A Perfect Circle wasted no time following up their 2003 success Thirteenth Step with a more politically outspoken album. eMOTIVe
the band's third release in four years, has been described as a collection of songs about war peace love and greed by vocalist Maynard James Keenan.
The usually creative band took a break and decided to put their own twist on a variety of songs dealing with topics ranging from war to peace. Ten of the 12 tracks on the album are covers that deal with many issues that go beyond the election. eMOTIVe also includes two original tracks, which are titled Passive and Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums.
APC's take on John Lennon's Imagine has already been released as the album's first single, and the album also contains a plethora of songs available for further release. Other covers include Elvis Costello's Peace
Love and Understanding
Depeche Mode's People Are People and Fear's Let's Have a War.
Known for being one of the few bands today to create hard rock with a crunch with songs like Judith and The Hollow from their 2000 release Mer De Noms
and The Outsider from Thirteenth Step
A Perfect Circle went with more of a somber and melancholic tone on this album. This mellow mood can be heard on the band's renditions of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Maynard's a capella version of Joni Mitchell's Fiddle and the Drum. Another example is the transformation of Imagine from a major to a minor key, making it more eerie than its predecessor.
The better of the two originals on eMOTIVe is Passive
a song with writing contributions from Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor. The song continues the traditional tone of A Perfect Circle with haunting lyrics and thumping chorus riffs. Passive edges out Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums due to the fact that the latter is a regurgitated remix of Pet from Thirteenth Step.
Overall, the album isn't as pleasing as the band's previous two records, but dishes up something new for their fans. Those used to the seasoned brand of post-grunge and alternative metal might be disappointed by APC's latest effort; even so, their sub-par music is still better than most rock music polluting our current radio stations.
A Perfect Circle
'eMOTIVe'
Label: Virgin Records, 2004
3 On a scale of 5
17
Archives
