Emotive
Maynard James Keenan is known for venting his personal angst through the abstract metal of his former bandTooland the poisoned art rock of his current outfitA Perfect Circle. On the group's third full-length release, however, the songwriter drops the high drama and gets blunt: War is bad. Politicians are evil. The world is doomed. To support his case he delivers a handful of politically charged originals and unusual Eastern-influenced covers of crusty anti-war anthems likeJohn Lennon's "Imagine" andMarvin Gaye's "What's Going On." You could never accuse Keenan of being predictable.--Aidin Vaziri