Thirteenth Step by A Perfect Circle

Pros: A few songs that range from 'decent' to simply amazing.
Cons: Too boring too often. Doesn't even begin to scrape the brilliance of Mer De Noms.

In the past, I've struggled with the concept of incredible bands releasing unimpressive albums. It's almost like I was once in denial that such a thing could be possible, so I adapted the theory of "If most of [insert band name here]'s music is genius, ...

Pros: Some original stuff, some hard stuff, some interesting lyrics.
Cons: Maybe a bit on the self-indulgent, (ohh I hate this word) pretentious side.

It is in that time of reviewing true rock music that my fellow reviewers totally kick my ass. If you don't believe me, go ahead and suffer through this blathering tub of mediocrity and then check out some of the other reviews. A Perfect Circle...

Pros: Some good songs and lovely arrangements
Cons: Not at all cohesive or focused

When a man whom you’ve come to expect the best out of doesn’t deliver the goods, listeners are even more disappointed. Such is the case with Maynard James Keenan of both Tool and A Perfect Circle fame. In the matter of less than a decade, Ke ...

Pros: A radical change to ambient, sonic beauty, without compromising the band's core virtues
Cons: An offensive term not applied to discs like this one.

There are precious few things in life that can be truly relied upon. Humans, for all their virtues, have an inexplicable tendency to change, backstab and prove wholly unreliable. Cars break down. Stuff falls apart. Computers crash and delete entire re ...

Pros: Great lyrical content, unified sound
Cons: Occasionally boring, almost universally slow-paced

I wasn't actually going to buy this album, but it's tough to watch p unkrawka get flat-out giddy about an album I'm not going to buy. Indeed, his review pushed me off the proverbial fence, as I'm not a huge fan of A Per ...

Pros: Harmonious, edgy, and captivating.
Cons: A shaky second half holds the album back from greatness.

Three years after the release of the maddeningly inconsistent Mer de Noms, A Perfect Circle returned with a more polished and determined album that blends all of the performers’ talents together with stunning regularity. It’s not quite ...

Pros: Freese's drumming, Maynard's lyrics, ambitious musically
Cons: it falls flat and bores me to death in more than a couple spots

As a writer, I've struggled over the past few months in just how to reconcile music as art and music as fun in my reviews. I say this because I'm currently a bit perplexed as to handle this review. Oh well, I guess the best thing I could do is shut up, ...

Pros: Maynard James Keenan's voice. I REALLY like the tenth track!
Cons: Generally slow paced and boring.

Wouldn't you know it. I finally decide to review a band that most people would know about and it already has five reviews and it's only been out three days. Oh well, I'm going to do it anyway as a counterpoint. Fooled Again I di ...

Pros: Peaceful, Calming, and any other synonyms for those words you can think of
Cons: It's not 100% consistant; a few tracks don't work

Maynard James Keenan obviously wasn’t looking to make a band that sounded like Tool with his side project, A Perfect Circle. But that makes sense: if he wanted to write Tool songs, he would’ve done them with Tool. Instead, “Thirteenth Step” is a ...

Pros: Clever and dark but innocent in approach, like the opposite spectrum of a nursery rhyme.
Cons: Crimes and Vanishing. Sex with tornadoes is wrong and should be illegal.

A Perfect Circle's music works much like a mathematic equation: You + X = Your experience with their music. In Thirteenth Step the x variable is addiction, the whole thing swirls itself around a mysterious addiction to something, ...

Pros: Transcendant sound scapes take music art to a new level of thought and wisdom,
Cons: Erm, it will leave you and the world feeling numb around you after its over

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce myself, for I am a young chap who has been interested in music for quite a while now, and since this is my first review I just like you guys to bare with me. Please mention that you thought this review was helpf ...

Pros: Keenan's beautiful voice, Howerdel's music, the lyrical genius that is A Perfect Circle.
Cons: Excuse me? I think not.

Summary Ye Gods! I was turned on to A Perfect Circle by one of my good friends, and the instant I heard the CD, I was infatuated. After attending their concerts, I have nothing to say but that this is indisputably one of the greatest ...

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.

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 ...

Pros: Different.
Cons: Lack of direction.

Being an avid Tool fan, and admiring the masterpiece that was Mer De Noms, I was anticipating the release of this disc for months. Having truly been moved by Mer De Noms I hoped that this release would be different, yet have the same ...

Pros: Brilliant music, brilliant idea, just a brilliant album
Cons: "Crimes" and "Blue".... maybe

WARNING: This review may be a little long, this entire album tells a story that I believe should be correctly analyzed. There are times in which music is not even the main focal point of the album; this is one of those times. Back in 2000, Virgin ...