This past Saturday (24), Tool wrapped up their Summer  tour by playing their largest headlining show ever, along with the likes of Primus, Clutch, Fantomas, The Melvins and more. Before that, however, bassist Justin Chancellor sat down with the Metal Sucks podcast to talk about a bunch of stuff, including the follow-up to 2006’s 10,000 Days. Thankfully, the tour seems to have re-energized the band.

“It really is an evolving thing. Being out the last couple of weeks on the road and playing together, this year, we’ve really kind of hit a new level I’d say. [We’re] really excited to be around each other and we’re gonna just bang it out when we get back home, we’re ready to go…”

They’ve also got a lot to draw on for the new album, and are taking their time (obviously) on it: 

“We’re about 90% there, it’s been like a crazy science project—kind of like a petri dish. We’ve just been really picky over what we want to put on this new album and really want to come up with something completely unique. Plus, we have endless amounts of material to sift through, so it’s just been a process… a little different from last time.”

So it’s still kinda a “hurry up and wait” situation, but they seem to almost be hurrying up.