Maynard James Keenan’s Puscifer project will return early next year with its first album in five years, Normal Isn’t, which will arrive Feb. 6 from Puscifer Entertainment/Alchemy Recordings/BMG. The lead track, “Self Evident,” is out now in tandem with a video filmed at a special album preview event at Exchange L.A. in August.
“Instead of just saying, I want this to sound like Fleetwood Mac on cocaine if they had a baby with PJ Harvey, Maynard was showing us his intention, which was really cool,” says group member Carina Round of Keenan, who contributed more full song ideas this time around. “In Puscifer, any idea can totally change without any preciousness, and everybody is on board — not unlike an insane asylum. We found each other because we’re demented in a symbiotic way.”
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Said to channel “the post-punk influences that shaped the members’ early musical experiences while pushing into darker, more guitar-driven territory,” Normal Isn’t “reflects this time we are living in,” says Keenan. “As storytellers and artists, our job is to observe, interpret and report. We take in our environment and share what we see, and what we see around us does not appear normal. Not by a long shot.”
Beyond core members Keenan, Round and Mat Mitchell, the project sports contributions from Tool drummer Danny Carey, legendary King Crimson/Peter Gabriel bassist Tony Levin, drummers Sarah Jones and Gunnar Olsen and bassist Greg Edwards. Atticus Ross’ father Ian narrates the song “Seven One.”
“From the outset, we had discussed an element of rawness and edge, which guitar brings,” says Mitchell, who also co-produced the album. “We got rid of the guard rails and made the music more aggressive.”
Puscifer will support Normal Isn’t with an extensive spring North American tour, beginning March 20 in Las Vegas and wrapping May 14 in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale Friday (Oct. 24).
Here is the track list for Normal Isn’t:
Thrust
Normal Isn’t
Bad Wolf
Self Evident
A Public Stoning
The Quiet Parts
Mantastic
Pendulum
ImpetuoUs
Seven One
The Algorithm (Sessanta Live Mix)
Here are Puscifer’s tour dates:
March 20 Las Vegas, NV The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
March 21 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Financial Theatre
March 24 Austin, TX Bass Concert Hall
March 25 Dallas, TX Music Hall at Fair Park
March 27 Nashville, TN The Pinnacle
March 28 Atlanta, GA Coca-Cola Roxy
March 31 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
April 1 Durham, NC DPAC – Durham Performing Arts Center
April 3 Bethlehem, PA Wind Creek Event Center
April 4 Boston, MA Boch Center – Wang Theatre
April 7 New York, NY Terminal 5
April 8 Hershey, PA Hershey Theatre
April 10 Mashantucket, CT Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino
April 11 Atlantic City, NJ Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort
April 15 Niagara Falls, ON OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
April 16 Akron, OH Akron Civic Theatre
April 18 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
April 19 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theatre
April 21 Louisville, KY The Louisville Palace
April 23 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre
April 25 Chicago, IL The Chicago Theatre
April 26 Milwaukee, WI Landmark Credit Union Live
April 28 Madison, WI The Sylvee
April 30 St. Louis, MO The Factory
May 1 Kansas City, MO The Midland Theatre
May 3 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
May 5 Salt Lake City, UT Maverik Center
May 8 Portland, OR Theater of the Clouds
May 9 Seattle, WA WAMU Theater
May 11 San Francisco, CA Golden Gate Theatre
May 13 San Diego, CA San Diego Civic Theatre
May 14 Los Angeles, CA The Greek Theatre
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