UPDATE: Wednesday, 9 a.m. ET — Following its Tuesday night at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Alabama, Tool flashed the release date of its upcoming and still untitled fifth album to those in attendance.
Mark your calendar — Aug. 30, 2019, is the date, according to the band.
A mere hours after its 12-song performance, Tool posted the date to Twitter in the form of a GIF. Above its logo reads “MMXIX,” which are the roman numerals for 2019.
It’s unlikely that 2019 will be the album’s title, but it finally confirms that fans will hear new music from the studio this year — this summer, to be precise.
ORIGINAL STORY:
After years of pondering whether they’ll ever hear new music from the band, longtime Tool fans across the globe were treated to not one but two brand-new songs from the band in the form of live recordings.
During their headlining appearance at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Fla., Tool debuted Invincible as well as the 12-minute-long Descending, which the band had played once before without lyrics.
Both tracks are expected to be part of the band’s upcoming fifth studio album.
WATCH: Tool debuts Invincible at Welcome to Rockville festival in Jacksonville, Fla.
It’s been 13 years since the release of the band’s last album, 10,000 Days (2006), and it seems things are now starting to look up.
Only last Wednesday were fans promised a taste of the new music. A picture posted to Twitter included thought bubbles over each of the band members’ heads, one of which read: “Feelin’ cute. Might play some new material on this upcoming tour. Idk.”
READ MORE: Tool drummer teases spring release date for long-awaited album
Back in January, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan confirmed in a tweet that all vocals for the forthcoming record were finished months prior. This was the band’s first official update on new music since 10,000 Days.
Drummer Danny Carey later suggested the album would be out “mid-April,” however, Keenan, 55, further denied this, adding that his “best ballpark guess” would be “somewhere between mid-May and mid-July.”
With two songs now seemingly ready to go, diehard fans are speculating that a new Tool single will arrive soon.
Sunday night’s show at Welcome to Rockville featured nine other songs from the Tool discography, including Ænema, The Pot, Parabola, Schism and Forty Six & 2.
Tool is currently on a short mini U.S. tour before heading to Europe for a series of summer music festivals.
As of this writing, Tool has not announced any Canadian tour dates. Fans are speculating that the upcoming album release will be accompanied by a world tour announcement.
Currently, the album is untitled and has no scheduled release date.
North American tour dates 2019
May 7 – Birmingham, Ala. @ Legacy Arena at The BCC
May 8 – Louisville, Ky. @ KFC Yum! Center
May 10 – Hampton, Va. @ Hampton Coliseum
May 11 – Concord, N.C. @ Epicenter Festival
May 13 – St. Louis, Mo. @ Enterprise Center
May 14 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Spring Center
May 16 – Lincoln, Neb. @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
May 17 – Des Moines, Iowa @ Wells Fargo Arena
May 19 – Bridgeview, Ill. @ Chicago Open Air Festival
Oct. 11-13 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Aftershock Festival