Danny Carey Says Tool May Release an EP Instead of an Album Next

It appears Tool fans won't have to wait 13 years for another new set of songs. Though it's already been over four years since Fear Inoculum came out in August of 2019, the rockers plan to hit the studio soon, and their next release may be a bit different than their previous ones.

Justin Chancellor and Danny Carey provided some updates about their next batch of material during a new interview with Revolver. They've apparently already started jamming and gathering ideas, and hope to hit the studio once they wrap up touring later this year. But the set may look a bit different than their previous albums.

"It'll be different this time. Everyone's life is different, and everyone's expectations are different," Chancellor said. "Time is precious now, so you try and look for ways to be more efficient with the process. We've had a lot of discussion about that and how we can bring a new record to fruition in a slightly different way."

Carey explained that it typically takes the band a long time to finalize a collection of songs because it's important to them as a whole that all four members really believe in the material, that way they all continue to enjoy playing the tracks live for years to come. He referred to it as a "painstaking process," but added that the benefits outweigh the costs in the end when the result is something really strong that they all feel confident about.

The drummer didn't offer much as far as how long the songs will be, but noted that he embraces change. And if we know one thing about Fear Inoculum, it's that most of the songs were very lengthy.

"Who knows? It could flip-flop and we could just go back to doing an Undertow [type of] record," he pondered, hinting that the new songs could be shorter in length, as they were on their debut album. "That's kind of appealing to me. I always like change, whatever direction it goes."

The interview further suggested that the band's next release could be an EP instead of a full-length album. The last EP they put out was Opiate in 1992, so this would be quite a drastic shift for them — but likely means it would come out sooner since it would be much shorter.

"It's going well so far," Carey teased. "We're free agents now. We aren't signed to a label anymore. We are free to do whatever we want."

Tool's 2024 North American tour with Elder kicks off tomorrow night (Jan. 10) in Baltimore, Maryland. See the full list of dates at this location.