Thirteenth Step
by A Perfect Circle
  • Record Label: Virgin
  • Release Date: Sep 16, 2003
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 158 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 143 out of 158
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 158
  3. Negative: 8 out of 158

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  1. RickS
    Oct 16, 2003
    3
    Well what can i say about Thirteenth Step, well for one, its generally dull, very boring and not at all what i expected.. Although i liked the first album(which wasn't that great but still good) I found that a perfect circle is somewhat trying too hard...Alot of the songs on thirteenth step are very weak, some songs come off as if they were trying to make the band a Mainstream TOOL, Well what can i say about Thirteenth Step, well for one, its generally dull, very boring and not at all what i expected.. Although i liked the first album(which wasn't that great but still good) I found that a perfect circle is somewhat trying too hard...Alot of the songs on thirteenth step are very weak, some songs come off as if they were trying to make the band a Mainstream TOOL, which for me(yes me) is repetitive and doesn't work.. The band itself is not really finding there style, songs like the outsider, weak and powerless, and gravity seem to have its own sound, but the rest of the album does not have a sense of uniqueness.... I really wanted to like this album(borrowing it from my friend countless times) but in the end i could only listen to prob 2 or 3 songs which i got tired of pretty off quickly, some songs were just too boring and somewhat annoying to listen through...The music doesn?t build like so many tool songs(yes i know there two different bands) and No i'm not tool freak.. While Maynard is very good on the vocal standpoint, the guitar riffs and bass was shallow, i did enjoy the work of the drums though.. Overall its like what Michael said " Between this album and Mer De Noms, you have one great album.. But I think its listen -able AT BEST… Collapse
  2. MarcusMarcus
    Apr 10, 2013
    3
    Musical its boring, unimaginative radio rock. Much less inspired than Keenan's work with Tool. The lyrics can be pretty ridiculous at times too. You might as swell just listen to their debut.

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Most Discussed Album of 2003
14
#14 Most Shared Album of 2003

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Launch.com
    80
    By muting Tool's over-the-top attack, Keenan has more time to devote to deepening the textures throughout.
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  2. Rolling Stone
    70
    Sounds more like the dusky thrum of Disintegration-era Cure than it does any of the members' previous bands.
    Read full review
  3. Spin
    50
    It's more cerebral than aggressive.... A derivative effort that makes Keenan sound less talented than he actually is. [Oct 2003, p.105]
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