The mere topic of Tool’s new album results in frustration, anger, and plenty of impatience from the group’s immensely loyal fanbase, but it looks like we now have a new goal in sight, with the group’s frontman revealing that new music will be released next year.

Just yesterday, it was announced that Tool’s Justin Chancellor had been making “great progress” in the studio, which came only a week after a user on Reddit noted that drummer Danny Carey hinted the group’s new record could be out in December. Needless to say, it has been looking like things are finally picking up steam.

However, it seems as though that we might have to wait a little longer than December, with frontman Maynard James Keenan revealing at a recent awards ceremony that new music will finally be coming out next year.

As Metal Hammer notes, Maynard was in London on Monday night to pick up the Icon award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards.

“I wouldn’t be here without you guys, so thank you very much for all that,” he stated during his acceptance speech. “A lot of work’s being done, a lot of work’s been done. I’ll go on record now saying you’re gonna see some new music next year.”

Of course, considering how impatient that Maynard himself is about this new record, we feel pretty confident that we can take his word for it. In fact recent gigs have seen the frontman “begging” his bandmates to hurry along with the album.

Keenan’s speech during the band’s set at Northern Invasion festival included him explaining why he’d begun wearing riot gear onstage, saying it’s because he’s afraid of fans eventually losing their patience in a rather violent manner.

“A lot of people recently have been asking me, Maynard James Keenan, what’s with the fucking riot gear?” he began. “Well, I’ll tell you. I’m afraid of bananas, and other forms of fruit, because eventually you wonderful people are going to run out of fucking patience.”

“So I beg you – Danny, Adam, and Justin, please finish your parts so I can finish mine. So I can take this fucking riot gear off.”

If you also consider how back in April, Maynard spoke about how fans would probably attack him if he recorded another Puscifer album instead of a Tool album, it looks as though 2019 might be the year we finally see that elusive fifth record.

Check out Tool’s ‘Forty Six & 2’: