Maynard James Keenan, the ever-hilarious and no-nonsense frontman of American prog rock enigma Tool, has been doing his own thing with Puscifer on a regular basis since 2007. That’s a year after Tool’s 10,000 Days released. Since then, fans have been waiting for a new Tool album, jokes and frustrations equally doing the rounds among fans.
But you can hardly blame just Keenan for slacking, though. He’s been on his own trip – being a wine connoisseur and running the show with Puscifer. Now out with his third album, Money Shot , anyone who loved Kennan’s vocals with Tool or A Perfect Circle will more than readily eat up this 10-track album. It’s got the continuing industrial, dark sound that Puscifer is known for, with a side offering of female vocals (Carina Round) and steady beats. “Galileo” has that deep electronica vibe, while “Agostina” shapes up like a ballad. But with his ode to one of nature’s greatest marvels on “Grand Canyon”, Round and Keenan duet beautifully over lush synth and the occasional mangled beat.
There’s certainly more experimentation at hand, which kind of legitimises Puscifer as more than just a jokey, hillbilly-parodying side project. “Simultaneous’ takes a while to sit through, but there’s an infectious bass line at the end of voice samples. They get heavy with the title track, clearly the most memorable one, because you get to hear Keenan at his visceral best. The other major draw for anyone who likes listening to Keenan are his way with words – “Choking on the smoke from the fire you’ve started / Choking on the ash from the bridges you’ve burned,” he sings on “The Arsonist”. Working with crescendos on “The Remedy”, Keenan comes close the same emotional intensity as A Perfect Circle , which is what some fans might be looking for.
In some ways, Money Shot is a relaxing listen, for its electronic soundscape, mostly slow tempo and never overdoing the layers. The closer “Autumn” clocks in at six minutes, but captivates by the end of it, mostly thanks to the production laying emphasis on Keenan’s inimitable vocals.
(Money Shot is available on iTunes for Rs 120 on MP3)
