V Is For Vagina [Explicit Lyrics]

So here we are with Maynard James Keenan's third official side project, Puscifer. Not as dense or as challenging as Tool, nor as emotional and cathartic as A Perfect Circle. One look at the album cover, the song titles, heck, even the band name, and it becomes apparent that Maynard had no intentions of creating another side-project that sticks to the tried and true. Coming off of the failed Tapeworm project (spearheaded by Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor), Keenan got together with bassist/producer Danny Lohner, recorded a couple of songs for "Saw II" and the "Underworld" soundtracks, and that was that. The songs were brooding, very Maynard-esque, but with a hint of something different. That something different is what eventually takes over on the band's debut album. Recorded with a slew of collaborators, some obscure, some noteworthy, it is indeed an album that will raise some eyebrows. Sometimes dabbling into trip-hop, industrial, country and salsa, there seem to be no boundaries for this project. Songs like "Rev 22:20," "The Undertaker" and "Trekka" will likely appeal to those already acquainted, while others such as "Momma Sed" and "Queen B" require a grain of salt to be appreciated. Flat out, this is probably the most accessible of Maynard's career, because with one listen, you'll know if you like it or not. Some people will love Puscifer's debut album, some will hate it. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter. It's best not to overthink this one. It's quite obvious in interviews that Maynard isn't interested in creating another band with massive appeal and a huge audience. Just think of it as something cool, creative and a bit left of center. If not for anything else, it makes for good background music.

First off, this album does have a couple weak points, but it's certainly not enough to give it one star. Being a Tool/APC fan shouldn't influence your review in one way or another, because this isn't Tool/APC, and you shouldn't treat it like you're listening to Tool/APC. Simple logic, right?

After listening to this album a good (looks at Winamp playcount) nine times, along with a few listens while driving around, I feel like I can describe the overall album rather well. First impact? It's a chill album. One of my favorite kinds, to be honest. Something you can relax and do homework to, something to can take naps to, you can shower and sing along to it (when you can understand the lyrics/mumbling), etc. I wouldn't recommend buying this album in hopes of headbanging to it, because you probably won't even begin to mess up your hair.

It starts off energetically (for Puscifer standards) with the beautifully-catchy "Queen B". I wasn't a big fan of this track when I first heard the single, but now I love it. "Dozo" follows, and it's a lightly-dark moody track. It's not my favorite track, but it's not one that I skip over.

A dark, moody track by the name of "Vagina Mine" follows, and it's one of my favorite tracks, even though I can't really describe why. It's absolutely perfect driving music, it has that groove, yet it's chill and dark at the same time. The trip hop influence is strong, if I'm allowed to put a genre to such a unique sound.

"Mama Sed" is a balancing-out track. Many albums make the mistake (in my opinion) of putting one dark song after another, often putting me into a depressed state of mind, and I don't want to do anything except mope around afterwards. This track is still a small bit dark, but has an uplifting tint to it, kind of like what you feel when you hear APC's "The Outsider" when listening to that album in the proper track order. "Drunk With Power" is a bit annoying and drawly the first couple times, but it grew on me over the listens. It's a mood track.

"Trekka" is probably my favorite part of the album. It's got that exotic/dark/moody feel that Vagina Mine had, but it also possesses a lot of that mesmerizing/epic sound that wakes you up and grabs your attention. Perhaps it's Maynard's ritual-like chanting in the background that makes this track so epic. "Indigo Children" is another one of my favorites. It's a track that is beat-heavy, and catchy right from the first listen. I honestly can't describe this track well, so you'll have to hear it to know what I mean (by all means, listen to it in the proper track order, it'll have a profound impact).

"Sour Grapes" is entertaining and lightly comical on the first listen, but after that, you'll have to try to ignore the irritating preacher and listen to the background music (which is actually pretty cool), otherwise the track becomes annoying, and fast. If you can do that, you'll be rewarded by the far-enhanced mood change of the the last track, "Rev 22:20 (Dry Martini Mix)". This song is great. It's spotlighting Maynard more than anything else, because he's using is trademark style of singing, and the lyrics are pretty fun. The dark, slightly-shocked-yet-sad-and-chill mood of the song makes a great finale.

Overall, it's a great album for anyone who's willing to move past the Tool/APC blanket of expectations, and take in something unique and fresh-sounding. It's certainly a creeper album and gets better over the listens. I recommend picking up the disc sometime when you're going on a long drive somewhere, because that's where I really grew to like this album. Don't stream it off MySpace, because 96Kbps MP3 quality is not cool, and it's too easy to just close the browser window mid-listen, or to leave the room. To Sir Maynard, you have produced a great album, and I look forward to your future releases, if and whenever they happen.

Well it's nice to finally have some material to listen to from Maynard's new venture, Puscifer. I must say I've been anticipating this album for some time. Now that it's finally out, I can say that I'm thoroughly enjoying the album after having listened through it a couple times. It's a very different album from anything that MJK has put out. It's all over the place, really. You get a different feeling from every track on this disc. Each song stands alone, apart from the rest. My only complaint is the lack of range Maynard exhibits on this album. No intense screaming and only a small amount of actual singing. He just talks for the most part. I know it's probably the sound he was going for but I think he still could have been a little more dynamic. That's my only complaint, and it's definitely not enough to take away from the album. This is a really good disc. I'm not gonna say it's a masterpiece or anything like that. I like MJK but I'm not on his d*ck. Enjoy!