A Perfect Circle - Eat The Elephant
September 25, 2018
A supergroup from California have finally released their first record in 14 years. It was followed after their album "eMotive", that for the most part was consisted of covers. "Eat The Elephant" is a horrible title for the record. Nevertheless, it is good for a sarcastic call to take some bad and unnecessary actions. As any other APC record the production process for the most part was done by the founder of the band Billy Howerdel. According to the Roling Stone:
The creative process was habitual. It involved an exchange between two key band members him, and the man himself ' Maynard James Keenan. Billy would write the material in his home studio and sent his demos to Maynard. Maynard on his part would either start to work on his lyrics and harmonies right away. Or he would describe his version of the song and verbally offered some musical changes. However, unlike previous times when they made a record, this time Billy decided to get a producer. Dave Sardy was the third member that helped band to not only to speed up the creative process. His presence would also give the additional perspective and helped guys to make sure that everything is done right.
Music:
Since their debut "Mer de Noms", APC always liked to add some different instruments. Like violins in "3 Libras", or cello in their cover of "The Nurse Who Loved Me." These instrumental additions were not constant and usually happened a good couple of times in every record. However, in this album their main "go to" instrument became a piano. It was featured in almost every song. And according to Maynard's description of songwriting process in his interview to Lars Ulrich:
[MA GDPR YouTube] Invalid video id.We may assume that he was one of if not the main initiator of that keyboard addition.
Lyrics:
Lyrical messages are based on the idea that there's still not much significant measures has been taken in order to better the situation in the world. It metaphorically and at times literally states that everything's kinda getting worse. That we stay concentrate too much on our feelings rather that our actions that imply involvement. That is a good idea to remind ourselves that each of us won't live forever. In general the set of words on the album can be classified as a great motivational speech. But only for an attentive and intelligent listener.
Tracks Review:
Track "The Doomed" is an extremely epic and thrilling song. It has tremendous chances to appear in a trailer for an action movie in the future. Despite Maynard's reluctance to scream over the past decade:
He did perform that aggressive vocal technique. And needles to say, it suited perfectly for this intense and powerful composition. "Disillusioned" is a melodically peaceful, gracious and yet a little dark piece of music. Among any other song they've wrote in the past, this one has the longest and the deepest instrumental "calming holes", that lift you back to the rhythmic parts."TalkTalk" presents a familiar and distinguishable APC sounds. It represents a good old balance between their heaviness and melodic sophistication that band likes to stick to."So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish" is totally different from anything that band has ever wrote in the past. This track is the best prove of APC's ability and desire to try new things, and be successful at it. However, some fans didn't like it as much as their early material.
Some unreleased songs that were played at the concerts for the past years have been finally polished and finished. Vocally diverse "By And Down The River" and weird, but interesting "Hourglass" are two of them. The final "Get The Lead Out" is certainly among their songs that can be categorized as "hypnotic ones". That makes it not only the longest "mesmerizing" composition in their entire discography. But also the longest track on the entire record.
Result"
The album has won a nomination for "Kerrang! Award for Best Album."
https://www.eonmusic.co.uk/news/kerrang-awards-2018-nominations-revealed
In addition, Maynard was awarded Metal Hammer Golden Gods' Icon Award:
Obviously, for his contribution to "Eat The Elephant", that reflects on the tour tickets, that continue to sell out.
Songwriting: 8
Memorability: 6
Originality: 8
Production: 10
Length: 57:07
Tracklist:
1. Eat the Elephant
2. Disillusioned
3. The Contrarian
4. The Doomed
5. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
6. TalkTalk
7. By and Down the River
8. Delicious
9. DLB
10. Hourglass
11. Feathers
12. Get the Lead Out
Lineup:
Maynard James Keenan ' Vocals
Billy Howerdel ' Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Matt McJunkins ' Bass on "By and Down the River" and "Feathers"
Jeff Friedl ' Drums
Author Bio:
Zack Hargrove is a professional editor at https://cheapwritingservice.com. He is a big writing enthusiast. Most of his topics are dedicated to music and ways of strengthening your scientific curiosity. You can follow him on Twitter @zackhargrovejr.
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