Name: Thirteenth Step
Brand: A Perfect Circle

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

809181

Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2013-09-16

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Unive­rsal

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

724358091816

Total Cap

Artist

A Perfect Circle

Genre US

Metal

Label US

Virgin

A Perfect Circle is an alternative rock/metal band that was founded in 1999 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Known for their unique sound and thought-provoking lyrics, the band has gained a loyal following over the years.
With influences from bands such as *TOOL*, *Puscifer*, and *ASHES dIVIDE*, A Perfect Circle has carved out their own distinct style within the genre. Their music combines heavy guitar riffs with melodic vocals to create a powerful and captivating listening experience.
Some of their popular songs include "Judith," "The Outsider," and "Weak and Powerless." A Perfect Circle's discography showcases their ability to seamlessly blend different musical elements while maintaining a cohesive sound.

Three years after the release of its debut Mer de Noms, A Perfect Circle's Thirteenth Step sees the light of day. Thirteenth Step is a moodier, tenser, and more atmospheric (if that is possible) recording than its predecessor. Written mostly by Howerdel and Keenan, the songs traverse a particular associated with surrender, loss, having the nature of a person stripped away, and turning in the twilight of those feelings toward a kind of slow transformation into something that can only be called "other." There are no easy outs and no easy answers, only hard questions throughout "Weak and Powerless," where surrender is necessary but far from desired. The title bitingly refers to the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, but this is not your average recovery outing. Tracks like "Blue," "Vanishing," and "Lullaby" (one of two tracks featuring the amazing Jarboe on vocals) feature a kind of barely restrained menace caught in a trap by rock and roll vulnerability. The wide dynamic swathes that were so prominent on the band's debut are all but absent here. The squalling guitars have taken a backseat to carefully crafted melodies where atmospherics are maximized and pulled taut over the listener. While not a radical departure from Mer de Noms, there is a real progression here. However, the explosive, heavier-than-heavy rock-ism of A Perfect Circle is so well known for it is readily evidenced on cuts such as "The Outsider" and "Pet." As moods shapeshift from the sepia-toned murk of "The Package" and "The Noose," the over the top hard rock to the Baroquely scaled "The Nurse Who Loved Me" and "Gravity," with its beautiful guitar effects and crystalline bassline, the listener becomes aware of just how much water has traveled under A Perfect Circle's bridge. The Thirteenth Step is the sound of a musical and lyrical maturity that normally doesn't occur until a band's third or fourth albums. Lyrically, musically, sonically, the Thirteenth Step is proof positive that mainstream rock has plenty of life and vision left in it.

Thirteenth Step

Music US