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Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has spoken out on the current state of the new Tool record, confirming that it is being written but the process is very long winded and "tedious".
Currently focusing on new releases from his other bands A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, the singer-turned-winemaker has spoken out about about the follow up to the release of 10,000 Days. Released way back in 2006, the succeeding release has long been speculated about and has been pencilled in loosely for a 2014 release.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Keenan confirmed that the process was underway, but hardly seemed positive about the process saying that he doesn't have much of a hand in the writing as the band need to bring him the tracks. This is a process that he claims they agonise over continuously, making the actual writing process a very arduous one.
"I don't write the music. They write the music," he said of how things are panning out. "I wait for them to bring music to me. They tend to go back over and over stuff. It's a long process. For a person like me, it can be a very tedious process. In some ways, they are bigger perfectionists. But you can only help support their talent so long. They don't have to go through it 700 times. They can trust that first thought. But that's their process, so you gotta let them do it." And is that process happening? "I couldn't tell you,"
Moving onto where the sound of the band may be going he added: "Just in general, each project is going to find its own way. Depending on the motivation. We're all in this together. I'm not pointing any fingers. I will take full responsibility if I have to."
Listen to the Tool classic 'Schism' in the video below
Talking of why the band haven't toured in six years he said that they didn't want to move to the stage until they had new material in order to avoid becoming, musically stagnant.
"As an artist you don't want to become a greatest hits version of yourself, either," he said. "You want to push the boundaries. You want to figure out how can you challenge yourself to discover something new, discover something different about yourself. What are your limitations? What avenues can you push and expand? That is life. I don't have any interest in coasting yet."
