For over three decades, Maynard James Keenan has charted a heavy career fronting some of the biggest bands in the game — from mind-bending polymaths TOOL to the moody A Perfect Circle. Puscifer, the experimental project he founded in the early Aughts, are likewise a major part of his artistic imprint.
Over the years, Keenan and a revolving cast of collaborators — including longtime project anchors Mat Mitchell and Carina Round — have contorted themselves through a series of albums and EPs informed by rock, industrial, folk-ish flavors and remix culture. Whatever the direction, it’s helped build the band a fervent following around the world.
While they’ve delivered many memorable money $hots across their career, what’s the most essential Puscifer track out there? We asked Revolver readers to weigh in on this very question, and these were the top five vote-getters.
“Momma Sed”
We’ve got something to tell you: Though a lot of fans took the high road and diplomatically voted for “every song” Puscifer has released thus far (the band also lobbied for this option in our Instagram comments), many sucked it up to specifically shout out “Momma Sed,” a tumbleweed-kickin’ electro-western favorite from debut album “V” Is for Vagina.
Cactus-spiked acoustic chording and an itchy drum-machine snap support Keenan’s cool yet cautionary warnings of a storm rumbling across the horizon. While it somewhat plays out as a parable about being prepared for whatever comes your way, listeners have also come to expect the unexpected with Puscifer.
“Rev 22:20”
Saviors, saints, devils and heathens alike have banded together to salute Puscifer’s “Rev 22:20” as one of their best.
The tune’s popped up a few different ways over the years, from the Keenan-sung approach on “V” Is for Vagina’s “Dry Martini Mix” to live takes where Round has hit the mic. What remains is a sinister, torch-song slink that arguably stirs together prime-era Peggy Lee with the Book of Revelations and a hornily doom-anticipating desire.
No matter how fans hear it, it’s quickened their pulses, pounded in their temples and had them crying sweet tears of joy into their collective bosom.
“Horizons”
Many have been swept away by the complex beauty of Puscifer’s Conditions of My Parole piece “Horizons.” Fit with gentle-wind synth harmonies, airy acoustic plucks and a shiver of beatsmithing, the tune is a minimalist compositional masterwork in their back catalog.
It’s also, thematically, a massively overwhelming tale centered on grief and remembrance, with Keenan softly singing of the act of spreading a loved one’s ashes. A touching scene presents the “whirling playful dancing” of the ashes as they leave the urn — though, importantly, something less tangible endures (“My recollections are all that’s left of you”).
“The Remedy”
Considering the flood of votes that came in for this Money $hot standout, it’s fair to say that “The Remedy” has more fans than it does haters. Or perhaps it’s just that the “Trolls” and “Bitches” out there know well enough to not voice their disdain for the cut, lest they’re looking to get “smacked in the fuckin’mouth.”
Though supremely aggro in intent, and supported by a bulging-bicep burst of fuzz-bass, Keenan and Round’s threats entwine quite dreamily across the cut. And while deceptively velvet-soft, the vibraphone-ish tones of the battle anthem’s midsection knock us the fuck out.
This is all to say, “The Remedy” is good for what ails ya.
“The Humbling River”
This week’s poll reveals that there’s one Puscifer song above all that fans are primed to stream the most: “The Humbling River.”
The closing cut from 2009’s “C” Is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) wades through universal themes of ambition, failures and triumph — and the challenges faced along the way. A tension-building rumble of westernized guitar lines, thudding percussion and strings underscore a journey through frozen tundras and rough forest terrain, all leading up to the seemingly unsurpassable titular river.
It’s a song Puscifer have performed numerous times over the years, from headline shows to the Sessanta sets where they’ve crossed “The Humbling River” with the help from their friends in Primus and A Perfect Circle. And fans drink deep on it every time.