MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN On New TOOL Album: ‘Nothing’s Solid’

According to The Pulse Of Radio, TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan said in a new interview with Loudwire that he is concentrating on his own projects, including his act PUSCIFER, while guitarist Adam Jones and drummer Danny Carey work out the music for the band’s long-awaited fifth album. Keenan explained, “I’m allowing them their space to do what they do, so we’re still in that mode. Even if they told me how close they are to being done, I couldn’t tell you because if I say 60 percent people will start counting down. When it’s done everyone will know. But I haven’t done anything yet. They write forever and then we go in and knock it all out.”

Keenan added, “We’re writing. We’re writing vocals. But nothing’s solid. With PUSCIFER, there’s ideas and then we’ll record stuff . . . But with TOOL, we practice jams, but there’s no actual recording going on until it’s time to record.”

With Keenan a member of TOOL, PUSCIFER and A PERFECT CIRCLE, he told The Pulse Of Radio that he never consciously writes a song with a specific group in mind. “It could be the exact same rhythm or exact same melody, it’s just going to end up being what it’s going to be no matter where it lands,” he said. “It’s going to be different, just because it’s going to be a different set of people interpreting it. So it doesn’t really matter. No things are designated one way or the other, just whatever ends up coming up in the conversations with those musicians is what it ends up being.”

Keenan also told Loudwire that TOOL will tour again, but future outings will be shorter than they’ve been in the past. He said, “Physically, I can’t do it, so that’s not gonna happen. We will tour, but it won’t be the old-school dog-and-pony show of eight months of beating yourself to death.”

Keenan’s act PUSCIFER released its second album, “Conditions Of My Parole”, last week.

The album debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard album chart on Wednesday (October 26), selling 12,000 copies in its first week of release.

The troupe will appear on the Halloween (Monday, October 31) edition of “Late Show With David Letterman” before kicking off a North American tour on November 7 in Seattle.