Puscifer
Maynard James Keenan is already one of the most respected musicians in the business as the frontman for Tool and A Perfect Circle, but Puscifer proved to be one of his most ambitious side projects. Originally a fake band on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show in 1995, Keenan began to record under the moniker for a variety of projects. In 2003, Keenan teamed with producer Danny Lohner for the single "Rev 22:20," which was included on the soundtrack for the movie Underworld. Four years later, Keenan began to work on an album for the band after he took a break from his major projects. The band would be a unique experiment in the world of rock, which featured a revolving door of artists that worked with a variety of different sounds and genres to create something truly unique.
Puscifer combined many of the biggest names in modern rock and alternative, such as Tim Alexander from Primus, Trey Gunn of King Crimson, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk from Rage Against the Machine and even Hollywood actress and vocalist Milla Jovovich. The group's first album, V is for Vagina, featured 10 all-new songs and was released on Keenan's own label. Unlike the plodding yet powerful metal riffs that made Tool so popular, Keenan opted for music that had dance tunes and a bit more pop sensibility. When the album was released in 2007, fans that were already huge Tool and A Perfect Circle fans drove the record's sales, and it climbed to No. 25 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Following the success of the first album, Puscifer released a remixed version of the first record entitled "V is for Viagra." This time around, the album was peppered with collaborations from big-time rock bands like Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Slipknot and a host of others. In 2011, the group released its second full-length album, Conditions of My Parole. This record would achieve similar success on the Billboard 200 chart, and would climb to No. 27.
While Keenan has told news outlets that Puscifer doesn't have any plans to tour in the near future, the band has begun to work on a series of music videos to accompany many of the new tracks they have planned. What started as a spontaneous project of many of today's biggest rock and pop musicians has grown into yet another winning formula for Maynard James Keenan who always seems to have something up his sleeve for his legions of fans.