Elusive rockers Tool — who’ve been teasing new music since 2008 — shared some photos from inside the studio this week, hinting that new music is hopefully on the horizon. However, most of the pictures were quickly deleted without comment. It’s been over a decade since Tool’s last album, 10,000 Days, took the metal world by storm and solidified them as rock ‘n’ roll legends, and the silence since has frustrated many fans.
The seven in-studio photos shared on Monday (Apr. 2) included shots of guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey, and bassist Justin Chancellor, but the band quickly deleted five of them without explanation. “They have taken the images from social media, I don’t have the images,” a representative for the band tells Billboard without elaborating on why the images were removed from the band’s Facebook page.
The now-deleted snaps can still be found in an article on Consequence of Sound. In one, an analog recording device can be seen, which the band has confirmed will be their main method of recording on their next project, whenever it shall arrive. Legendary rock engineer “Evil Joe Barresi,” whom the band previously enlisted for 10,000 Days, can be seen working in another photo. Carey is depicted in two other shots, working on his drums while Jones shreds in the background.
?The unnamed new album has been constantly delayed over the last ten years, with a lawsuit, scooter accident and the band’s legendary perfectionist tendencies halting progress up until 2015, when the group finally began previewing a new song called “Descending” at live shows. Luckily, as of 2016, Chancellor reported that Tool was “deep” into writing, and the development seems to have been steady ever since.
On Sunday (Apr. 1), Jones further added to the madness by sharing a video on Instagram captioned “Ok~ Here’s a new #Tool song* Just recording the Drums w guitar & bass scratch tracks. Don’t judge the sound – it’s not mixed yet.” The video itself is a quick montage of the band working hard in the studio, but unfortunately no audio was included. Tool’s new LP is expected (hopefully) sometime this year.
Check out the remaining studio photos below: