A Perfect Circle have surprise-released an epic new, ‘Starless’, just days before they kick off their UK tour. Listen below.
READ MORE: Puscifer: “It might seem dark at the moment, but humans at their core are a positive light”
The new song dropped last night (Wednesday May 27) and marks their first since the track ‘Kindred’ that featured on 2024’s ‘Sessanta E.P.P.P.’ – which also featured contributions from Primus and another Maynard James Keenan-led band, Puscifer.
Written by Keenan and Billy Howerdell at the latter’s Lankershim Ranch Studio in California earlier this year, the single features Josh Freese on drums and moves between gritty, guitar-driven riffs and ethereal, heartfelt moments of tenderness.
“Power hungry/ Cold authority/ Looking out for me/ So they keep telling me,” Keenan sings in the opening verse, building towards the angst-filled, majestic chorus: “That poison worm don’t end/ Gone up under my skin/ Yield and bend/ I’ll become the enemy/ Where am I going?/ How did I get here/ How do I get back?”
The track arrives just days before A Perfect Circle kick off their first UK and European tour dates in eight years, with shows set to begin with two sold-out nights at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on June 3 and 4.
“Absolutely chuffed to debut this new track on stage in the UK,” Keenan said. “Of course I’m excited to release the recordings but our songs always take on an expanded personality once we start playing them live.”
“Some songs get kicked around and massaged for years,” Howerdel added. “But once in a while, one takes shape quickly, as if it had been there all along.”
After the two UK dates, A Perfect Circle will play headline shows at venues across Zurich, Paris, Berlin and more, as well as making festival appearances at Rock Werchter, NOS Alive, Rock AM Ring and Mad Cool.
From there, the band will join forces with Puscifer at the end of the year for a joint tour across South America, Australia and Japan. Visit here for tickets.
A Perfect Circle tour dates are:
JUNE
03 – London, UK O2 Academy Brixton ^&
04 – London, UK O2 Academy Brixton ^&
06 – Nürnberg, DE Rock Im Park
07 – Nürburg, DE Rock Am Ring
09 – München, DE Zenith ^
10 – Warszawa, PL Torwar ^
12 – Wien, AT Nova Rock Festival
13 – Ferrara, IT Ferrara Summer Festival ^#
15 – Budapest, HU Budapest Park ^
16 – Zagreb, HR SRC Šalata #
18 – Zürich, CH Halle622 ^
20 – Clisson, FR Hellfest
21 – Düsseldorf, DE Mitsubishi Hall ^
23 – Tilburg, NL Poppodium 013 #
24 – Amsterdam, NL AFAS Live #
26 – København, DK Copenhell
27– Oslo, NO Tons of Rock
28 – Stockholm, SE Gröna Lund
JULY
01 – Berlin, DE Zitadelle ^
02 – Praha, CZ Forum Karlín ^
04 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU Rockhal
05 – Werchter, BE Rock Werchter 2026
07 – Paris, FR Zenith Paris ^
09 – Oeiras, PT NOS Alive 2026
10 – Madrid, ES Mad Cool Festival
With Puscifer:
NOVEMBER
25 – Mexico City, MX Estadio Fray Nano %
28 – Buenos Aires, AR Microestadio Argentinos Juniors %
29– Santiago, CL Hipodromo de Chile %
DECEMBER
04 – Adelaide, AU The Drive %
06 – Melbourne, AU Rod Laver Arena %
08 – Brisbane, AU Riverstage %
10 – Sydney, AU Carriageworks %
11 – Sydney, AU TikTok Entertainment Centre SOLD OUT %
13 – Auckland, NZ Spark Arena %
15 – Tokyo, JP Zepp DiverCity %
17 – Osaka, JP Zepp Bayside %
19 – Honolulu, HI Neal S. Blaisdell Arena %
^ – Jehnny Beth
& – Reclus.É
# – A.A. Williams
% – Puscifer
In February, Maynard James Keenan spoke to NME about his time balancing three bands (A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Tool), as well as running his own wine company Caduceus Cellars – and explained whether the busy schedule has led to him wanting any downtime away from touring commitments.
“You only live twice, so I have to – I don’t want to say, ‘Strike while the iron’s hot’ because that sounds like such a Wall Street trader douchebag statement – but when you have the inspiration in front of you, and if you have the energy, you should listen and respond to it. I don’t really see any reason why you shouldn’t,” he said.
“Things are still coming out when they’re ready. Not before they’re ready. So if you just accept that this is your life […] then you just take it day by day. When you need the break, that’s when you take it.”
He also opened up about if he had considered bringing his ‘Sessanta’ tour – a three-way headline tour with A Perfect Circle, Puscifer and Primus – over to the UK after seeing the huge response from fans in the US.
“I’ve thought about it, and I think we tried, but the problem with bringing something like that over to Europe and the UK is the expense,” he explained. “It’s pretty expensive to do and it is cost-prohibitive because all three bands are splitting everything three ways, including expenses. I want to bring it over, but also I feel like Puscifer, A Perfect Circle and Primus all need to come up with a new album, or a new set of songs, or just something to make it more appealing to do it again.”
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