Thirteenth Step

The last time we heard from Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan’s side project A Perfect Circle, they had just released their incredible 2000 debut Mer De Noms – an album that captured the imaginations of rock fans by fusing ethereal string sections with dramatic, visceral guitar lines and beautifully delicate melodies. Two million record sales later, the band re-emerge following a Lateralus-induced hiatus with a new album and a new-ish line up. Gone are Troy Van Leeuwen and Paz Lenchantin (who joined the now defunct Zwan), only to be replaced by Jeordie White (aka Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson fame) and former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha.

An altogether darker affair than its predecessor, Thirteenth Step sees Keenan and co drifting through the album’s twists and turns on a bass heavy raft, gathering pace when it hits the white water distortion of ‘The Package’, ‘The Outsider’ and the trademark Epic Chorus of the album’s first single, ‘Weak And Powerless’. Quiet, disconcertingly lo-fi moments are more frequent than I would’ve expected on the record, most notably on ‘The Noose’ and the strings-and-acoustic led ‘A Stranger’, which – the odd outburst of frenetic noise aside – maintain the album’s slow and determined pace.