5.0 classic

James McDermott | February 22nd 08

Another influential album for me that helped mold my current taste in music is A Perfect Circle’s Thirteenth Step. First song off this album I heard was The Outsider and I’ve been hooked ever since. I used to (and still do) listen to this album religiously. I even remember wearing my black and green thirteenth step shirt; which I still have, proudly until it looked gray from being washed so much and started to get little holes in it. To me there is not one blemish on this album it is just perfect and one of my all time favorites. The excellent lyrics and interesting concept make this album from start to finish a highly entertaining listen. My favorite tracks are A Stranger, The Noose, Gravity, and The Outsider. 1 Bumps | Bump

5.0 classic

Coma1996 | April 12th 07

This could well be one of the strongest concept albums since, Dark Side of The Moon. Every element, (lyrics, melody, harmonies, guitars, beats, texture and aura) are all crafted and placed in the perfect spots. Multiple emotions and textures and illustrated and various points of the album. Frailty, vulnerability and confusion are on show in The Outsider and the cover of Failure's The Nurse Who Loved Me. Vivid imagery is conjured up by the highly deive Blue whilst the leading single, Weak and Powerless leave you with a feeling of despair. From start to finish the album carries you through the highs and lows of any kind of addiction. Aspects whihc I believe set this album apart from other conceptual recordings are; Lyrically the album represents the multiple view points are scenarios associated with the concept. Whilst musically the album is able to supply what is needed to perfectly create a mood or canvas for the lyrics and meldoy to flow with. My highlights are the contradicting paces of the music and vocals used in Weak and Powerless, and Blue, and the ominuous sensations that roll over you during The Noose. A complete modern masterpiece 1 Bumps | Bump

5.0 classic	b00mer | December 24th 06
There are only two albums I can listen to in any mood and feel better about myself, this and OK Computer. Not only is every song hauntingly beautiful and well written, the production values are the best I've heard on any album so far. An easy five. b00mer 1 Bumps | Bump

3.5 great	tusleplopp | September 10th 09
Great album, fairly balanced, tends to be sollow at times, but there are plenty of highlights in it to make it worth ones while. Bump

2.5 average

Scott Smith | September 1st 09

This album is a mystery to me. I understand why people put it up so high regardless of who the frontman is, but it's a watered down side projet of Tool. Common, we're gonna get some alright listenening material, but it's just more uninspired crap that we have been listening to over alternative airwaves since the 90's. Pet, The Nurse Who Loved Me, and Blue. Everything else just blends in and/or is filler. Bump

4.5 superb

Brien C. Stevenson | January 30th 09

APC's magnum opus, without a doubt. A staggeringly brilliant (both lyrically and musically) concept album on a theme that's pretty much relatable for anyone. This was truly an example of the band's evolution (not to say that Mer De Noms wasn't phenomenal as well) and a damn shame they decided to exit with E-Motive instead of another real studio album. One can only hope the teasing rumours from Maynard about the band getting back together are true. This album would be a 5/5 if - as stated above - it didn't include Crimes and Lullaby, which - as stated above - serve no purpose and their place on the album seems to just interupt the flow. This album still is responsible for helping to shape my musical tastes and the overall way I listened to music and looked at composition. Bump

4.5 superb

Spamue1G | December 29th 08

Honestly, this deserves a 5. Something about it is just so relatable that, even through the weaker tracks, it manages to be an entirely engaging and rewarding listen. I would most certainly give this a 5 if it weren't for Crimes and Lullaby, two tracks which serve no purpose except to leave the listener feeling a little underwhelmed. Luckily, these are two oddities in an album full of careful and meaningful composition and playing. Fans of MJK will undoubtedly love this, and haters may find something in here that they haven't found with any Tool releases in it's relatability - The lyrical content has gone from being pretentious brilliance to a more straight up, more effective and ever-so-slightly more emotional portrayal of a person struggling through addiction. The drumming is one of Josh Freese's best displays, which is saying a lot considering his near-spotless track record, and the melodic instruments are used to their full potential, often giving a folky sound to the album... If only they hadn't felt the need to include Crimes and Lullaby. Bump

4.5 superb	Shiver44 | December 12th 08
Mer De Noms was a great alternative rock album, but instead of reproducing that Guitar-centric sound A Perfect Circle went a different direction. This album features much more use of atmospherics rather than blunt force to convey the thoughts. Jeordie White's bass in this album is to die for by the way. Bump

4.0 excellent

thedarkestred | October 6th 08

Not excellent... once again I have to refuse the titles given to these scores... 80% is not excellent, it is solid though... and this album falls a bit short of being solid throughout, although a 3.5 is only 70% and it is probably closer to 80 than 70 so alas, i must say this is a good album, slightly better than "Mer De Noms", because of production and consistency mostly... less experimentation, less room for error there are some really nice epic choruses on here too, for example "Weak and Powerless", and "The Outsider" to name a couple Bump

5.0 classic

Rob | October 3rd 08

What a concept album. After the wonderful Mer de Noms, A Perfect Circle create their masterpiece. The songs revolve around the concept of various forms of addictions from different perspectives. The album flows wonderfully and even has a dreamy quality to it. The songs are a little more mellow overall than those on their debut, but there are still heavy moments and songs. Lyrically and vocally Maynard does his job exceptionally and the music compliments this very well. A must own. Bump

4.5 superb	Hostile101 | October 27th 07
Maynerd uses all his great musical talents to create a beautiful, slightly softer alternative album that could go up with his best work. The whole album is perfectely crafted to where the album can pull you in and never let you go till the last second of "Gravity". Bump

5.0 classic

VicariousIntent | October 27th 07

This album is nothing short of...beautiful. The entire concept of the album is just pulled off flawlessly by the lyrics, my personal favorite part about the album. The album's guitar is hypnotizing and dreamy, and alongside Maynard's perfect vocal delivery on every track, the whole album helps to construct an atmosphere for you...one you may be all too familiar with. APC has pulled off a creative concept album while still managing to make it something people can relate with. Kudos to them for being able to do this...it's certainly helped me through many a tough time. Bump

5.0 classic	Tekovro | October 1st 07
I gave it a 5 because its one of the few albums i can never get sick of, and i think every song is amazing, even without maynards amazing voice to make it a Perfect++ the album would still be up there in my book Bump

2.5 average

Nick Butler STAFF | February 21st 07

Just like its predecessor, Thirteenth Step is an album that displays moments of genius effectively holding hands with moments of indulgent toss. "The Noose" is a knockout at the heart of the record, and is probably the band's best song. "The Package", "Weak & Powerless", and "Blue" are all good tracks, too, and while "The Nurse Who Loved Me" pales in comparison to the Failure original, it's still okay. The rest, however, is generally boring, sometimes awful. APC are clearly a band who could have made a classic if they'd set their minds to it, but thanks to all the filler and failed, unrealised ideas, Thirteenth Step ends up sounding lazy. Bump

4.5 superb	Ruthlessgrunge | February 20th 07
Thirteenth step by A Perfect Circle is all about range/diversty and maybe even the feel of raw power. Maynard has haunting lyrics and vocals like always. Some songs are down to earth lovely, like an enya ethereal sound. Some songs have the feeling of "shut the eff up and give me what i want." Thirteenth step is an all around amazing album. Bump

5.0 classic

hDogg42 | February 13th 07

I unfortunately was exposed to A Perfect Circle at first by being introduced to eMOTIVe. I really found it to be one of the worst complete albums I had ever listened to. Later I learned that the song The Outsider was by them, so I thought I might give this album a try. It turned out to be an instant success for me. I'm surprised reading that some people's favorite songs were Blue, Vanishing, Weak and Powerless, etc. I found some that my favorite song on the album was The Noose, and I love Pet, as well. All in all, this is by far my favorite album to listen to, front and back. Bump

4.0 excellent	five2one | November 19th 06
This is what im talking about, I like Mer de Noms but I felt it was just a collection of songs as this makes a much better complete album. Some average songs do appear after the strongest half of the album, crimes and the nurse who loved me I did get a little board listening to. Mer de Noms 3.7 Thirteenth step 4.2 Bump

4.5 superb	dudeinthepassinglane | September 30th 06
This album truely deserves a five, and I would have given it that in the past, but its replay value has proved to have not lasted past a few months after the first listen. Anyone else have that opinion? One of the best albums you've ever heard, but eventually you've heard too many times to hear it again at all frequently? Bump

4.0 excellent

Tojes Dolan | June 26th 06

I got this album because of Weak and Powerless, and I was expecting something along that line, but I found a much softer album. I didn't like it at first. Then I got into Blue and Vanishing, which were good too. Then I realized I wasn't really listening to "Mer de noms" part II, but a completely different album, much softer and for a different kind of mood than "Mer de Noms". I still fail to see the purpose of The nurse who loved me, which still bugs me. I know it's a cover, but it didn't ever really appeal to me. The rest of the album is great, nonetheless. I enjoy it a lot. Bump