Puscifer has been the quirky creative outlet of Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) for some time now – their first album, V Is for Vagina (yes, really) came out almost two decades ago, in 2007. And now, Puscifer has released their fifth LP, Normal Isn't, as an established trio of Keenan, Mat Mitchell, and Carina Round. (Read TND’s interview with the latter here.)

Keenan has stressed that Normal Isn't revisits his early, goth-punk influences, with an emphasis on guitars over synths. Don't expect anything that'll make you go "fuck yeah!" with devil horns up, though.

Since Puscifer's first two full-lengths, they have taken on a darker, less juvenile approach in their output. Some of the best songs on Normal Isn't ("Bad Wolf", "The Quiet Parts") have an air of commanding weight similar to 2015's "Grand Canyon", which Keenan has called the greatest song he's ever done. Tracks like these have genuine conviction, to the point that any silliness you may expect takes a back seat for the better.

Normal Isn't is a stronger record than its predecessor, 2020's Existential Reckoning, but there are some aspects preventing it from reaching the highs of Puscifer’s best. Keenan sometimes tries his hand at the joking which was all over the project's debut – and Puscifer's name, if you say it correctly – only to come up short.

"You're a bunghole" goes one line in the chorus of lead single "Self Evident". Get it together, man. If you’re going to go all Beavis and Butt-Head on us, why not lean into it fully, instrumental and all? The closest this album gets to sheer lunacy may be "Mantastic" (with lyrics like "Mani Pedi ending soon, then so will you"), but Puscifer once had far more success in this department. Check out the title track of 2011's Conditions of My Parole for the song these two wish they could be.

Another peak, though, lies at the album's conclusion. "Seven One" takes the role of album anomaly, with spoken word delivered by one of three guest appearances. Tony Levin and Danny Carey, who serve as the rhythm section in King Crimson spinoff BEAT, drive the music. Meanwhile, Ian Ross, father of Nine Inch Nails' Atticus, provides a history on the number seven's significance. When Puscifer conjures square pegs that don't fit in round holes, Keenan and his misfits shine, as on "Seven One" and its spiritual sibling, 2015's "Simultaneous".

Puscifer's ability to dish up "Seven One" makes the semi-homogenous nature of Puscifer's newer music all the more disappointing. Mitchell, while he's a talented producer, leans on a boring style of guitar playing, with very little in the way of memorable riffing. Moments from Puscifer's last three albums have a tendency to blend together as a result. Perhaps, for a project which signaled "time to have the guitar be more upfront" according to Keenan, they should have brought on a more established player.

On the whole, Normal Isn't makes for a worthy entry into Puscifer's discography, the goofiness of the band's name (mostly) left in the dust. Good, I say – leave it further behind. No one is going to laugh at the line "social mediots" (from the live rendition of "The Algorithm") and think it's some clever all-timer. Keenan, who's now in his 60s, has outgrown the sophomoric humor of "pussy fur." When Normal Isn't sheds the crudeness for emotional power, the trio come into their own. The results of those moments – which bear a passing resemblance to latter-day A Perfect Circle – hold Puscifer's highlights these days: ironically, when they sound their most normal. Or, in the case of "Seven One", when normal isn't.

Decent to Strong 6/10. Order here.