Danny Carey has been pulled from a two-month North American tour because of his commitments to Tool, and the band has no dates on the books anywhere in that window.
The drummer sits out BEAT‘s 40-date autumn run, with Terry Bozzio taking the seat behind the kit. The reason given by the King Crimson collective is short and specific: Carey is needed by Tool.
Tool have three confirmed engagements this year, all festivals. Riot Fest on September 19, Louder Than Life on September 20, and Aftershock on October 4.
BEAT‘s tour opens October 9 in Santa Cruz, California and finishes December 3 in Riverside, California.
The last Tool date the public knows about falls five days before BEAT play their first show. Whatever is occupying Carey through October, November and December has not been announced, which leaves unpublicized live dates or studio work.
Neither has been confirmed by anyone in Tool, and BEAT‘s statement offers no detail beyond the word “commitments.”
The context matters, because Carey put a year on the record earlier in 2026.
Speaking with the “Spiral Out Network“, the drummer gave the first concrete timeline any member has offered publicly.
“[We’re] working on a lot of new Tool songs right now,” he revealed at the time, noting that “the goal” is to have the next album ready for a 2027 release.
It was brief, and he framed it as a target rather than a promise. It also marked the first time the band had signalled that the sixth album had a horizon at all.
In the same conversation, Carey tied a potential Las Vegas residency directly to the album’s arrival.
“We’re hoping when we release the new record, maybe do a stint at the Sphere [in Las Vegas] ’cause I think we’re the perfect band for that. We’ve been talking to those guys.”
He had toured the venue without seeing a show there, and described the visit in blunt terms: “Yeah. Well, I just took a tour of it. I haven’t actually seen a full-on show, but they took [us around the venue] to show it off. It’s incredible, man. I almost got vertigo [just looking around it].”
Carey also acknowledged the practical obstacles, calling the preparation intense and noting that a residency takes several shows before it turns a profit, while describing the building itself as incredible.
Guitarist Adam Jones returned to the subject in May, saying conversations with the venue have been running since it opened.
Fear Inoculum was released on August 30, 2019. This month marks seven years.
That record ended a thirteen-year wait following 10,000 Days, and Carey was among those who spoke at the time about turning the next one around faster. That did not happen.
Bassist Justin Chancellor addressed the writing process last year, confirming new material was underway while warning against reading a schedule into it. Art, as he put it, does not really have one.
The band’s history supports the caution. Every Tool album cycle has run past the estimates given in interviews, and a stated goal of 2027 is not a release date.
Tool play Riot Fest on September 19, Louder Than Life on September 20 and Aftershock on October 4. No album has been announced, no title exists publicly, and no residency has been booked.
What changed this week is narrow but real: a second party has now stated on the record that Tool are occupying Carey‘s time through the end of the year.
BEAT formed in 2024 around Adrian Belew and Tony Levin, both former King Crimson members, with Steve Vai and Carey completing the lineup and Robert Fripp‘s endorsement behind it. The project has concentrated on the 1980s trilogy of Discipline, Beat and Three Of A Perfect Pair, and toured Europe this summer.
Tony Levin paid tribute to the departing drummer in the announcement.
“As Adrian Belew, Steve Vai and Tony Levin approach the band’s upcoming activity, Terry Bozzio enters the fold behind the kit. Danny Carey remains an important part of the BEAT family, and simply his Tool commitments prevent him from being available for this upcoming run in the Fall.”
Bozzio joins for 40 dates running October 9 through December 3, with the setlist expanding to include 1990s King Crimson material. General on-sale is August 7.
