First TOOL vocalist Maynard James Keenan reportedly told a Chilean radio station earlier this month that the band would not release a new album in 2013, only for drummer Danny Carey to tell a New Zealand station a few days later that a new CD would arrive "sometime this year." But, according to The Pulse Of Radio, now Keenan has told Spin.com that while he has been "jamming" with both TOOL and, surprisingly, A PERFECT CIRCLE, neither act is close to having an album's worth of material ready. Keenan said, "Basically, right now it's a lot of ideas. Jamming. There's no actual songs for either project. It's still kind of noodles in a big basket . . . Lots of noodles, just no dishes."

It's been seven years since TOOL last released an album, 2006's "10,000 Days", and nine years since A PERFECT CIRCLE has released a new disc as well.

Despite the long wait, TOOL remains as popular as ever. Danny Carey told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that he feels the band's integrity has kept the fans coming back. "We truly are an alternative band," he said. "It's an alternative to what other people label as alternative, that actually all sounds the same or whatever. And I think people can identify that and they can relate to it, and they desire the real thing when it's available. You just gotta stick to your laurels and believe in what you're doing, and not do it for money, do it for the art of it, then you can't lose."

Meanwhile, Keenan's other band PUSCIFER is streaming its new EP, "Donkey Punch The Night", online at Spin.com ahead of its release next Tuesday (February 19).

One track on the new set, called "Dear Brother", is dedicated to several people who have passed away recently, including Adam "MCA" Yauch of the BEASTIE BOYS. Keenan explained, "That was a sad day when I got that news. It also pays tribute to our friend Edward Willie, Jr. from UNCLE SCRATCH'S GOSPEL REVIVAL — they're a band who opened up for us, out of Ohio in the area where I was born. And Ray Beckwith was an Australian winemaker, who, in a way, reinvented the wheel in winemaking."

Both TOOL and PUSCIFER will play some live shows later this spring and possibly summer, while Carey also hinted that TOOL may also be getting ready to release some of its massive amount of live material on CD or DVD.