On “Rose,” the singer wants to free himself from a manipulative relationship. He later prays for strength to forgive someone (“Thomas”).
A man appears to be relying on sex to fill “The Hollow” in his soul. Oozing with the vengeful hostility of the Greek myth that inspired it, “Orestes” finds a man struggling for the resolve to commit murder. A noble rescue attempt is aborted when the subject is deemed beyond hope on “Sleeping Beauty,” which fatalistically fails to account for Romans 15:13. Of course, the absence of such wisdom is obvious judging from “Magdalena,” a song about an “earthly goddess” worshiped by a man willing to sell his soul for her affection. Meanwhile, “Judith” is downright blasphemous as the singer tells a hurting woman, “Your savior has abandoned you/F— your God/He did this, took all you had and left you this way. . . . Oh, so many ways for me to show you how your dogma has abandoned you/Pray to your Christ, to your God/Never taste of the fruit.”
Vague, poetic lyrics are the rule. Too bad “Judith” couldn’t have been more obscure. That nasty diatribe alone is reason enough to cross Mer De Noms—which means Sea of Names—off teens’ wish lists. A Perfect Circle’s leader, Maynard James Keenan (also the frontman for Tool), reportedly grew up in a Baptist home and was abused by a stepfather, hence his venom toward God. It’s probably a good idea to pray for Keenan . . . just don’t buy his music.
