Tool Planning Winter Tour for 2012

As most of you know by now, all the hype around Tool being in the recording studio was just that. The recording sessions mentioned in Tool's November newsletter actually referred to drummer Danny Carey's side project, Volto.

But as cryptic and frustrating as newsletters can be, it did hint at one thing pretty clearly, and it looks like it was right on the money: a winter tour.

While Tool hasn't officially announced any dates, a quick search on Ticketmaster reveals the following:

• 1/14 Reno, NV – Reno Events Center
• 1/15 Las Vegas, NV – Mandalay Bay Events Center
• 1/17 Tucson, AZ – Tucson Arena
• 1/18 Albuquerque, NM – Tingley Coliseum
• 1/20 Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theatre
• 1/24 Toledo, OH – Huntington Center
• 1/25 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
• 1/26 London, ON – John Labatt Centre
• 1/28 Boston, MA – TD Garden
• 1/29 Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
• 1/31 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
• 2/8 Duluth, GA – Gwinnett Arena

The first two dates were reported as "leaked" last week and were subsequently taken down, but now it seems their reappearance, coupled with the addition of two more dates, could confirm a winter mini-tour for Tool.

On the new-album front, we have at least confirmed that Tool are, in fact, writing new music; however, a release timetable is nowhere close to being decided upon, and recording sessions haven't started just yet.