Info here is covered in / superseded by the FAQ, and may no longer be valid.
It is provided only for historical interest.
old news: january - december 2004 letters on a page with no meaning anymore [08/16/04] - Is this thing on?
Roughly half a year since any kind of real update has been posted here, and I'm sure you all know why. Nothing is happening in the land of Tool. So much so that when I ran into Maynard at the movies recently, Tool wasn't the first, second, or third thing we discussed. So enjoy the little break. The band is still working on new material, supposedly daily, targeting a release of the next album sometime in the next half-year (though as has been the case in the past, we should probably wait to see it before we believe it). The bottom line is that at the moment, this site is only as dead as Tool is. Nine years ago tomorrow, this website started up; these days, it seems hard to remember a time when there was a constant influx of Toolishness.
And clearly, the post dated April 1st is an April Fools' Day joke. §
[04/01/04] - Reality check
According to sources, we can now announce here that Tool will be starring in a new reality series for Fox this summer. Though much information is not yet available, the show (tentatively titled "How Hard is your Rock?", though this is expected to change) is scheduled to run for eight episodes starting in June. What I've heard from people I work with at Fox is that the band will be overseeing a competition between other bands who are struggling to reach prominence. Fox is giving these bands a chance to make it on a national stage, with a twist (as only they could deliver): the bands will apparently be hanging out with the members of Tool in an attempt to win their approval and their vote to be the 'next big thing,' but unbeknownst to the bands, Tool will be mocking them the whole way.
I personally was shocked that the band would be interested in doing this, but I guess they are hoping to improve the quality of programming out there from within ... maybe? Weird though this news is, we should get more information from a "How Hard is your Rock?" press briefing expected to be held later today, which coincidentally is April Fools' Day. §
[02/05/04] - Write, now | Opinions back
Work is underway on Tool's next album, despite the fact that A Perfect Circle will be touring for the next little while. The writing process for this album will be similar to the process for "Lateralus": the band works on music, sends demos to Maynard, he works on vocals, and so on. The singer discusses this in the newest issue of Kerrang magazine, saying "we're working on a new Tool record now. I'm multi-tasking. I can't walk and chew gum but I can change hats." It was four and a half years between "Ænima" and "Lateralus", it has so far been (only) almost three since the spirally record was released. So really, they are almost ahead of schedule. §
The Opinion forums are back online following some post-upgrade weirdness. They should look more normal fairly soon. §
[02/01/04] - Nothing, still | Opinions will be right back
Happy four-months-later! Yes, you may be wondering why there's been no update for a while. Things here are slow for a lot of reasons, the big ones are 1) nothing is happening in the land of Tool these days; 2) I managed to turn 29 and am editing and directing larger and better projects and have less time to donate to the 'shed than when I was skipping class in college; and 3) nothing is happening in the land of Tool these days. We do know that A Perfect Circle is still going to be touring for a while, plus in an interview with Modern Drummer Magazine, Danny Carey states that he will be on tour with his band (Pygmy Love Circus) untill the end of 2004, so likely no Toolishness for a good while (thanks to Dave for sending this in). §
The Opinion forums are temporarily down, they will be back ASAP. They may even be back now... §