Primus have recruited Tool drummer Danny Carey to fill in for Tim Alexander while he recovers from open heart surgery.

Carey will play with Les Claypool and co at a handful of September shows, with Alexander set to return to the fold in October. Carey will be on the stool for appearances at Riot Fest in Chicago and Denver.

Claypool tells Rolling Stone:

"The mighty Tim 'Herb' Alexander is a polyrhythmic viking of extreme and unique talent so the one person that we thought could step into his shoes and do it justice is the one and only Mr Danny Carey.

"Whereas Herb is the stocky, Easter Island-faced, boulder of a drumming human, at nearer to seven feet, Danny Carey is the mighty redwood tree of percussion – towering over his kit like a golden-haired noble sequoia."

Claypool adds that Primus decided to go through with the shows to give Alexander some financial relief and that Carey was their top choice.

The two bands have a connection, in that Alexander has played with Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan in Puscifer and A Perfect Circle.

Primus release new album Primus & the Chocolate Factory on October 21, while Tool are finally working on a follow-up to 2006's 10,000 Days after years of legal wrangling over artwork royalties.