Since 1992, singer/lyricist Maynard James Keenan has achieved a godlike status for his work fronting progressive alt-metal band Tool. Since 1999, he's also been the frontman of A Perfect Circle, the creative outlet of guitar-tech and songwriter Billy Howerdel. Keenan's lyrics have always been rich with philosophical and mythological imagery. His vocal style has been highly praised and often imitated. While Tool's fanatic and devoted fanbase would crucify me for this statement, I'm just going to hope they don't read it: A Perfect Circle's sophomore album, Thirteenth Step, is Keenan's crowning achievement.
Opening with a chilling guitar riff and a monstrous, droning bassline, "The Package" kicks this album off with the first of many stunning tales of addiction. "Clever got me this far, then tricky got me in. Eye on what I'm after, I don't need another friend. Smile and drop the cliche 'til you think I'm listening. Take just what I came for, then I'm out the door again. Peripheral on the package: don't care to settle in. Time to feed the monster. I don't need another friend. Comfort is a mystery, crawling out of my own skin. Just give me what I came for, then I'm out the door again. Lie to get what I came for. Lie to get just what I need."
Immediately, it becomes evident that A Perfect Circle's tone has completely changed from their debut album. Where Mer De Noms had its share of optimism, Thirteenth Step lingers on the darker side of the human condition, focusing on many different aspects of dependency.
"Weak and Powerless," the first single, may sound upbeat, but the lyrical content is nothing short of horrifying. "Tilling my own grave to keep me level. Jam another dragon down the hole. Tilling to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren, one that pushes me along and leaves me so desperate and ravenous. So weak and powerless over you." What are dragons doing in this song? Oh, that's right, "chasing the dragon" is a euphemism for heroin addiction. And, just to cement the image, the next verse begins "Someone feed the monkey while I dig in search of China, white as Dracula as I approach the bottom." This song may hold the record for opiate references. If not, they're certainly the most clever.
Then comes "The Noose," perhaps the most powerful song on the record. Co-produced by Nine Inch Nails alum Danny Lohner, the music has an atmospheric ambiance that perfectly compliments the spacey guitar tones and Maynard's lamenting, crooning vocals. "So glad to see you have overcome them; completely silent now. With Heaven's help, you cast your demons out. And not to pull your halo down around your neck and tug you off your cloud, but I'm more than just a little curious how you're planning to go about making your amends to the dead." The candor of these lyrics is utterly paralyzing. The 12 Step program tells us that recovery requires making amends to those you've hurt in the grips of your addiction... but how often is that actually possible? How can we ever make up for the monsters that we've been...?
An odd choice for a single, "Blue," hits the running theme from the angle of someone in denial. "I close my eyes, ignore the smoke. Ignore the smoke and smile." The song's lyrics are much darker than the instrumentation, at points this song's sliding guitars and rhythmic tendencies feel like some sort of occult dance music.
A similar track follows. "Vanishing" is a song about, well... vanishing. "Slowly disappear. No longer here. Like a thought brushing up against a sigh." This is one of the few songs on the record carried more by its atmosphere than its lyrical content, and that atmosphere encapsulates the idea of becoming so immersed in something that it overcomes you.
"A Stranger" is a slow, pensive track driven by dreamy acoustic guitars and orchestral strings, devoid of drums. "Shy away. Shy away, phantom. Run away, terrified child. Won't you move away, you fuckin' tornado? I'm better off without you tearing my will down." To put this in the context of the record's concept, suffice it to say that this track is about acceptance.
Perhaps the most straight-forward rock song on the album, "The Outsider" is a song that a lot of fans were confused about. So many fans, in fact, that the band actually explained it in an interview: This song's lyrics were written from the perspective of someone watching a loved one fall into addiction, someone who could not comprehend it. (Hence the song's title.) "Help me if you can. It's just that this is not the way I'm wired, so could you please help me understand why you're giving in to all of these reckless dark desires? You're lying to yourself again, suicidal imbecile. Think about it, you're pounding on a faultline. What'll it take to get it through to you, precious? I know it is why you wanna throw it away like this. Such a mess, why would I wanna watch you disconnect and self-destruct one bullet at a time? What's your rush now? Everyone will have his day to die." This track is dark. It's offensive. And it's completely necessary to Thirteenth Step. This song offers a glimpse at the judgments addicts have to deal with on top of their other problems (which probably aren't very fun to begin with).
"Crimes" is a short, droning, confusing song. It's used as something of an interlude.
"The Nurse Who Loved Me" is a quiet, orchestral cover of Failure's alt-rock song from their 1996 album, Fantastic Planet. It's very odd to see a band like A Perfect Circle put a cover onto an otherwise entirely original album, but the song makes a lot of sense in context. (And, a quick history lesson: A Perfect Circle's original rhythm guitarist, Troy Van Leeuwan, got his start with Failure.) This song touches on a lot of the record's concepts... desperation and delusion, particularly. "Say hello to everything you've left behind. It's even more a part of your life now that you can't touch it. I'm taking her home with me, all dressed in white. She's got everything I need: some pills in a little cup. She's falling hard for me. I can see it in her eyes. She acts just like a nurse with all the other guys."
Then, on to "Pet." This is one of the most interesting songs on the album, at least lyrically: Keenan chose to write this one from the point of view of the drug itself. (Or the habit, addiction, whatever you want to call it.) "Pay no mind what other voices say. They don't care about you like I do. Safe from pain, and truth, and choice, and other poison devils saying they don't give a fuck about you like I do. Just stay with me, safe and ignorant. Go back to sleep. Go back to sleep."
"Go back to sleep. Go back to sleep." The next track, "Lullaby," reiterates these lines before moving into a relaxing interlude.
Hope finally appears in "Gravity," the album's closing track. Regret is there, sure; so is uncertainty. But there's still hope, and as listeners, we sure as hell need it after this album. "Calm these hands before they snare another pill and drive another nail down another needy hole. Please, release me... I am surrendering to the gravity and the unknown. Catch me. Heal me. Lift me back up to the sun. I choose to live."
It's difficult to describe what A Perfect Circle has done here. As bipolar and unsettling as the album is, Thirteenth Step is a beautiful record. It's a record that makes listeners actually take a look at their crutches and vices—and, with any luck—help them to overcome them.
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