Customer Reviews

Thirteenth Step

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Perfect Circle are now undeniably a supergroup after recent changes to their line-up, bringing ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie and ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha into the fold. The musical core remains largely the same, however, with the songwriting led by founder Billy Howerdel, the distinctive vocals of Tools' Maynard James Keenan, and Vandals drummer Josh Freeze. So after a platinum selling debut Mer de Noms in 2000, where was this even more powerful ensemble possibly setting its sights three years later?

The first single "Weak and Powerless" sounds much like the band we remember, clearly more restrained and developed in sound, with a structural element that they previously shunned, and yet accessible in its clear genius. However, this is a misleading introduction to the album, which is a great distance away from the debut. Fans expecting a repeat of such beautifully crafted songs, light in tone but dark in subject, will be initally disappointed. However, with a little time and effort, they will discover and even greater sound within this new CD, as A Perfect Circle evolve in leaps and bounds.

A "conceptual exploration of the darker side of the human psyche" they said. The change is immediately clear from the opener "The Package" which lasts almost eight minutes in duration. This prog rock design is almost the antithesis of their previous chart hits, but is the perfect introduction to the new album. Instrumentally stripped down and essentially a vocal exercise, what follows is a series of highly understated songs carefully surrounded by a spine-tingling mixture of soft and heavy instrumentation.

Thirteenth Step can be accused of occassionally being a little grandiose in its complexity, but the painstaking care that went into the crafting of each tune is undeniably clear. The heaviness of the dark subject matter of Mer de Noms has now filtered through to the musical sound, while remaining low in volume. The result can be somewhat frustrating as the song appears to be slowly building up...but without any discernible climax. The result often works best on heavier tracks such as "Pet", "The Outsider" and the brilliantly dark, slow but incessent sound of "The Noose". The persistent vocals throughout the album evoke a trance-like state of strange beauty.

Howerdel has rightly suggested that the album is best listened to through headphones, due to the quiet sound levels used to allow certain sections to suddenly break through from nothing before dying away once again. Indeed, unlike Mer de Noms, one should really play the new album with the sole intention of exploring the music, for it is not easily accessible and requires the listener's focused attention, in a similar way to Nine Inch Nails' Downward Spiral.

It's utterly refreshing to find a band who have created such a unique sound that while Thirteenth Step at first appears to launch in an utterly different direction to their debut, it still retains a distinctly "A Perfect Circle" element. So with this blend of Maynard's angelic yet tragic vocals, Howerdel's understated yet complex songwriting, interwoven softer and heavier riffs, and a supergroup featuring some of the most talented musicians today, A Perfect Circle are looking to become a visionary and hugely influential band.

KEY TRACKS: The Noose, Weak and Powerless, The Outsider

Undoubtedly one of the best album's ever created, A Perfect Circle pull out all musical stops here creating an almost flawless, haunting, melodic, masterful sound. Hard to believe they are a metal band at times.

Opening slowly, 'The Package' leads in with little instrumentation at first but builds slowly to a thrashing crescendo leaving Keenan screaming the last chorus.

Following on is the beautifully written 'Weak and Powerless', a stunning masterpiece.

The musicianship does not stop at just these two tracks though, singles 'Blue' and 'The Outsider' provide yet more stunning mild rock songs, the latter being a little heavier and one of the best tracks on the album.

Perhaps the best though is 'Pet', a politically charged, dark, heavy song. Sitting almost at the end of the album it leads out with a bang into the final effort - 'Gravity' - slowly and gently releasing the listener back out of the helpless trance you are placed in when listening.

A stunning album. If you don't buy it, I could almost be persuaded to buy it for you...

For some reason this album is out in Ireland before the 15th. I am not complaining. I bought it and have not stopped listening to it. I liked the first album but I love this album. A huge step up from the first. Not that the first was bad, but this album is a big progression. More haunting and beautiful and a little bit more experimental and slightly heavier. More complex guitar and vocal harmonies and the Bass and Drums have more presence. Haunting, beautiful ambient metal? If you are a fan of the first album, Tool, the God Machine you will love this.

With this album they are really tight and it is the sound of a band comfortable with who they are and what they do.

A Perfect Circle can no longer be described as "Maynard's side-project" or "a substandard Tool." With this new album they have found their own voice and style and it suits them perfectly. However, with this band it is easy to hear their influences and their connections. There are elements of Tool, Smashing Pumpkins (thankfully no Marilyn Manson, and Jon Freese has played in far too many bands to give a distinct sound, is it more Vandals or Guns N Roses?) and there are clear elements of The Cure and some Tori Amos. Maynard till sounds as unique as ever. He is the star of the show and there's no denying it. It's good to hear new work by him until some new Tool emerges.

Track highlights include the brooding The Package, the stunningly beautiful The Noose (this track alone is better than anything from Mer De Noms) the heavier Pet and the current single Weak & Powerless.

Any fan of the first album and any fan of Tool or Smashing Pumpkins will have already bought this album, the rest of you should too.

I first heard the outsider on a resident evil movie soundtrack a friend lent, when i heard it i knew it was unlike anything id ever heard, and some one who had never really listened to tool i took a risk and brought "thirteenth step" and without doubt its an amazing spiritual musical journey through emotions that will empty your soul with pure feelings for this amazing album, buy it now

This album is fantastic, period. There is a huge variation in between all the tracks on the album, right from the first engaging drum beats of 'The Package' to the the floaty drumming through "Gravity", achieved as much through the tempo and stylings of each song as the range of instruments and the sounds these instruments are used to create. Yet despite this there is a wonderful cohesive feel between each song, even as the gentle flowing 'The Nurse Who Loved Me' driftings into the heavy and harsh 'Pet' you never feel like there is a break in the albums message. They flow beautifully from one to the other and the themes following on perfectly, probably the work of the meticulous planning that no doubt went into the albums production. Then layered on top of the beautifully crafted melodies is possibly the best singing voice I've ever heard, telling you a story about the stages of a persons drug addictions. Well, it is in APC, I'm not so fond of Tool.

However, because of the story-like nature of the album a few problems arrise. The tracks 'Crimes' and 'Lullaby' are little more than interlude tracks, which is fine when you listen through the entire album, but as tracks they are disappointing and I tend to skip them most of the time. The track 'The Nurse Who Loved Me' is a full song but suffers from the same problem, I find that there's not enough there to keep me entertained. However, if you like clever, melodious and mature rock/metal music then definitely check this album out, it is (almost) perfect.

While it's multi-million selling predecessor 'Mer De Norms' was by Maynard James Keenan's standard quite a mainstream album, with the singles placing high in the billboard chart, and a fair amount of the tracks being placed under simply 'rock' in the music category. It was a rock album, full of anthems and beautiful love songs. On 'thirteenth step' however, the band have created a dark, beautiful, bitter album that will rank high in the creativity stakes. Highlights include-

The Package - The opening track is a 7 minutes plus prog-rock opener, that is as gentle as rock gets, before Maynards growl of 'GIVE THIS TO ME' starts the song into an absolute thumper.

The Noose - about as stripped down as songs get, this track is almost a vocal excercise for maynard, and the lyrics are superb.

Pet - The heavy exception to the rest of the album, 'Pet' contains a guitar riff that most nu-metal bands would sell their own family for.

Don't expect the mainstream rock of mer de norms, just expect a basic yet complex album, that is as beautiful as anything that will appear this year.

Though I normally dislike music I have to listen to repeatedly in order to like, I must praise this CD. It was actually not the fault of the music, but rather of me that TS didn't seem special at first - I simply had to soak it all up and let it twirl a bit around in my head. The second time I heard it (and without any distractions this time), I embraced it. I'm certain you will too.

As others have mentioned the craftmanship, skill and care that has gone into this music is enormous and this alone is enough reason to buy the CD. But the element that, in my opinion, makes this CD great is the feeling, the spirit... I'm not sure what to label it, but the album has an etheral feel to it - it's walking, but I'm not sure its feet touches the ground...

I'm sure any fan of rock will enjoy this.

This album is perfect. As i have only just discovered Tool, A Perfect Circle was the obvious progression- can't believe i've spent 30 years listening 2 prog/ metal etc & missed Tool- sacriledge! Love, love, love it all. Buy this album or live to regret it- it's amazing!!

Before I bought this, I had heard 'Blue' before. It made me want to buy the CD. It is an amazing album, with no flaws for me.

If you aren't familiar with A Perfect Circle, it is a supergroup which, at the time of this album's release, was made up of Billy Howerdel (Guitar, producer), Maynard James Keenan (From Tool; Vocals), Jeordie White (From Marilyn Manson/Nine Inch Nails; Bass) and John Freese (From The Vandals/Nine Inch Nails/Guns N Roses; Drums).

The album is amazing (as mentioned before). It is very different to the bands that the members are a part of. If you can find something or someone that sounds like APC, you deserve a medal. Personally, I would recommend Thirteenth Step to anyone.