Pros: Still APC. Still great. Plenty of tracks for you to love.
Cons: Not as magical as previous album. A couple of tracks feel mailed in.
The Bottom Line: Pick it up if you liked the first album, or if you want something aside from the typical stuff out right now. This'll show you how music can REALLY be.
alterleo's Full Review: Thirteenth Step by A Perfect Circle
Alright, review-boy, what's the story here?
Well, I've been a passing, casual fan of Tool over the years. I appreciate some of their songs, and always turn up "Sober" and "Prison Sex" whenever they pop up on the radio, but I don't actually own any of their records. Mostly out of fear that the rest of the album might not be my taste, that the single that was released is the most accessible and most easily consumable.
Then, before APC's Mer de Noms was released, there was "Judith", the first single. It kick my heiny harder than anything had kicked it before. Then came the happy surprise that it was the guy from Tool singing it. Soon after, I heard "3 Libras", and was sold. I snatched that CD up, and fell in love with the entire album.
Then last year, I heard about the impending release of APC's new one, "Thirteenth Step", and I snatched that up, even though it took a while for the lead-in single, "Weak and Powerless", to grow on me.
Alright, you're getting a little long-winded there, pal. Get to the meat and potatoes.
You mean the nitty-gritty? Alrighty, off we go!
What are the stand-out tracks?
Track 1 - The Package
In a two words: epically delicious. It's really good start off. And really sets the tone for the album. Maynard flexes his muscle here, displaying the soft tones as well as his gutteral growl. The guitars sound spooky, on top of the odd sound drums in the intro. "Eye on what I'm after/I don't need another friend."
Track 3 - The Noose
Beautiful. You can see this playing during a movie under a scene where it's raining out, and the main characters are being all introspective and stuff. "But I'm more than just a little curious/How you're planning to go about making your amends/To the dead."
Track 4 - Blue
Haunting. And the chorus is one of the best I've heard in a long time. Maynard's harmonizing vocals are just amazing. "Call it aftermath, she's turning blue/Such a lovely color for you"
Track 6 - A Stranger
Maynard at his absolute best. His vocal melodies are just one of the fantastic aspects of this song. There's so many subtle nuances in terms of instrumentation, that just make this one of the best songs, if not THE best, of the album. "Cast the calming apple/Up and over satellites/To draw out the timid wild one/To convince you it's alright"
Track 7 - The Outsider
It's this album's "Judith". that's not to say it sounds exactly like it, or it follows the same formula, I just see it as it's spiritual successor. In short, this song frickin' rocks, people! "Disconnect and self destruct one bullet at a time/What's your rush now, everyone will have his day to die"
Track 9 - The Nurse Who Loved Me
It's an odd song. It's not a rocker. Not really a ballad, and the subject matter is strange. And it's one of my favorites on the album. "Say hello to everything you've left behind/It's even more a part of your life now that you can't touch it"
What's not so good?
Crimes. It really has no place on this album. It's just weird. Maynard counts over a repetitive drum, bass and sound effect track. Nothing to keep you there, so skip it.
Vanishing. This is almost an instrumental, except Maynard sings a line here and there.
I miss Paz.
How does it compare to Mer de Noms?
It is the better of the two A Perfect Circle albums. But that doesn't take away from the fact that "Thirteenth Step" is better than most rock albums out there right now.
Final Analysis
It's really hard to catch lightning in a bottle twice, and this proves that. But while it's not better than their previous effort, it's still a great album filled with "not-your-typical" music. It's refreshing. Is the magic still there? Yes. I believe that as long as Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel remain the creative force behind it, they will continue to crank out this ethereal music.
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