Obvious from the outset is the overall theme of isolation on this album. The near-eight minute opener, "The Package," uses its sparse arrangement to convey thoughts of using others simply for personal gain. "You're a stranger/so what do I care," Maynard James Keenan casts off after another indecipherable verse of "A Stranger." And so continues the album as Keenan, the throat from Tool, sings of desperation, combining Billy Howerdel's progressive sensibilities, guitar experimentations and song structures with radio-friendly, more lyrically straightforward choruses. The first single, "Weak and Powerless," sounds like an old-fashioned love song, at least in the chorus. It's hard to decipher lines like "jam another dragon down the hole," but over the fingerpicked guitar in the chorus, "desperate and ravenous/so weak and powerless over you" sounds like a paean of unrequited love.

"Thirteenth Step" sounds a little more like Tool than APC did on "Mer de Noms" in a few ways. Fewer songs are in 3/4 time. More songs, such as "The Outsider," end in general Tool fashion, which is miles away from where they started. Another Tool trademark is the inclusion of the reprise or instrumental track. "Crimes" sounds mostly like an extension of "The Outsider," with the only vocals coming from Keenan counting by ones and some background laughter. "Lullaby" features Keenan actually singing the riff from "Pet," which is creepy enough on guitar but is absolute insanity coming from Keenan. The individual parts of "The Outsider" are pretty old-school 90's, with familiar-sounding palm muting throughout. Keenan reins in his screaming to short bursts - we've heard him hold a note longer than most people can hold their breath, now we just get to appreciate the raw talent in this voice.

Sure, this is Howerdel's band, but people keep coming back for Keenan. We all know he can scream, and sing when he has to, but when you hear his voice almost crack in "The Package" or fly off into falsetto on "Lullaby," you realize that "Thirteenth Step" is letting you hear the full range. His voice goes beyond pretty to vulnerable with only short bursts of the anger of "Ticks and Leeches." Josh Freese handles the drums again, providing offbeat drive to mostly straightforward time signatures. Jeordie White, "the artist formerly known as Twiggy Ramirez," (as Keenan would refer to him at Lollapalooza) plays a prominent role, providing a solid foundation for Howerdel's feminine guitar. With the personnel changes, A Perfect Circle only grows stronger, and it looks like their albums are only going to improve from here.