Tool: Maynard James Keenan, Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones
Tool has not said much publicly about the writing sessions for its long-awaited fifth studio album, but they have let some info slip to Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne. According to Team Rock, Osborne claims that Tool guitarist Adam Jones has told him that the band has not started recording yet — and that the shortest song composed for the set clocks in at 12 minutes. Osborne added that the songs weren’t written to be “radio friendly.”
Jones told us a while back Tool’s creative process is relatively simple: “We write this song, and then we write the next song — we don’t really, like, you know, go, ‘Okay, well, now we’re gonna write the radio song,’ or ‘Now, we’re gonna write this song.’ You know, we just write and then put ‘em in an order that we like after we’ve recorded them and then get a feeling from all the songs in the group and then try to attack the propaganda of selling the record.”
According to reports, the instrumental members of Tool have been working for some time on music for their new album, although singer Maynard James Keenan may or may not have begun working with the group on melodies and lyrics. The band issued its last studio effort, 10,000 Days, over a decade ago, in May 2006. Tool will headline the Voodoo Music & Arts Experience in New Orleans this fall, and has also booked shows in Sacramento, Salt Lake City,Denver and Little Rock.
The Pulse Of Radio reports Chevelle and Disturbed are planning to team up for a fall tour together, Chevelle frontman Pete Loeffler revealed to Billboard.com on Thursday (Jun 30th). Both bands hail from the Chicago area and Loeffler said a new road trip together is long overdue: “It’s been years since we’ve toured with these guys and they’re from Chicago as well, so we’ve known them for years. We see eye to eye on a lot of different things and (Disturbed singer) David Draiman has always been, he’s been a friend over the years that I could call and ask about various tough questions, and he’s actually done the same to me, he’s called and asked my advice on things. And they’ve been a good band for us to tour with, and so we’re gonna give it another shot and see how it goes.”
Chevelle premiered a new track called “Rivers” on Thursday. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming album, The North Corridor, which arrives on Jul 8th.
Pete Loeffler told Billboard getting back to a heavier sound on the new CD was a priority for him. He explained, “I had a really good grasp on what I wanted it to sound like. I talked with the guys and said, ‘I really want to make a really heavy record this time around, go back to our (2002′s) Wonder What’s Next roots a little bit.’ And it’s what we like to play live, so it just made sense.”
The first single from The North Corridor, “Joyride,” is already Number Four on the rock radio chart, making it the band’s 14th Top 10 hit at rock radio. The trio has a number of festival dates coming up between now and late Jul, when it will begin a run of shows with Bush on Jul 23rd in Cincinnati.
The Pulse Of Radio also reporting Nine Inch Nails main man Trent Reznor and his frequent collaborator Atticus Ross have written and recorded a new song called “Juno” for NASA. The tune is named after a craft launched by the space agency in Aug 2011 that is on its way to Jupiter and is expected to arrive on July 4th. A preview of the track is online, and you can purchase the full eight-and-half-minute song at iTunes. Juno’s arrival at Jupiter will be the closest any spacecraft has come to the planet.
The digital music outlet describes the tune as “a chilling soundscape of unspeakable beauty” and “deeply cinematic,” adding that it’s highlighted by “feverish atmospherics,” “chains of glassy melody” and “haunting textures.” The song reportedly also features recordings of Jupiter “singing” — sounds generated by the interaction between the solar wind and the planet’s magnetic field.
Reznor and Ross have teamed up several times before, winning an Oscar and a Golden Globe for their score to the 2010 film The Social Network. They also composed the scores for 2011′s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and 2014’s Gone Girl. Reznor and Ross have also worked together on music for How To Destroy Angels, Nine Inch Nails and Tapeworm. Speaking of Nine Inch Nails, Reznor said last year that the band would return in 2016, although there is no word yet on a new album or tour. The last NIN effort was 2013′s Hesitation Marks.
Stevie Young, the nephew of guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, took Malcolm‘s place in the band prior to the recording of the group’s 16th studio album, Rock Or Bust.
AC/DC made it official in Sep 2014 that Malcolm Young would no longer record or perform with the group. His family disclosed a short time later he was afflicted with dementia. The guitarist was rumored to have suffered a stroke earlier that year.
Asked whether Malcolm approved of the band continuing without him after he was diagnosed with dementia, Angus told Sweden’s Aftonbladet: “It was Malcolm himself [who said we should carry on]… He worked as long as he could himself [until] he couldn’t continue doing it because of his medical condition. So he said it was left to me to keep it going. And the logical choice to fulfill Mal’s role on the project was my nephew Stevie. He had filled in for Mal in 1988 and he had done an American tour, a whole American tour, and he did it well.”
Added bassist Cliff Williams: “He was the obvious choice. And he fills in very well for Mal. He plays very similar — same style, which is hard to find. It’s unique — it really is — and Stevie grew up with that, and he plays just like Mal, so he fills in extremely well. [He has the] same type of personality.”
