On Tuesday (Aug. 26), Tool’s Maynard James Keenan and Adam Jones joined Loudwire Nights and opened up about what it was like performing at Back to the Beginning on July 5 in Birmingham, England, and what went through their heads when they heard the news that Ozzy Osbourne had died.
“It was very devastating,” Jones shared with host Chuck Armstrong. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.
“At the same time, it was kind of this gut feeling of harmony, that we had been a part of sending him off and so there was a little bit of … I don’t know. Sorry, it’s still kind of emotional, the whole legacy and how it affected each one of us.”
Jones shared when he was young, he always remembered hearing older kids playing Black Sabbath while they were skateboarding. Then, years later, it was a bit surreal to be performing at Ozzfest and getting to know the Osbourne family.
“They’ve been nothing but cool and supportive of our band.”
Feeling Nerves and Anxiety at Back to the Beginning
In 2024, Keenan was part of a massive tribute to Ozzy as part of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even with that experience under his belt, he said he still had legitimate nerves ahead of Back to the Beginning.
“Fuck no,” he said immediately when asked if he was calmer getting ready for Back to the Beginning.
“The Rock Hall, he’s literally 20 feet away, starting at the side of my head while I fuck up one his best Blizzard of Ozz songs and then this one, it’s slightly out of my range, so I’m just gripping nuts to make sure I hit the notes. And the same thing here, he’s staring at my head.”
It was clear Jones shared similar nerves as Keenan.
“Actually, Justin [Chancellor] had to kind of center me before we were on stage,” he admitted.
“I really got anxiety, but almost in a good way … But it was great. I’ll never forget it. It’s a total core memory and an honor.”
Covering Black Sabbath’s “Hand of Doom”
When Chuck asked Keenan and Jones about their Black Sabbath cover at Back to the Beginning, it seemed like there was actually a bit of history between the band and the song they played, “Hand of Doom.”
“I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time,” Keenan said.
“It took Ozzy almost dying for me to get these guys to do it.”
Jones also said he’s been up for doing a cover for a while.
“Maynard had mentioned it years ago, off of some riff I was doing,” he said.
“He thought it sounded like Black Sabbath. Like, ‘Oh man, we should do a cover of ‘Hand of Doom.’ And then when we were asked which song we wanted to do, we had some ideas, but we were kind of late in the game of joining and a lot of the songs were taken. Maynard said ‘Hand of Doom’ and it was available. Just weird how things work sometimes.”
The Future of New Music From Tool
While the bulk of the conversation with Keenan and Jones centered around Ozzy and Back to the Beginning, they did share a little bit about where they’re at with new music from Tool.
When asked what’s on the horizon for 2026, Keenan offered, “Writing, I guess. You guys are busy, Adam?”
Jones concurred.
“We want to get another record out and play, do what we do,” he said.
“The three of us have been jamming. I don’t know if you go, oh, the writing process has started. It’s always there. Between preparing for an upcoming tour or whatever we’re doing, there’s points where someone goes, oh, I got this and I got this. But I think we’re going to dive deep soon.”
Jones did say he remembers the riff he was playing when Keenan said it sounded like Black Sabbath — and maybe fans will hear it one day.
“I’ll probably bug those guys again about trying to turn that into a future Tool song,” he said.
“I’ve got lots of riffs, we put them together, tear them apart and try to make something that we’re all into.”
READ MORE: Henry Rollins Shares Incredible Stories + Memories of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath
With Back to the Beginning and the death of Ozzy still so fresh in their memories, Keenan admitted it might have some sort of influence on the timing of Tool’s next record.
“You know, life is short. You just got to fucking do it now. There is no waiting. You don’t know what’s coming tomorrow. You got to do it now. So that’s what we’re doing.”
Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below
Maynard James Keenan and Adam Jones joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Aug. 26, and Friday, Aug. 22; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.
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Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll
