A Perfect Circle Road-Test New Song

A Perfect Circle have made good on their promise to perform new material on their current American tour.

The band performed a new song, believed to be titled “By and Down,” at a tour stop in Portland, Oregon, last week. Band founder Billy Howerdel had previously indicated that the band would be road-testing new material, although there is no word on how that material might ultimately make its way into the recorded world. Howerdel told The Pulse of Radio that while he would like to make a new album, he is hesitant to do so while audiences seem disinterested in the album format.

Aside from Howerdel, who is also the main man for Ashes Divide and has worked as a guitar tech for Nine Inch Nails, the current lineup of A Perfect Circle consists of Maynard James Keenan (Tool), former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, bass player Matt McJunkins and drummer Josh Freese. Freese has a resume a mile long: aside from his permanent gigs in Devo and the Vandals, he has also played with Dweezi Zappa, Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Paramore, Infectious Grooves, Chris Cornell, Orianthi, Filter… and the list goes on.

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Concert Recap: Disturbed, A Perfect Circle and More Play Rock on the Range 2011 (With Photos)

As Disturbed burst into the chorus of the turbulent “Indestructible” at Columbus Crew Stadium on Sunday, vocalist David Draiman paced back and forth on stage, sporting his trademark black jumpsuit, while lead guitarist Dan Donegan gutted out machine-gun sounding riffs balanced out by melodic passages.

The Chicago-based hard rock group was part of a lineup of bands on 2011’s Rock on the Range music festival, which also featured P.O.D., Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, Black Label Society, Staind, Hinder, Art of Dying, Puddle of Mudd, Korn, A Perfect Circle and more. Tens of thousands crowded the Columbus, Ohio, outdoor stadium on Saturday and Sunday for the festival’s fifth annual appearance – many traveling from as far as Florida, California and even overseas.

For Puddle of Mudd and frontman Wes Scantlin, this was a surprise performance. Stone Sour was originally scheduled to perform, but they had to cancel last-minute due to drummer Ray Mayorga suffering a minor stroke. Mudd took the challenge head-on, delivering a blue-collar brand of modern rock that gave nods to Alice in Chains and Nirvana with grungy, over-driven guitars and Scantlin’s full-throated style of singing. “Control,” “Blurry” and “Drift & Die” brought cheers from the crowd, even as rain hit hard though half of the band’s set.

A Perfect Circle, the festival’s headliner, brought a soft, experimental end to the heavy event, with Billy Howerdel’s swelling, atmospheric guitar textures and Maynard James Keenan’s delicate vocals and overall eccentricity.

“Sorry about the whole rapture thing,” Maynard joked, referring to the supposed “end of the world” that was set for the previous night. The crowd cheered, as he then went into hits “The Outsider” and “Blue” off 2003’s Thirteenth Step.

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