Tool guitarist Adam Jones said he “felt anxiety” over the idea that frontman Maynard James Keenan was taking the blame for delays regarding their sixth album Fear Inoculum.

The follow-up to 10,000 Days arrives on Aug. 30, 13 years after its predecessor – but Jones said he didn't feel pressured to deliver it until it was ready.

“Well, we’re older,” he told Revolver when asked about how their approach to making music had changed. “It’s harder to get us all in one room. Everyone’s got their own thing going, so we kind of wait until everybody’s ready to start the process. And that can be on and off between other stuff.”

He added that "the writing is the same, and that’s the thing I really like about it. We really suffer for our art – which you should do. If it’s worth having, it’s worth suffering for. We’re not trying to worry about if it’s going to be accepted or is it gonna be like the last record. You take the same path, but then go on a different path, and then just make sure the four of us are happy. It’s a reflective process.”

On the subject of the 13-year wait, Jones said, "It has been a while. I never felt pressure, though. I felt anxiety because they would blame our singer, and it’s not his fault. We all have our own things going on – lives, families, other projects, other interests – so it’s ready when it’s ready.”

He credited the “very strong dedication” of the band’s fans. "The record turned out cool, and it's very different than our last record," Jones said. "I think that's what we all wanted.”

He explained the album title as being connected with the theme of “getting older," noting that "things like, ‘I'm gonna wear socks with sandals. I don’t give a fuck what people think. I’m just gonna be comfortable.’ So it’s about the little things in life. It's making those choices that are important to you and moving on and growing. … I’m so excited for this new record. The songs are very long, but they're like movements. It's like two or three songs in one, but they relate. They flow.”

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