PUSCIFER, the multi-dimensional band featuring Maynard James Keenan (yes, that TOOL guy!), Mat Mitchell, and Carina Round, is back with a new album, Normal Isn’t, on February 6 via Puscifer Entertainment/Alchemy Recordings/BMG. After five years, the wait is over, and it’s going to be worth it – the album is a post-punk influenced masterpiece with a darker, more guitar-driven sound.
“We’re definitely leaning into our early influences,” Keenan shares. “It’s the place where goth meets punk. It’s where I came from.” Because, you know, Keenan is all about that goth-punk life.
The band is teasing the 11-song collection with the release of “Self Evident” and its rad video (check it out below), filmed during a special August performance at Exchange L.A., where they previewed the album for a lucky bunch of fans.
Written and recorded across Arizona, Los Angeles, and on the road during last year’s Sessanta tour (because, of course, they were touring), Normal Isn’t blends PUSCIFER’s signature dark electronics and sharp humor with a more spontaneous creative process. “From the outset, we had discussed an element of rawness and edge, which guitar brings,” shares Mitchell, who co-produced the album. “We got rid of the guard rails and made the music more aggressive.”
For Keenan, this release represents a new approach to songwriting. He set up his own digital recording system and built full song ideas before presenting them to Mat and Carina. Talk about a game-changer! Round says this change gave the music a fresh immediacy and changed the studio dynamic. “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,” she explains. “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.”
“Normal Isn’t reflects this time we are living in,” Keenan adds. “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.” Because, you know, the world is a wild place.
The new collection features contributors like Greg Edwards (bass), Gunnar Olsen (drums), and Sarah Jones (drums), with special guests Tony Levin (bass on “Normal Isn’t” and “Seven One”), TOOL’s Danny Carey (drums on “Seven One”), and Mr. Ian Ross (father of Atticus Ross, who narrates “Seven One”). That’s some serious talent!
Normal Isn’t is available now for pre-order and pre-saves here, with limited-edition vinyl variants that’ll make you go wild. The album is also available on CD, cassette, and digitally – because we’ve got options, people!
PUSCIFER has also announced a North American tour in support of the album, kicking off on March 20 in Las Vegas and closing at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, with stops at New York’s Terminal 5 and Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. Tickets and VIP packages go on sale this Friday, October 24, at 10 AM local time via Puscifer.com. Don’t miss out – a 36-hour artist pre-sale starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. local time using the code PSC26.
The Normal Isn’t tracklisting is as follows:
“Thrust”
“Normal Isn’t”
“Bad Wolf”
“Self Evident”
“A Public Stoning”
“The Quiet Parts”
“Mantastic”
“Pendulum”
“ImpetuoUs”
“Seven One”
“The Algorithm” (Sessanta Live Mix)
PUSCIFER’s North American tour dates:
March
20 – Las Vegas, NV – The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
21 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
24 – Austin, TX – Bass Concert Hall
25 – Dallas, TX – Music Hall at Fair Park
27 – Nashville, TN – The Pinnacle
28 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
31 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
April
1 – Durham, NC – DPAC – Durham Performing Arts Center
3 – Bethlehem, PA – Wind Creek Event Center
4 – Boston, MA – Boch Center – Wang Theatre
7 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
8 – Hershey, PA – Hershey Theatre
10 – Mashantucket, CT – Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino
11 – Atlantic City, NJ – Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort
15 – Niagara Falls, ON – OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
16 – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre
18 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
19 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
21 – Louisville, KY – The Louisville Palace
23 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
25 – Chicago, IL – The Chicago Theatre
26 – Milwaukee, WI – Landmark Credit Union Live
28 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
30 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
May
1 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre
3 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
5 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
8 – Portland, OR – Theater of the Clouds
9 – Seattle, WA – WAMU Theater
11 – San Francisco, CA – Golden Gate Theatre
13 – San Diego, CA – San Diego Civic Theatre
14 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre