The long-awaited follow-up to Tool’s last album 10,000 Days will “definitely” be released during 2018, drummer Danny Carey has confirmed. The news will come as a relief to fans who have clamored for updates in recent years.

10,000 Days, the band’s fourth album, arrived in 2006. Since then progress on their fifth LP has been subject to delays, some put down to legal issues, and others said to be connected with the material that was being written. Earlier this year frontman Maynard James Keenan admitted he found his bandmate's writing process frustrating, saying: "I like to release records and write things a little more quickly than those guys like to write. Their process is very analytical… it’s a very tedious and long process, and they’re always going back over things and questioning what they did and stepping back and going back further.” He added: "[It's] not personal, this is just the way they have to do it.”

Carey’s update came during a new interview with our sister site Loudwire, while he was discussing side-project Legend of the Seagullmen, featuring Brent Hinds of Mastodon. Asked about touring plans, Carey said: “At this point it’s tough [to decide] because we’re getting close to going in the studio with Tool, so we kind of have to work around each others’ schedule.”

When pressed on the topic of whether the album would arrive next year, Carey said: “Yes. I’m saying definitely. We’ll probably have it done in the first half [of 2018] if things go as planned. There’s setup times and manufacturing – I can never predict all that. It seems like it’s constantly evolving.” But when it came to any kind of specific date, he stated: “I can’t tell you.”

Logically, a fan asked Kennan what he thought of this report. His answer?

Meanwhile, Legend of the Seagullmen will release their self-titled debut album on Feb. 9, 2018. Listen to their new track, “Shipswreck,” below.

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