“Hourglass” by A Perfect Circle, Wednesday, October 30, 2024

The cover of A Perfect Circle’s fourth album, Eat the Elephant, is the most macabre of the band’s albums. The supergroup had a career of creepy, conceptual work. The band’s 2018 album came after a lengthy hiatus after recording three albums between 2000 and 2004. The band formed when Billy Howerdel, the guitar tech for Nine Inch Nails, and eventually Tool, showed the lead singer of Tool some demos that Howerdel had been working on. Maynard James Keenan, Tool’s frontman, encouraged Howerdel to pursue the new musical project. Eventually, Keenan became the band’s lead singer after several other singers could not commit to the project. Tool went on hiatus and A Perfect Circle recorded their first album Mer De Noms. Every member of A Perfect Circle was also a member of other rock bands besides Howerdel. This would cause conflict throughout the band’s career, causing many replacements and breaks during Keenan's duties with his main band.

DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE SOUND AS THE GRAINS TRICKLE DOWN RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? In 2004, A Perfect Circle released their third album, eMOTIVE. The album was hurried to be released on the presidential election day between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Maynard James Keenan had criticized Bush’s first term, particularly regarding the post-9/11 political climate. Guitarist Billy Howerdel had been mostly apolitical, but agreed with Keenan in releasing an album against “politically apathy.” Shortly after releasing the album of mostly musically re-arranged covers, the band went on a long hiatus. All members of the band became involved with other projects including Howerdel who started another project, ASHES dIVIDE. So involved with their other projects both Keenan and Howerdel were noncommittal about the future of A Perfect Circle both stating that the band may only play shows together or release singles. In 2018, A Perfect Circle returned with their fourth studio album, Eat the Elephant, a collection of songs recorded between 2010 and 2018. 

A TEN NINER EIGHT! If eMOTIVE was an album inspired by the policies and the wars in the first George W. Bush presidency, Eat the Elephant appears to have some inspiration from the political climate surrounding Trump’s presidency, though it explores broader social themes as well. The album, released in 2018, deals with themes of societal division, political disillusionment, and the impact of social media. Maynard James Keenan has explained that the songs are more about the overwhelming nature of the world's problems and the frustration with society’s passivity rather than targeting one individual. However, he’s acknowledged that the divisive and chaotic political landscape of the Trump era—along with other global issues—influenced the album's tone and messages. Some tracks, like “The Doomed” and “Disillusioned,” reflect the bleak outlook on society’s moral compass and the consequences of ignoring pressing issues, which were felt to be heightened in the climate of that time. Rather than a direct critique of Trump himself, the album serves as a broader reflection on the sociopolitical atmosphere in which his presidency played a significant role.

AS THEY BARBECUE THE SENTINELS AND EAT THEM RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. The songs on Eat Elephant are experimental, even for A Perfect Circle’s standards. “Hourglass” is a bleak song that uses electronic voice manipulation and Maynard James Keenan’s theatrics. Keenan uses frightening images, particularly of violence against animals and plants, ultimately warning of the collapse of ecosystems because of human greed. The Tokyo Kitty references how the Japanese noticed that cats died quicker than humans when eating fish with mercury poisoning. Swallows were used to check the extent of pesticide poisoning, and canaries were used to check if a coal mine was safe from carbon dioxide. In all cases, the “sentinel species” would die for humans to survive. In “Hourglass,” bad people take their sacrifices for granted. The chorus of the song speaks of the inevitable breakdown of Plato’s five regimes, listed in  The Republic, Book VII, plus an American addition “Republicrat,” a combination of the two major parties. Every form of government eventually breaks down, according to the song leading to tyranny. The unnerving end of the song is a countdown that doesn’t end on “1,” but rather resets itself. When will everything break down? It’s political Halloween, ya’ll! The real monsters are in Washington.

Read the lyrics on Genius.