Puscifer
Money Shot

"Money Shot" is the latest effort by Puscifer, the solo project of the renowned Maynard James Keenan (already part of Tool, A Perfect Circle). The band returns to the scene after the 2007 diversion "V for Vagina" and the passable "Conditions of My Parole" from 2011. The new album, ridiculous starting from the cover, offers ten tracks of derivative and uninteresting electronic rock. The good Maynard is joined on vocals by singer-songwriter Carina Round, and their melodies, which aim to be intimate and atmospheric, end up being tedious and redundant, resembling at times the latest poor works of Anathema. For example, we can mention the song "Grand Canyon," a sort of cross between Bjork and A Perfect Circle, overly long and pretentious, flows by without leaving any emotion. It's not enough to insert an irregular tempo in the chorus to make a piece catchy and original. The title track then is the festival of clichés, a short and fast song, it wants to be the aggressive track of the album but is laughable, any underground rock band just starting out could come up with better riffs than these. Something good can only be heard in "The Remedy," where we finally have an effective arrangement with dissonant arpeggios à la Failure and a chorus with the right touch. In short, "Money Shot" is a flat album, unable to amaze the listener during its 51 minutes of duration with tracks that flow by without leaving a mark. Masterpieces like "Mer de Noms" and "Lateralus" are light years away and what were supposed to be the main projects, namely Tool and A Perfect Circle, have been on standby for years enraging the fans, demonstrating that ideas are now scarce. In short, perhaps it's better for Maynard to dedicate himself entirely to viticulture, given his advanced age and the results of his latest projects. V is for vai a zappare la vigna.