A Perfect Circle
Eat The Elephant

Are you familiar with that saying that goes "patience is the virtue of the strong"?

If you're a fan of A Perfect Circle, you surely know what I'm talking about. Moreover, you'll also recognize that there is some healthy truth in that proverb.

The long, very long wait is over, and after fourteen long years, one of the most beloved bands among Maynard James Keenan's formations has released "Eat The Elephant," a new studio work. Just think: about eighteen years of career and only four albums; "few but good," to quote another proverb.

Once again, Keenan showcases his qualities, proving that even if you've always been labeled a genius, there are no limits to growth, improvement, and maturity. After all, we know true geniuses are those who never disappoint expectations, always manage to surprise, sometimes reinvent themselves, and in growing, they reach maturity. Yes, because this new album is a mix of the best things from APC and fresh elements crafted in the light of a genuine talent and a meticulous search.

The album is permeated by a strong pessimism and a strong resignation to nihilism that grips today's minds, a feeling quite mainstream, treated and re-treated, in music and beyond. However, Keenan couldn't be banal even if he tried on purpose. The first two tracks prove it: the title track is a poignant opening. With a slow and enveloping rhythm, it cradles us until "Disillusioned," where pessimism is evident in the lyrics as well as in the sound. Beautiful are the breaks that transform a seemingly normal song into a sort of ballad, at times disconcerting, only to return to scratch.

It's worth noting that Keenan and his bandmates have done well in selecting the lead singles, because "The Doomed," perhaps the closest to the usual APC style, was well-liked, but the most critical had tried to argue that there was nothing new in it. Then, however, "Disillusioned" and "TalkTalk" promptly arrived to prove them wrong. In the third track, after all, it's Keenan himself who warns us: "Beware the contrarian."

If at certain points in "By and Down The River" it seems like listening to Tool, the fresh breeze this album carries is confirmed in "Delicious" and the tracks that follow.

Where did Keenan surprise once again?

The frontman demonstrates a command and vocal control that few possess: his voice is sweet and scratchy, solemn and angry, poised and virtuosic.

In short, ask and you shall receive.

Patience is the virtue of the strong, and A Perfect Circle has rewarded everyone. Even the impatient.