2003.09.23 : : A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
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A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step * * * 1/2
Long gone are the days when I would scour every music store within a 60-mile radius to find a midnight sale of an album. Truth be told, recent years have provided very few albums that have been released that have earned my time and energy. Since Mer De Noms by A Perfect Circle was released, it was Tool’s Salival that I lusted after, and then it was Lateralus, now it is the long-awaited follow-up to Mer De Noms, Thirteenth Step.Not much hope existed in the hearts of many A Perfect Circle fans for a sophomore album after Mer De Noms was released. The album just seemed too good to be true, the lineup seemed to be too perfect to exist and a follow-up was absolutely unfathomable. Three years later, the hypothesis seemed to hold true, until word was released from Billy Howerdel that, low and behold, the group was going to realign to recreate the fantasy.Thirteenth Step was the product of the composing genius of Howerdel and the magnificent vocal and lyrical talents of Maynard James Keenan, which withheld all expectations that could possibly be held for an album that would follow in the footsteps of Mer De Noms. With a list of contributing musicians that could make Lester Bangs rise from his grave to give his seal of approval, Step exceeds on every level, from composition to mixing. Each subject matter that individual tracks cover leads to an amazingly similar and coherent subject in the next song; the instrumental elements are so perfectly layered that a sound is produced that can only be compared to that of a symphony album.Few albums are intriguing from start to finish, much less repeatedly so, but Step has successfully fulfilled both of these voids. With standout tracks such as “The Noose,” “Blue” and “The Nurse Who Loved Me” (actually a cover of a Failure song), Step bares the listener to a twisted, utopian psyche.Upon the tenth listening of this album, I have concluded that it is also too good. Music in no way can be perfect, but this comes damn close. The album is good, it’s absolutely stupid good, it’s preposterous how good this album is. Hopefully, three more years won’t lie between this and the next release.
Long gone are the days when I would scour every music store within a 60-mile radius to find a midnight sale of an album. Truth be told, recent years have provided very few albums that have been released that have earned my time and energy. Since Mer De Noms by A Perfect Circle was released, it was Tool’s Salival that I lusted after, and then it was Lateralus, now it is the long-awaited follow-up to Mer De Noms, Thirteenth Step.Not much hope existed in the hearts of many A Perfect Circle fans for a sophomore album after Mer De Noms was released. The album just seemed too good to be true, the lineup seemed to be too perfect to exist and a follow-up was absolutely unfathomable. Three years later, the hypothesis seemed to hold true, until word was released from Billy Howerdel that, low and behold, the group was going to realign to recreate the fantasy.Thirteenth Step was the product of the composing genius of Howerdel and the magnificent vocal and lyrical talents of Maynard James Keenan, which withheld all expectations that could possibly be held for an album that would follow in the footsteps of Mer De Noms. With a list of contributing musicians that could make Lester Bangs rise from his grave to give his seal of approval, Step exceeds on every level, from composition to mixing. Each subject matter that individual tracks cover leads to an amazingly similar and coherent subject in the next song; the instrumental elements are so perfectly layered that a sound is produced that can only be compared to that of a symphony album.Few albums are intriguing from start to finish, much less repeatedly so, but Step has successfully fulfilled both of these voids. With standout tracks such as “The Noose,” “Blue” and “The Nurse Who Loved Me” (actually a cover of a Failure song), Step bares the listener to a twisted, utopian psyche.Upon the tenth listening of this album, I have concluded that it is also too good. Music in no way can be perfect, but this comes damn close. The album is good, it’s absolutely stupid good, it’s preposterous how good this album is. Hopefully, three more years won’t lie between this and the next release.
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