Progress in the world of Tool tends to move at a tectonic pace, but it sounds like the gears are finally turning again. In a recent chat with Spiral Out, drummer Danny Carey revealed that the band is eyeing a 2027 release for their long-awaited next album, potentially followed by an ambitious residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

If that timeline holds, the record would be the band’s first since 2019’s Fear Inoculum, which topped the Billboard 200 and continued their streak of chart dominance. But for Carey, it’s not just about releasing new music, it’s about how that music lives in a space built for sensory overload.

“We’ve always leaned into that cinematic side,” Carey explained, noting that Sphere feels like a natural fit for Tool’s immersive, visual-heavy approach. Talks have already begun with the venue, though he made it clear that pulling off something at that scale is no small feat. With 16K-resolution screens wrapping the interior, the production demands (and costs) are massive. “You don’t just walk into something like that and turn a profit,” he admitted. “It takes a run of shows to even break even. But creatively, it’d be worth every bit of it.”

Carey hasn’t actually caught a show inside Sphere yet, though even a walkthrough left an impression, he joked that the sheer scale of it nearly gave him vertigo. As for the new material, details remain scarce, but he confirmed the band is actively working on a batch of new songs, with the goal of getting them out into the world next year.

Since opening in 2023, Sphere has quickly become a proving ground for arena-sized imagination. U2 christened the venue with its inaugural run, and the lineup since has been equally heavyweight, including Phish, Dead & Company, Eagles, Kenny Chesney, Backstreet Boys, and Zac Brown Band. Upcoming acts like No Doubt and Carin León are already on the books, while rumors continue to swirl around a possible 2027 run from Metallica.