Tool Working on Artwork for New Album, According to Metallica’s Kirk Hammett

Kreepin Deth, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Even with Slipknot, Rammstein and more set to drop long-awaited new albums in 2019, no record is more feverishly anticipated than Tool‘s next opus, which has been — count it — 13 years in the making. The band members, as always, have been only sources of contradictory quotes and (mis)information, though the latest word from frontman Maynard James Keenan is that fans should start looking for the album sometime between “between mid May and mid July,” and on March 7th, the band shared what appears to be a photo of three-quarters of the group — guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor and drummer Danny Carey — posing in a studio alongside producer Joe Baressi and engineer Bob Ludwig, leading to rumors that the album had been turned over to Ludwig for mastering.

Now, someone in a totally different mega-huge metal band has offered up an update on Tool’s progress: namely, Metallica lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. Hammett recently appeared on New Zealand’s The Rock to discuss his group’s impending October 31st show with Slipknot, and the subject of Tool came up. Asked if he had any advice for the band so that Tool could finally wrap up their new album, Hammett replied, “Well, I talk to Adam Jones quite a bit, and the last thing I knew, he was dealing with artwork. So that is a good sign. If they’re dealing with artwork, it must be close.”

Fans can only hope that Hammett’s right. What we do know for a fact is that Tool have a slew of tour dates lined up for the spring, including the U.S. stops below.

Tool tour dates:
05/05 – Jacksonville, FL – Welcome to Rockville
05/07 – Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena at The BCC
05/08 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
05/10 – Hampton, VA – Hampton Coliseum
05/11 – Concord, NC – Epicenter Festival
05/13 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
05/14 – Kansas City, MO – Spring Center
05/16 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
05/17 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena
05/19 – Bridgeview, IL – Chicago Open Air Festival