Tool have taken a break from the studio to play some live shows. The band have been taking their sweet time recording the follow up to 2006's 10,000 Days, entering the studio in March, and only completing drum tracking about 11 days ago.
So far, all we've heard is a sampling of a new song the band have been teasing forever, "Descending." The band have been playing it live, and at their gig this weekend at the Northern Invasion festival in Wisconsin, frontman Maynard James Keenan explained why he's been wearing riot gear on stage lately:
“A lot of people recently have been asking me, Maynard James Keenan, what’s with the fucking riot gear? Well, I’ll tell you. I’m afraid of bananas, and other forms of fruit, because eventually you wonderful people are going to run out of fucking patience. So I beg you – Danny, Adam, and Justin, please finish your parts so I can finish mine. So I can take off this fucking riot gear.”
Maynard has said all his vocals are written, he is just waiting to record the final versions once guitars and bass are laid down. At a recent clinic, the band noted that when Maynard comes in to do vocals, he works around the music and never asks for anything to be changed.
At that same clinic, they said every track on the album will be at least 10 minutes long. Some more info from the clinic can be read here.
