TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan told The Pulse of Radio last week that he and guitarist Billy Howerdel have been working on some fresh material for A PERFECT CIRCLE, the group they formed in 2000 while Keenan had time off from TOOL, but which has been inactive since 2004. However, Keenan revealed that the band might just post a couple of new songs online instead of doing an entire album. "I doubt if we'll do any touring or, you know, do a full album," he said. "We might do some one-off shows here and there if the timing's right and it seems like a good vibe and a smart thing to do. But most likely we'll just kind of concentrate on, you know, one or two songs at a time, rather than investing all the time and money and effort into making those plastic discs that no one cares about anymore."

A PERFECT CIRCLE released its debut disc, "Mer de Noms", in 2000, followed by "Thirteenth Step" in 2003 and a collection of anti-war cover songs, "Emotive", in 2004.

Members of the group have included MARILYN MANSON bassist Jeordie White, a.k.a. Twiggy Ramirez, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and NINE INCH NAILS drummer Josh Freese.

Howerdel launched a new band called ASHES DIVIDE earlier this year, although the group is rumored to have broken up already.

Keenan has set February 13 and February 14 as the dates for the live debut of his side act PUSCIFER at the 2,500-seat Pearl concert theatre at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. The shows will reportedly feature a loose collection of musicians, comedians and other artists in a cabaret-type performance.

TOOL has been on vacation since early 2008, although Keenan said that he expects the band to begin writing a new album sometime next year.