A Perfect Circle, Tool's Maynard James Keenan side project's last release on Virgin Records before going on a temporary hiatus in 2004. This CD/ DVD release contains everything a fan of A Perfect Circle or Maynard in general should have. The CD contains remixes of several popular APC songs, including
The Hollow,
3 Libras, and
The Outsider. The DVD contains several music videos, commentaries by Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan, three Bikini Bandit trailers (all in which star Maynard), and a home video filmed/ directed/ and produced by Billy Howerdel.
The CD
The CD part of the
aMOTION package contains nine remixes of six APC songs from their albums
Mer de Nomes and
Thirteenth Step. Three of the nine remixes on this CD are previous releases taken off soundtracks that APC have contributed too,
Judith (Renholder Mix),
Weak And Powerless (Tilling My Grave Mix) (found on the
Underworld soundtrack), and
The Outsider (Apocalypse Mix) (found on the
Resident Evil: Apocalypse soundtrack). All other remixes are exclusive to this CD and this CD only.
Judith (Renholder Mix) is the first track on the remix CD, and has a very Industrial sound to it, much unlike its original version. This track is a lot slower then the original and can also be considered the clean version (cutting out the line "F**k your God"). Both of the
3 Libras remixes are similar in sound but, again, are very much unlike the original.
3 Libras (Feel My Ice Dub Mix) has a very trancelike feel to it, and just like the
Judith remix, is a very slow paced track.
3 Libras (All Main Courses Mix) is a lot longer then any of the other tracks on the CD and uses a lot of radio static and noise. It is also slightly heavier then the slower remix of
3 Libras, but has the same, slow paced feel to it.
The Outsider (Apocalypse Mix), by far the best remix on this CD, gives a very strong, apocalyptic feel and has the least Industrial feel to it. The other mix,
The Outsider (Frosted Yogurt Mix), is more in tune with the original song, only depicted at a faster pace. All in all
The Outsider remixes are both the best tracks on the CD.
The Weak And Powerless (Tilling My Grave Mix) is probably the most mediocre of the tracks on the CD, both slightly heavier and darker then the original song, it doesn't have the same drive that the original song had. The
Blue (Bird Shake Mix) is another track that out does its already big hit original by far. This remake goes back to the Industrial influenced sound that APC adopted for this CD.
The last two tracks on this CD,
The Hollow (Constantly Consuming Mix) and
The Hollow (The Bunk Mix) both end the CD on equally good yet extremely different notes.
The Hollow (Constantly Consuming Mix) uses a piano and some weird sampling along with Maynard's beautiful voice, making this song the better of the two
The Hollow mixes.
The Hollow (The Bunk Mix) is a lot more upbeat and Industrial then the first. All in all, the remix CD is a must have for any APC fan who feels the need to own every APC song out there.
Overall Rating: (4/5)
The DVD
The DVD part of the
aMOTION package is loaded with extras and inside information on the band along with nine music videos with or without commentaries by Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan. The DVD also contains three contest runner-up videos for the song
Blue and a Directors Cut version of the sexually explicit video for
The Outsider.
The videos all in all are good, highlights including the
Judith,
3 Libras,
The Outsider, and
Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums videos. The
Judith video is a basic depiction of the band playing together in someone's living room. With a dark toned color to fit the mood of the song and rare shots of the band members faces, the video goes well with the song
Judith. The
3 Libras video is probably the best and highest quality video of the nine on this DVD. The video shows Maynard in relation to little boy he meets at the hotel. The over all theme relates to the complex genius that is
3 Libras. The
Weak And Powerless is one of the more, shall I say, odd videos in this DVD. The video shows the girl from the
Thirteenth Step photos apparently throwing loathful creatures into a pit to be devoured and in the end, falling in herself. This video is one of the more explicit videos, containing a good bit of nudity, but not portrayed in any sexual manner.
The first
The Outsider is an edited version, but you can get the original in the extras of this DVD.
The Outsider video is a short story involving stars from a TV series called Bikini Bandits, which in terms is Maynard's favorite show. The
Thinking Of You video is by far the most offensive video also starring the Bikini Bandits and is portrayed in a more comic book like form. Note this video contains strong sexual content, and frankly doesn't fit the song at all. The
Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums is the most symbolic of all the videos. The animated video symbolizes corruption in the Media as Bush hands out TVs to people and posses them, while the sheep march and get struck by the hand of God. The
Blue video is another odd video. The video depicts an apparent necropheliac having dinner with her dead, cold, and blue husband (There are three other videos made for this song, the best being the one directed by Will Young).
The Noose video is actual live footage of A Perfect Circle performing. The live footage is an amazing yet somewhat disappointing sight. APC would probably be better live if you were actually at the concert. Finally, the
Imagine video is not only a tribute to John Lennon, but it shows footage of the war at hand, depicting the horror and loss that war has brought to countries of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The home video created by Billy Howerdel of APC is a very entertaining piece to watch. Showing the wild sides of every band member, even Maynard, whom was said to of join APC to loosen up from his serious image in Tool (Note: James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins has got to be one of the craziest people I've seen caught on video). The extras also include three Bikini Bandits trailers, all in which star Maynard and the girls from
The Outsider and the
Thinking Of You videos (Due to some content in these videos I can not describe, I won't).
Overall Rating: (4.5/5) *If you are not offended by strong sexual content.
