Keenan Leaves TooL???

Wow... I have NO idea if this could possibly be true or if it could be classified as the ultimate hoax/Aprol Fool's Day prank... but there are several reports, including one authenticated as being from TooL/A Perfect Circle front man Maynard James Keenan, himself, that the singer has rediscovered religion and, at least for the moment, left TooL in the middle of recording their latest album.

From toolshed:

I have no idea how to introduce this, so I'll just post it. This is an email Maynard (the real one) sent in moments ago:

"hi, kabir. i thought it only fair to inform you first, before you hear it second or third hand. some recent events have led me to the rediscovery of jesus. tool will need to take the back seat. this may come as a shock. i just thought you should know considering all the support you given us over the years.
all my faith. maynard."

This is an actual email from actual MJK.

Mtv's Kurt Loder emailed Keenan after hearing, looking for confirmation - Keenan's response:

"I did, in fact, find Jesus. More news to follow. God bless ya."

A posting to the band's website also makes reference to this, although who wrote it remains unclear:

"I went to the studio to give Maynard a bottle of wine ... [and] not only wasn't Maynard there, but ... I was told Maynard has indeed 'found Jesus' and that, for this reason, he's abandoned the project for the time being, if not entirely."

Wow... wow, wow, wow, wow, wow... If this is, in fact, true and not an April Fool's prank (which I certainly would not put past them)... this is some big news...

Apparently, one person was very happy when he heard this. In an email to Mtv News, former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch said,
"This is a beautiful, beautiful outpouring of the Holy Spirit."

This is really some head-spinning news. If he has really found religion, I don't want to knock him for it - considering his past "views" (most notably in songs like TooL's "Eulogy" and A Perfect Circle's "Judith"), it would be a bit of a shock, to say the least. But maybe, in his wicked little sense of humor, he's taking a poke at Head's recent conversion and rather strange antics that soon followed... I could never say one way or the other unless I talked to the man, himself... and seeing as that's probably not going to happen anytime soon, I will just hope that if it is true, it is for the right reasons.

Listening to: Black Label Society - "Mafia" (2005)