Tool + A Perfect Circle

[Cracked Pleasures]

Any fans of these guys out here?



I got into them not very long ago (although almost a year ago, so I did have the time to get a fair share of their records by now) and got quite addicted. Very original bands with a very intelligent approach to music.

Must add that I am one of the few who does prefer A Perfect Circle over Tool. The ethereal sound, especially at the brilliant Mer de Noms album, is fantastic. Just listen to the intro of "Orestes" and you get what I mean. I love the intelligent lyrics as well, APC songs tend to be very cryptic and you need to really puzzle to get the true meaning, but that only makes the music more challenging. I like the sort of music that requires you to think and analyse to find its true core. Their song "Brena" is perhaps the best lovesong I've ever heard, those lyrics go straight to the heart, the opening line alone is amazingly beautiful.
APC are a brilliant band, I hope they reform sometime soon, I'd love to hear them live sometime. I doubt if it'll happen though.

Meanwhile Tool is beginning to grow on me as well. Even more complex than APC but the more I listen to it the more I start to like it. not to the extend of APC, but still, good music, especially the older records. The videos are quite unique as well, but fit with the somewhat eerie character of the music. "Stinkfist" is their best song IMHO, the lyrics and the frustration in Maynard's vocals fit very well together, and the video only enhances the somewhat uncomfortable feeling the song brings.

Also needs to be added: I rarely heard better vocalists in the metal/hardrock style than Maynard James Keenan. He's got a very pure voice, it never sounds like screaming and his vocals are very recognisable. Very charismatic and eccentric frontman, and a great vocalist and lyricist.

[some_dizzy_whore_1804]

I think they're awesome, altho i dont have Mer de Noms (I missed out on it when it was on sale & it hasnt gone down since :angry: )
I really didnt like Emotive- the only good songs were Passive & Imagine- that's the best cover of that song i've ever heard!
And yes, Maynard has an excellent voice

[Cracked Pleasures]

You should order Mer de Noms. It's one of the best albums in my entire collection. The Hollow, Three Libras, Brena, Orestes, Magdalena: all top class songs, with a very nice ethereal sound. And as I said, the lyrics are very well thought of as well, having a true meaning (or in case of Brena: the best lovesong I ever heard)

eMOTIVe was a bit of a trick to get the third record done they promised, so that they were off their record deal. Still, it contained a few excellent songs, and Passive is as good as any other APC song from the first two albums. Still, despite the good intentions of eMOTIVe, if they reunite (fingers crossed) I'd rather have the Mer de Noms era with Troy and Paz, although I doubt if it's realistic.

By the way, Eulogy has a very hypnotising intro... That intro alone is incredible (though religious believers better not listen to the lyrics...)

[some_dizzy_whore_1804]

Did they split? Woah I am so naieve lol
I have a live version of Eulogy lying around somewhere, sounds good but i can't work out the lyrics.

[Cracked Pleasures]

It's very anti-religious (as several Tool songs are) including the line

"get off the ****ing cross
We need some space for a next martyr"

However, most Tool songs have a meaning between the lines rather than having to take the lyrics very literarly. Just like Stinkfist is more about the loss of social values rather than about fisting... So surely Eulogy has a deeper meaning that simple god-bashing.

APC did not break up, they're on a hiatus and it's unsure if they will ever reform or record new material... When asked about it, the band members say no further plans exist for new APC material, but they also refuse to state they split up. Guess that maybe in a far future it will happen again but I don't see APC re-uniting very soon

[Cracked Pleasures]

Any opinions on Maynard's Puscifer side project?

To be honest, as much as I adore his work with APC and Tool, I am a bit disappointed. Puscifer sounds a bit chaotic, and the lyrics are a bit silly. It is like Maynard never took it any serious himself. He sings about subjects similar to what he did before, but while with APC and Tool he did it with beauty and poetic lyrics, with Puscifer it's like he tries to make it a bit silly. Also, an album title "V is for Vagina" sounds like a cheap sales trick.

If he enjoyed it, good for him, but this is not the sort of Maynard I enjoy a lot. If he wanted a short break from Tool, I'd much rather have him doing a short APC reunion instead of more Puscifer.