Tool's dedication to evolving their music is legendary, and while their next studio album remains the primary item on their agenda, the band has also reworked one of their previous fan-favorite songs. In a new Instagram post, guitarist Adam Jones reveals that "Opiate" has been given a bit of a makeover and he also offers up a little audio sample.

"We recorded a new version of 'Opiate' not too long ago. We wrote a different break down that's about five minutes longer in the middle of the song. I believe there are recent live versions of it online. @dominic_hailstone_ did an (unreleased) Ultimate Video for it. Anyway here's a clip of me messing with sounds for the distant Synth Melody. *Enjoy ❤️ #Tool #opiate," writes the guitarist. Listen to the keyboard-infused sample in the Instagram post below and hear the concert version of the track in fan-filmed video at the bottom of this post.

Tool continuing to tinker with their music is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the band debuted the song "Descending" at their Monster Mash Festival performance in Arizona back in 2015, but Jones revealed earlier this year that the song that's been a staple of live shows is vastly different from what will be heard on the recorded version. “The best way to explain it is that it’s like when a new movie is coming out,” Jones stated about the track. “It’s a really anticipated movie, so the first trailer is really obscure and you’re like ‘Wait, what?’ That’s what we’re doing. We took the song that is finished, it’s called ‘Descending,’ and we just took the most obscure bits and put it together to give a little taste of what’s coming.”

As for the next album, bassist Justin Chancellor revealed over the summer that he felt it was "about 90 percent there," adding, "It's been like a crazy science project, kind of like a petri dish. We've been really picky over what we want to put on this new album and really want to come up with something completely unique."

Meanwhile, frontman Maynard James Keenan also addressed the lengthy turnaround time, stating this past summer that he had written parts to a few songs, but the band had switched the underlying composition, which meant that a fresh start was in order. “As far as the way Danny and Justin and Adam write, it’s a very tedious, long process. They’re always going back over things and questioning what they did and stepping back and going back farther and going forward and, in a way, they’re laying a foundation, they’re putting in the footings for a house. I can’t write melodies until the footings are in place, I can’t write words until the melodies are in place,” explained the singer. But while the anticipation mounts over new Tool music, Keenan did state in the same interview, "It’s a great thing, what they’re doing is wonderful.”

Hear Tool's "Opiate" From Their 2017 Randalls Island Show

12 Unforgettable Maynard James Keenan Moments

Top 100 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 21st Century

 

More From Sasquatch 107.7 - The Rock of Rochester