I don't think they really have to top themselves. They can produce an amazing album album and rejuvenate themselves. That seems hard to imagine happening, but that's the way music is. If a band is coming out and I can predict what their album is going to sound like, it probably won't be that exciting. I can't even predict what a new tool song would sound like if the band didn't change their style at all. That's a good sign.


I also thought about bringing up King Crimson, but there are so many differences between the two bands that might explain KC's changes in style. The group would hibernate every so many years and come back with a very different lineup and into a very different music scene. It's not to say that Tool couldn't change their sound like that, but that seems unlikely.

tool will pull it off.

they created 10k the way they did to test us and themselves, to create that "blues" record, to do what they want, putting off a certain percentage of thier audience.

they created room for them to top themselves with this album

The Beatles - Revolver

I think Tool should re-issue/remaster Undertow to make some money while their busy with their other shitty projects... Help us to rediscover their music.

...they could probably even remaster Aenima, even though I can't say that any album of theirs sounds better than it already. They might ruin it.

Personally, I hope they never reissue any of their albums. It's not like they have any b-sides to attach to them. I just hope they release a damn lived dvd. It seems like they record so much of their material. It would be unbelievable if they one day released a career spanning live dvd boxed set that contained live material from each of the tours they did to showcase the evolution of their live show. That's wishful thinking, though.

I dunno, with the way "premium" sets are getting so popular lately, and with their recent pricing of Salival...I think it might be possible for a premium live box set to come out, and at the most premium of prices.

Anybody want to pay a few grand for a career-spanning live dvd set?

I saw Undertow in vinyl around xmas time at frys. think it was $40. Didn't get it.

nothing needs to be reissued are you crazy

At that price, I will be stealing it. If they have an entire show from every tour that they went on plus an additional disc or two of interesting deviations from the norm (one-offs, songs that were brought out on other dates from that tour), I would pay quite a bit. I don't think it would even approach a few grand, but I would definitely be into it.

$40 is absurd. I got Lateralus for $30, brand new.


Why does no one like the idea of remastering Undertow? BTW, "remaster" doesn't mean "release with b-sides".

I think they have em at Hot Topic still, for like $15? I dunno

I think a live DVD spanning their career is a definite possibility. I'm getting hard just thinking about it. They've recorded so many concerts and I think they will put it out at the right time.

I agree that the Tool is still capable of putting out a great record - they are all talented enough, no doubt about it. Its just that I see Tool as a band that is really at their best when the music is angst-driven. In fact, I kind of see that as part of their identity, no?

People may disagree and point to Lateralus as a counterpoint, but I think Lateralus was something of an anomoly, that is to say, I believe Lateralus was a watershed record for the the band, especially MJK in that it had a real coming-of-age feel to it - the lyrical content really made it seems like MJK was tired of the negative, satirical approach to making music, or even living life (ie "give away the stone"). I think it would be probably be difficult for the band to re-capture that vibe again, and really would they even want to? It would seem kind of disingenous. I guess I'm assuming that people only come of age once in their life...

I guess what it comes down to, for me, is MJKs role in the band. Because when I say that Tool's music is agnst driven, I'm primarily talking about him. I just get the feeling that he has gotten everything he can out of Tool, maybe its been a cathartic experience, maybe not. In either case you just have to wonder what he is going to be angry about on the next record, and if he isn't angry, and he isn't spiritual (a la Lateralus) then what role will he play?

The other side of Tools identity (that being the percussive, precise, psychedelic, jam band) can easily thrive w or w/o MJK. More than anything else I'm really curious as to how Maynard will approach the next Tool record.

melvins - stoner witch ?

boredoms - vision creation newsun, if you count wow2 as an album; if not, seadrum/house of sun is still a classic imo.

I would probably agree with you in a sense. I would definitely think of Lateralus as a profoundly positive album overall, and I would agree that they should not just attempt to make another lateralus. They have probably moved past that. Still, I don't think aging and learning stops once you "come of age," and I think that Maynard has a very strong ability to write about the human experience as he and many of his fans see it. I think that songs like Jambi, Intension, and to an extent, Right in Two still have that vibe. To expect an entire album of that sort of material might be a stretch at this point. I also don't think that songs of that nature are mutually exclusive from angry songs.

Whatever it is that they put out, I'm sure I will like it. I can't say that enough. I would hope that they continue to evolve without losing the sense of mystery and profundity that I feel is the prmary factors of Aenima and Lateralus that drew me to them. These factors are not quite as present in their other works, but they are not absent either.

Haha, I stand corrected, but really, how good would Tool's next record have to be in order for it be considered their "Revolver"? I suppose it IS possible, though.

Also, someone mentioned the Melvins - Stoner Witch as a good 7th album. So I guess it is possible for a band to stay motivated and excited through 7 albums, still though, weren't the Melvins and the Beatles both pretty young when those albums were released, respectively?


-EDIT-

I don't want to give people the impression that I'm not excited for the next record, I really am, I'm just the type of person who gets pleasure out of looking at discographies (in this case Tools) and kind of "studying" the overall trajectory from one album to the next. In other words, I am an over-analytical jack-ass....

You are in the right place, and among friends.

Tell me about it. I'm pretty sure that's why tool fans like the band. It gives them something to read into.

I think a live DVD will be their farewell.

I have thought of that as well. If that was the case, it would be even better if it was career-spanning.

I have a really good bootleg compilation DVD called 4 Degrees. It has their JC Dobbs show from '92, their London show from '94, and a New York show each for '98 and '02. I wonder if it's floating around the net. Anyone else have it?

I tend to agree with this.

Something that should also be considered: given the extent of time that the band has been recording live performances, it is very possible that they will release multiple live DVDs over the course of 3 or 4 years. At first some people may think this is a good thing (and maybe it is), but personally I would be annoyed. Its a marketing trend, like the Starcraft 2 not featuring every campaign in the original product (yeah I went there) - or DLC in general. Commodities tend to get split up like that now-a-days.

With that being said, I highly doubt the band will want to water-down their swan song, if thats what it turns out to be.

Eh, Tool touring a couple years without an album to promote was pretty great. Saw the inclusion of Third Eye and Intolerance, which was great. With a new album, I don't think those songs get played. Who knows.

If Tool are going to keep at their pace anyway, I'd rather see APC tours/album and Tool mini tours than hearing random news of a potential new album every 4 months for 3 years. Yo.

My Thoughts, they are these.

I can definitely feel you guys on the live dvd thing, but I wouldn't have that much of a problem with it. These days, there are bands who are selling downloads of every single show they go to, which takes it to the extreme. I think releasing several live dvd's over the course of a few years would be amazing and, frankly, unprecedented. They could be out there, but I have never heard of a band that releases live videos of their performances that frequently. There are few bands that warrant it.

All in all, I mostly just think it would be much cooler if they released a single career spanning live package. Hopefully it was just be their career up until that point, if you catch my drift.

Regarding the next album, does anyone agree with me that Alex Grey should play a smaller role in the art direction?

But then he wouldnt be able to milk his association with Tool! The dude has got to eat.

i wouldnt mind seeing another artist they find inspiring, and not as dark as chet zar.

@dan ill cut you.

As far as the packaging goes, I'm hoping for a totally new and unexpected color palate for the next album. They don't need to reinvent the wheel as far as packaging goes, it might even be nice them to see them do something minimalistic, relatively speaking.

I would be fine with that as long as the music content is up to par.

As an alternative the band could release the first Nano album. It comes in the mail in the form of a pill, which you then consume, and voila! the album begins to play in your head! I suppose there would be issues if you wanted to listen to the album twice. Perhaps the pill would also put the listener in a coma. Wow what an album that would be!

Just read an interview with Danny in a recent Australian drum magazine DRUMscene. He talks pretty extensively about the album, live DVD and more. Check out the highlights here:

http://www.fourtheye.net/2011/04/dan...-in-drumscene/

/plug

that makes my giney tingle

thanks mang

edit: what's this about a lambourghini?

Danny rolls in a Lambo mang

Thanks for the detailed summary hellboy. Any idea what the aus dollar equates to in USD? I'm thinking of snagging a copy.

Man, I really want to read that interview. Sounds like it was more informative than anything else they put out. A DC dvd and a live dvd are both things I would eat up.

agree. i'm over alex grey

I have my suspicions, but I see no particular reason not to embrace that opinion.

I will scan the interview at a future point, especially for non-Australian fans. But in fairness to the magazine I won't do so straight away.

The Aussie dollar and US dollar are roughly the same at the moment (I think the Aussie dollar is worth a couple more right now).