Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan earns black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan has earned a black belt in the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, as confirmed on Instagram. 

• READ MORE: Tool – ‘Fear Inoculum’ review 

A photo was posted on the social media site by fellow black belt Ty Gay this week (January 8) showing Keenan with his newly-acquired belt. 

“Congratulations to my friend, training partner, and sometimes nemesis @iamthebriefcase on the monumental task of receiving his Black Belt today,” Gay wrote beneath the photo. “Was an amazing event, with a bunch of truly amazing people. Today, Jiu-Jitsu became just a little bit better.” 

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A post shared by Ty Gay (@tygaygjj)

Keenan himself posted a photo of his belt on Instagram, adding: “New chapter. Thank you all for helping me write the previous,” before tagging in a series of his training partners. 

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A post shared by MJ Keenan (@iamthebriefcase)

Keenan has been known to be training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for over two decades, and attained the brown belt in 2021. 

This week (January 11), Tool drummer Danny Carey said that the band might release an EP rather than a full-length album. That followed a tease back in October from bassist Justin Chancellor that fans wouldn’t be waiting long for Tool’s next LP. Their most recent album was 2019’s ‘Fear Inoculum‘.

In other Tool news, the band recently announced a series of UK and European tour dates, set to kick off later in the year. Check out the full list of dates below and visit here for tickets. 
TOOL’s European tour dates are: 
MAY
25 – Hannover, DE ZAG Arena
27 – Amsterdam, NL Ziggo Dome
30 – Birmingham, UK Resorts World Arena 

JUNE
1 – Manchester, UK AO Arena
3 – London, UK The O2
5 – Paris, FR Accor Arena
8 – Berlin, DE Parkbühne Wuhlheide
10 – Wien, AT Wiener Stadthalle
11 – Kraków, PL Tauron Arena
13 – Budapest, HU BudapestAréna
18 – Köln, DE Lanxess Arena
20 – Dessel, BE Graspop Metal Meeting
22 – Copenhagen, DK CopenHell
25 – Stockholm, SE Tele2 Arena
27 – Oslo, NO Tons of Rock 

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