TOOL Reportedly In Talks To Make Its Music Available On Streaming Services

According to Bloomberg, TOOL is in talks to make its catalog available on streaming services in time for the release of the band's next studio album.

Frontman Maynard James Keenan and his bandmates are said to be in negotiations with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music about the best way to release their music.

The hard-rock quartet, which hasn't issued a new studio album since 2006's "10,000 Days", is one of the few major recording acts still unavailable on most streaming services.

TOOL bassist Justin Chancellor told Bass Player in a recent interview that the band is "pretty deep into the writing process now" for its new disc. Chancellor explained: "We've narrowed things down to big groups of ideas. For the past few months, we've been working on one of the newer songs fairly exclusively. We get the gist of it and find the main themes that make up the skeleton between verses and choruses. Then we explore different ways we can depart from that and come back to it and flip it upside down, and take the time to see what else is there."

Chancellor added: "Everyone knows we take our time. We're really trying to be responsible with ourselves in trying to discover ideas that haven't been discovered before. It's kind of an alchemy, how we experiment."

Addressing the decade-long gap between the last TOOL offering and this one, Chancellor remarked: "Writing is a grueling process for us, and once we finish an album, we go on tour for a couple of years. Plus, we're always very involved in our own business, so we need a break when we come back. We've also been through a lot of difficult lawsuits, which we deal with ourselves, and they're a bit of a bummer and not inspiring creatively."

He continued: "We're our own worst critics. We're doing our best to find something that blows us all away, and we want each other to be completely happy with what we produce. I'm excited that there's going to be another album and the material will be very inspiring. So why rush it now?"

Keenan has been touring with his other act, PUSCIFER, and has been on a book tour in recent weeks to promote his newly released memoir, "A Perfect Union Of Contrary Things". He will also play a number of shows with A PERFECT CIRCLE in April and early May.

TOOL's summer North American tour kicks off on May 24 in Fairfax, Virginia and will include several festival stops in addition to headlining dates.

The group has promised an "unparalleled sonic and visual experience" for fans who come to the concerts.

It is unknown whether TOOL will debut any new music on the upcoming run of shows.