On Tuesday (Aug. 26), Tool’s Maynard James Keenan and Adam Jones joined Loudwire Nights and opened up about their experience performing at Back to the Beginning on July 5 in Birmingham, England, as well as their reactions to the news of Ozzy Osbourne’s passing.

“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 recalled that when he was young, he always remembered hearing older kids playing Black Sabbath while skateboarding. Years later, it felt surreal to perform at Ozzfest and get 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 participated in a massive tribute to Ozzy during his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite that experience, he admitted he still felt significant nerves ahead of Back to the Beginning.

“Fuck no,” he said immediately when asked if he was calmer preparing for Back to the Beginning.

“The Rock Hall, he’s literally 20 feet away, staring at the side of my head while I fuck up one of 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 that 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 there was actually a bit of history between the band and the song they performed, “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 mentioned he’s been interested in doing a cover for quite some time.

“Maynard had mentioned it years ago, off 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 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 much of the conversation with Keenan and Jones revolved around Ozzy and Back to the Beginning, they did share some insights about new music from Tool.

When asked what’s on the horizon for 2026, Keenan replied, “Writing, I guess. You guys are busy, Adam?”

Jones agreed.

“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 are moments when someone goes, oh, I got this and I got this. But I think we’re going to dive deep soon.”

Jones mentioned he remembers the riff he was playing when Keenan remarked it sounded like Black Sabbath — and perhaps fans will hear it someday.

“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 create 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 Ozzy’s death still fresh in their minds, Keenan acknowledged that it might influence 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; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also check if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.