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It took fourteen long years of waiting to get a third installment in the saga of A Perfect Circle, a band born as a "vacation spot" for Maynard James Keenan (assisted by guitarist Bill Howerdel), for the few who don't know, the beloved frontman of Tool.
With the "main" project stalled at the fourth album, released way back in 2006 (and with a fifth album that by now is officially the "Chinese Democracy" of prog metal), it's time for Keenan to breathe new life into the creature he considers the softer and less verbose counterpart of Tool.
To do that, he changes the band's lineup again (with Matt McJunkins, Jeff Friedl, and even James Iha on the six-string along with Howerdel) and finally, this new "Eat The Elephant" sees the light, breaking a silence that has lasted since 2004 (excluding the unreleased "By And Down," included in the greatest hits released in 2013 and here presented in a darker and more decadent version).
For the first time, APC relies on an external producer, the solid and experienced Dave Sardy, and they include twelve tracks in the lineup that vary in atmosphere, managing to fully convince from top to bottom. The honors of opening the dance go to the title track; a surprising choice, as it is a very dark ballad, completely centered on the piano with a trip-hop-paced rhythm. The track was born as a potential collaboration with the late Chester Bennington for Linkin Park's last album, an idea aborted because the album in question took too much of a pop direction for the song to be coherent with the path undertaken.
It continues with the second single "Disillusioned," also piano-driven (predominant in the splendid minute of the central break, enriching Keenan's wonderful voice) but with Howedel's guitar crafting a plot in full APC style. Even "The Doomed" (chosen as the lead single) follows the classic sound of the band, pushing more on the accelerator in terms of aggression; anger that reaches its peak in the sublime "TalkTalk," the hardest and most aggressive track of the lot.
Elsewhere, the atmospheres vary more; we find the dark and beautiful "The Contrarian," an "Hourglass" that immerses its robotic and regular pace in an industrial breath, two highly melodic numbers like "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish" (practically the first exquisitely pop-rock piece produced by the band, even radio-friendly) and the excellent "Delicious," a "Feathers" that once again recovers the sound of the early APC, before closing with "Get The Lead Out," the last track written for the album and the epitome of what has been heard so far, with an arrangement that seems to evoke Thom Yorke's solo beginnings with "The Eraser."
A great return, this one from APC, and after all these years it wasn't at all certain. The Keenan/Howerdel duo strikes again and proves to still have good arrows in their quiver.
Best track: TalkTalk
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