Maynard James Keenan, vocalist of Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, sat down for an interview with Kyle Meredith With… recently and took to discussing Puscifer‘s impending new album “Normal Isn’t“, which will arrive in stores and on streaming services tomorrow, February 06th.
While much of Puscifer‘s output up until now has had a keenly observant form of outlandish satire and theatricality to it, this latest record is in a way more reflective of the times we currently find ourselves in. Upon announcing that album last October, Keenan was upfront about that tonal shift from the get-go, stating:
“‘Normal Isn’t‘ reflects this time we are living in. 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.”
That’s not to say that “Normal Isn’t” is full of political rallying cries. I mean, Keenan himself has adopted a campy new persona for this album cycle that adds further layers of humor and irony to his craft.
Still, in this new chat, Keenan was pointed about his current stance towards much of the tribalism and political weaponization taking hold in modern society, particularly when it comes to the form of fundamentalist extremism. He stated of that [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“I’m always going… to be on the side of f*ck fundamentalist extremists in any way. Left, right, center, I don’t care if you’re a person who doesn’t understand humor and irony, and you mobilize on people who disagree with you. Um, sorry. That will always be the side that I go on is, fundamentalist extremists can go [f*cking] suck a bag of dicks. And you can quote me on that.”
Since this interview was conducted, Keenan hasn’t been exactly subtle about sociopolitical issues currently taking place. Earlier this week Puscifer unveiled this cover of Low‘s “Congregation“, attributing the decision to tackle the track in part to “all the madness going on in Minneapolis.”
With a highly-publicized immigration raid being conducted in the state of Minnesota by ICE, and resulting protests taking place in reaction to those activities reaching a fever pitch in the wake of two ICE-involved fatal shootings in the state last month, Keenan‘s additional comment this week of, “‘Discovering New and Awful Ways to Treat Each Other’ wasn’t on my Bingo card for 2026, but here we are” spoke volumes.
Later in this particular chat, Keenan also addressed the perception that gets thrust upon Puscifer that it is somehow a lesser project for him. While Tool and A Perfect Circle have been lauded with multi-platinum record sales and large followings, Puscifer in itself has existed as somewhat of an ugly duckling in the Keenan canon, despite it being his most prolific creative outlet.
Puscifer comes steeped in a world of evolving lore, elaborate backstories, farcical characters and often drips with a whimsical sense of theater. The toll of absorbing all that can be off-putting to some, and may be a bit of a bridge too far for listeners of his other projects.
Regardless, Keenan at least seemingly remains eager to encourage listeners to embrace new ideas and experiences, while also championing them thinking for themselves and celebrate their inner weirdness, just as he and his cohorts do in Puscifer.
Speaking with Meredith about “Impetuous“, the third and final single to be released from “Normal Isn’t“, Keenan relayed the following of that song’s apparent underlying meaning of being different and proud of it and how that translates to Puscifer‘s reception:
“Puscifer‘s definitely been marginalized and relegated to the third side project category. And people just don’t really… I guess people just don’t think like we do. And I’ve always been on the side of the underdog, that’s just kind of how I’m wired. The marginalized underdog is always going to get my vote. So, that song kind of leans into it’s okay to not think like everybody else. It’s okay.
Don’t… You’re an island. Great. If you feel like an island, then lean into it and just work with it. Don’t think of it as a flaw.”
