How can you tell the difference between a side project and a supergroup? Easy -- just compare A Perfect Circle's 2000 debut Mer de Noms with their new followup Thirteenth Step.

The first disc found bizarro Tool frontman Maynard Keenan teaming up with band guitar tech Billy Howerdel, Vandals drummer Josh Freese and a few indie-rockers to create a sound that fused goth, industrial, prog, ethnic exotica and sludgy, bludgeoning metal. And it was good.

But not as good as Thirteenth Step, which finds Howerdel, Keenan and Freese welcoming former Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie (Twiggy Ramirez) White into their Circle and recruiting ex-Smashing Pumpkins axeman James Iha as a live sidekick.

More importantly, this powerful and textured 50-minute album due in stores Tuesday finds the group hitting their musical stride, striking a near-flawless balance between their various influences and crafting doom-laden. visceral tunes that feel more like live performances than Mer de Noms' studio constructs.

If you missed the band's recent local show, console yourself with this disc and wait for their next step forward.

Track Listing