Yes. If you went into Sanity/Virign/HMV on the 29th and they had it unpacked and ready to go, you'd get it. Release dates and embargoes are not always the same thing..

The reason Sanity puts out major label new releases on Saturdays is so we can get our charts done before our competitors.

For some reason I have a feeling only a few selected metro stores (Virgin Megastore & Highpoint Sanity to name a couple of Vic stores) will have have it in stock on the release date. When the DVD singles came out, I bought them both at JB before they were even in Sanitys computer system, and even then it was about 2-3 weeks before they actually turned up in the stores. To be honest, I don't think there is enough hype about Tool in Australia for a company like Brazin to be bothered pushing the record. My bet is 90% of Sanity/Virgin/HMV employees don't even know who Tool are or what they are all about... but I live in the sticks, things could be different in the city.

My advice: Pre-order it NOW and then go in on the 29th and say "Heeey, aren't CD's supposed to come out on Saturdays?". Or steal my job and get it -illegally- as soon as it arrives.. :D

Thanks for the info MeganAnn - Sanity have been both good and bad to me in the past. For one release, 2 different sanity stores had no idea what i was talking about even though I went in on the day of release etc. But another time they had a new release before both JB and HMV... really surprising.

Anyway, it shouldn't really matter - the album comes out May 1st and if I have to wait an extra 24 hours to buy/hear it, then so be it. A day or two extra (worst case scenario) isn't much compared with 5 years in between albums...

Still, it would be cool to use your job to 'acquire' a copy of the new album as soon as it comes... I'm sure by the end of April there will be plenty of 'stuff' floating around the internet, but I'm gonna try to avoid it

Thanks again.