Maynard James Keenan said he doesn’t have the final say on Tool albums in a new interview with Rick Beato.

“No. Because if you end up being the final say, and you’re wrong… it has to be by committee. Even if it’s fucking death by committee. It has to be by committee because you have to trust each other at the end of the day for it to be the full encompassing piece with several sets of eyes (and ears on it).”

He added that there are mutual agreements made in the studio, “Generally speaking, I mean there might be songs when I go ‘no man trust me’. On one, you know, you might pick your battles on certain tracks, but generally speaking it’s mutually arrived upon.”

Keenan said that Tool members do battle over who gets the loudest voice in songs, “Tool, yeah, yeah it’s a fight to the death every f**king time. But that’s typical with a live band, with four people who are deaf. [Laughter] Old guys that are deaf. I can’t hear me – you’re deaf. Generally speaking, though, you’re looking for the balance of it.”

Tool recently toured North America for the first time in two years.