Puscifer blend humour with darker themes

Maynard James Keenan says Puscifer’s third album sees them blend serious topics with their usual humorous work.

The band issue Money Shot on October 30 and have made the album’s title track available to stream. And the frontman says that while they’ve previously kept humour and social commentary apart, the band have brought them together on some tracks on the upcoming record.

Asked if Puscifer’s sense of humour takes a back seat to make way for heavier themes on Money Shot, Keenan tells Rolling Stone: “I can see how someone would think that, but I see the humour all the way through it, even in the heavier tracks.

“On our earlier stuff, we completely separated it – Cuntry Boner over here, and then Indigo Children over here. Here, they’ve been integrated more. It’s like a fine wine that’s been ageing in a large cask for two years, instead of being right out of the press and into the bottle.”

Keenan adds that he hopes the album will inspire some listeners to be better people. He says: “I feel like we really are far removed from social responsibility – and spiritual responsibility. So all you can really do is just try to be a better person every day, try to improve yourself every day, and your perspective on the world.

“And then, whatever you put out into the world, hope that it might inspire somebody to try to be a better person.”

Meanwhile, the singer – who also fronts Tool and a Perfect Circle – says he can’t do his job on a new Tool album until the band deliver the music. He adds: “I write lyrics and melodies to music. If I don’t have music, I can’t.”

Money Shot is available for pre-order.

Money Shot tracklist

Galileo
Agostina
Grand Canyon
Simultaneous
Money Shot
The Arsonist
The Remedy
Smoke And Mirrors
Life Of Brian (Apparently You Haven’t Seen)
Autumn

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.