Years of speculation just came to an end for Tool fans, as the band posted "August 30th" messages on Twitter and onstage last night. The band is expected to release its fifth studio album on that date, 13 years after their previous LP 10,000 Days.

At first, Maynard James Keenan and company provided no further details about what's happening on Aug. 30, leaving open the possibility that fans would be getting a new single, a full album or just an announcement on that date. But a few days later, frontman Maynard J. Keenan humorously confirmed that they are talking about the release date of a new album

This past weekend on the opening night of their new tour, the band premiered two songs, “Descending” and “Invincible,” which are both expected to appear on the new album.

The date was confirmed via a tweet that contained a brief animation, and followed the teasing of the same information on screens during their concert in Birmingham, AB, last night.

A 2019 release date had been expected since Keenan said last year that he’d “go on record” to state that new material would be heard in the time period. While drummer Danny Carey suggested an April launch, Keenan later said the date wasn’t going to be achieved. He’d previously revealed that it had taken him “11 years of begging” before he received instrumental tracks from his colleagues that they regarded as “final,” adding: “That, in theory, means the tracks won’t change out from under me while I’m trying to write stories and melodies to them. In theory.”

In 2016 he described his bandmates' approach to writing as "tedious," telling Yahoo!: "If Tool was more prolific, if they were a little steadier, if we could get things done a little faster I would probably be happy. But things take a long time… The other guys are very meticulous and I get bored. … The perception, of course, if that they’re waiting on me. No, that’s not the case."

August 30, 2019 will be 4869 days after the launch date of 10,000 Days, which arrived on May 2, 2006. Tool’s latest U.S. tour continues until May 19 with further dates in Europe afterwards.

 

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