Puscifer Rejects ‘Normal’ On First LP Since 2020

Puscifer (photo: Travis Shinn).

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.”

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