released last April, and an instrumental demo released during the background of a promo video for the bands upcoming  European tour running from 2nd of June through to the 2nd of July 2019.

The frontman revealed that after eleven years of begging the words and melodies for the new record were 100% done, on all but 1 (song). Keenan had previously implied the delays were caused by a lack of decisiveness by his bandmates, stating: “I like to release records and write things a little more quickly than those guys like to write”, “their process is very analytical”.

For a group as meticulous as Tool, it is unlikely that the album will be released before they begin touring North America in May, and Europe during June and July. As Keenan revealed his final vocals had been completed, it seems optimistic as he is the last member of the band to record before the mixing process is started.

It appears to be good news for Tool fans, as Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach, who visited the group while they were recording and was privy to a private rendition, described the new music as “progressive metal at its most atmospheric and just when you get into a groovy trance you get beat over the head with riffs so heavy it feels like a TOOL”. 

After tweeting in September “Step back: Adjust. Re-adjust. Master. Adjust. Re-adjust. Long way to go but much closer”, it makes you wonder if 2019 will really be the year we get to hear rocks most highly anticipated (and long awaited) album. It sounds like it will be worth the wait as according to Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach, no song was shorter than 7 minutes, and some were 20 minutes long. The so far untitled album is expected to be epic!

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) 4 January 2019

TOOL European Tour Dates 2019:

02/06/2019 – Mercedes-Benz Arena – Berlin
04/06 – O2 Arena – Prague
05/06 –  Wiener Stadhalle – Vienna
07/06 – Rock Am Ring Festival – Nurburg
09/06 – Rock Im Park Festival -Nuremberg
11/06 – Impact Festival – Tauron Arena – Krakow
13/06 – Firenze Rocks Festival – Florence
16/06 – Download Festival – Donnington
18/06 – Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam
20/06 – Copenhell festival – Copenhagen
25/06 – Hallenstadion – Zurich
28/06 – Rock Werchter Festival – Werchter
30/06 – Download Festival Spain – Madrid
02/07 – Alice Arena – Lisbon

The heavy metal festival has announced that Slayer will play their last ever UK show, joined by Smashing Pumpkins, Eagles of Death Metal, Lamb of God, Dream Theatre and Anthrax. These phenomenal acts will be joined by the previously announced headliners Slipknot, Tool and Def Leppard. Tickets are on sale here. 

Joining Slayer will be; Anthrax, Badflower, Black Futures, Blackberry Smoke, Dream Theatre, I Prevail, The Interrupters, Jinjer, Man With A Mission, nothing,nowhere. Also announced to be playing the festive are; Our Last Night, Riding The Low, Royal Republic, State Champs, Underside, Whitechapel, Yours Truly, Zebrahead, and Alien Weaponry.

Elsewhere on the line-up so far is Slash ft Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Die Antwood, Whitesnake, Rob Zombie, Trivium, Aman Amarth, Carcass, Delain, Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, Opeth, Power Trip, Reel Big Fish, Skindred, Starset, Tesla, The Amity Affliction and Underoath. With many more to be announced in the up-coming months ahead.

The American thrash metal band Slayer will play their final UK show at next year’s Download Festival. The band are currently on an 80-date farewell world tour, where they will go to North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Slayer recently toured in the UK with Lamb of God and Anthrax, who will also be playing alongside them at Download.

Slipknot who are currently working on their new album, which is set to be released in 2019, hopefully just in time for Download. The band just released their first song from the new album on Halloween night called ‘All Out Life.’ This is the first song they have released since their last album ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’ and Corey Taylor is back to his raging self. Watch the new music video below.

Many fans are also hoping for one of the main headliners TOOL to drop a new album by the summer of 2019, as many fans are still waiting for the follow-up of 2006’s album ’10,000 Days.’ Lastly the main headliner for Friday is none other than Def Leppard, with this being their only UK show of 2019. The Sheffield legends will be playing their album ‘Hysteria in full – yes, in full!’ according to the front man Joe Elliot, along with many other classics.

Donington has been the host to many iconic bands since 2003, and it has never failed to let its fans down with its iconic lineup. So, be sure not to miss it and purchase your tickets.

The new album had initially been slated for a release in 2017, but faced severe delays. however Keenan has tweeted some detailed info on the new record’s recording process, revealing that guitarist Adam Jones (referred to in the tweet as AJ) was ‘deep’ into recording his guitars for the project.

Update- Scratch Vox tracked awhile ago. AJ deep in Guitars now. Final Vox after. Step back. Adjust. Mix. Adjust. Re-Adjust. Master. Adjust. Re-Adjust. Long Way 2 Go But Much Closer. #TOOL #2019

— Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) September 10, 2018

Keenan’s tweet did seem cautious in regard to the album’s overall progress, but the tweet seemed to confirm that we can at last expect the project next year. This follows a previous update from the singer in February, suggesting that his “words & melodies” for the album were “100% done on all but 1″ of the album’s tracks.

Keenan has previously blamed the slow progress of the album on his bandmates’ indecisiveness. “I like to release records and write things a little more quickly than those guys like to write,” he said. “Their process is very analytical.” Keenan released new music with his other band A Perfect Circle earlier this year, titled Eat The Elephant, which garnered high praise among many.

In December 2017, Rage Against the Machine, Prophets of Rage, and former-Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello revealed that he had heard new music from the band. He shared an image of himself and the band on his Instagram page, writing “”Had the honour of being the first outsider to hear new #TOOL music today!!” describing what he had heard as “epic, majestic, symphonic, brutal, beautiful, tribal, mysterious, deep, sexy and VERY Tool.”

Always a band to do things on their own terms, fans have been waiting a new album since 2006’s masterful 10,000 Days, and over the weekend (April 7), the band began to post the teaser seen below on all of their social media accounts.

pic.twitter.com/GavtO6G0nE

— TOOL effing TOOL (@Tool) April 7, 2017

The interval between 10,000 Days and now has been a difficult one, with many delays hindering progress on the new album. Speaking to CBC radio, enigmatic frontman Maynard James Keenan gave a rare interview, about the delays that have affected his writing with not only Tool, but potentially his other projects A Perfect Circle, and Puscifier “For some things yes, I see a plan,” he said, “and others I just see roadblocks.” 

Keenan also used the interview as a chance to clarify his previous comments that Tool’s own fans are “insufferable retards”, saying “Our core fanbase aren’t fanatics,” he told Billboard. “They’re music lovers, artists and good people. It’s the fanatics that are insufferable.”

However unfortunately for Tool fans (which includes myself) Keenan has stated that work on their latest release is going ‘very slowly’. When Keenan was speaking to ‘The Press Enterprise’ he said that:

“We’ve found a common ground. We just can’t seem to move forward.”

Tool are somewhat of an enigmatic band. Often their album releases are done secretly or with a deal of deception around them; for example when ‘10,000 Days’ was released ten years ago a great deal of fans thought it was actually a false title and that Tool as a band were simply trying to trick their fans. ‘10,000 Days’ itself was leaked online before the official release date, this led their particularly devoted fans to be of the belief that Tool deliberately leaked it to spite their record label, such is the reputation Tool have.

Bands that take a long time to release albums are often split into two categories: bands which no one want to hear another album from, and bands that are so critically acclaimed that they can get away with taking years to release new material. Tool definitely fall into the second category. Ever since the band’s debut album in 1993 with ‘Undertow’ Tool cemented their status as a ground breaking band; one could certainly argue that Tool’s successes with ‘Undertow’ allowed a new wave of progressive rock or heavy metal (it’s hard to define the genre of Tool) to emerge into a more mainstream music industry.

Listen to my favourite Tool song below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_2T43dy_Ew