The US band PUSCIFER sends their songs through the particle accelerator

Die US-Band PUSCIFER schickt ihre Songs durch den Teilchenbeschleuniger

Puscifer, you can read everywhere, is a side project of Tool. But hasn't it long since been the other way around? Although the distances between Puscifer albums are getting wider, Maynard James Keenan and Co. give an eloquent testimony of continuity on the new CD "Existential Reckoning".

eclipsed: Your new album sounds like a 3D universe in space and time. How did it come about?

Mat Mitchell: For this album we decided to use an early digital work station called Fairlight. Their possibilities are very limited, but that forces us to be creative with these formats. The challenge was to still sound like Puscifer on this old tool. That's how the basic ideas for the album were born. We literally started pressing buttons. This created moods that told us in turn in which direction the emotions, stories and ultimately the tracks would go. We didn't think about a concept at all, which we then had to implement in terms of sound.

eclipsed: How exactly can you imagine that?

Carina Round: Mat rolls out these wonderful soundscapes before us. On this basis Maynard then formulates clear ideas. It could be a complete text with a melody or a rhythm or maybe just a tiny fragment. He then sends these things to me so that I can complete it with more ideas. My work then goes back to Mat, who sends it to Maynard again. It's like a ricochet that goes from one to another.

eclipsed: Did you only use this way of working for "Existential Reckoning" or is that your regular workflow?

Mitchell: This is the normal workflow at Puscifer. Only the people, equipment and timing have changed. Normally the band sits on this carousel for up to four months, this time it was eight months. Many initial ideas come to us on tour when we get bored in the dressing room and play around with the seeds of new ideas. Some ideas on the album are already five or even ten years old. As soon as Maynard sees something in these seeds, we water them and let them grow. This process has been going on throughout our entire career. Carina was much more involved with this record, but the basic way of working hasn't changed much.

Puscifer - "Fake Affront" (Official Video - from "Existential Reckoning: Live at Arcosanti")

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