TSO in 2021

[DarkMacek]

Really, unless they release some new music this year, I just can't work up much enthusiasm for TSO anymore.  I've seen them in concert four times, and always enjoyed it, but I don't have an urge to continue shelling out money to hear the same music again and again.  And even if they release a new album, it would have to be a significant improvement over NC and Letters for me to really get excited about it. 
I feel like 2020 would have been an ideal time for them to record new music, seeing as how they weren't on tour, and with that extra time, maybe they could have had something ready to release just before this year's tour.  But I haven't heard any reports of them taking advantage of the opportunity, which is a shame.

I wish that had happened too, but I'm guessing that, being an older band, they're used to the in-person dynamic and probably not as in-tune with the idea of "Let's setup a dropbox to share our recordings and mix it all together."

I always had the impression that they recorded many of their parts separately even when there wasn't a pandemic.  Not sure where I got that idea, but I could have sworn I read it somewhere.  Fully willing to admit I might be wrong about that, though.

What I'm used to hearing is that Paul and Al will get together and put most things together and pull in other members as needed. 
It's possible that, when using another guitar player, the part is tracked remotely and then re-amped there in the studio. But I am not sure that the band (or, Al and Paul) operate as such. They seem kinda traditional to me.