Puscifer hits a very specific chord for me. If I'm in the right mood, it's fantastic. Indigo Children/Queen B from the original album are tight, and the remix of Drunk With Power on V for Viagra is also one of my favorites (I don't even mind Jordison's mixing/drumming).

I'd have to disagree with that in that I feel he's kind of overrated. No doubt, he has a damn good voice and even more so, great lyrics, but he's is too often mistaken as the mastermind of Tool. There is no ONE mastermind of Tool - the blatant talent, I feel, comes collectively as a band. I am more partial to Adam Jones.

What about the drums
 

I see no love here for the rythm that makes both APC and Tool so easy to listen to over and over. Danny Carey for Tool and Tim Alexander/Josh Freese for APC.
In my opinion, those guys can be credited with not allowing the music to get stale or old over the years. A new beat for every song, something we don't see all that much anymore. As a drummer i respect it because I can listed to one of their songs a hundred times and still question what comes next.
A band that evolves constantly and still retains their fanbase!! How many people listened to APC initially just because it was an offshoot of tool?

The fact that this thread is entitled Tool/A Perfect Circle, I find that a little simple. Just basically lumping in one with the other because they share the same frontman.

Personally, I don't really care for much of APC or Puscifer. And it's not hating on them because they're the "secondhand" projects of Maynard James Keenan. Not at all. They just haven't really struck anything in me.

The same thing happens, I think, with artists like Mike Patton or Philip Anselmo. The fact that the same voice is projecting from these different bands just creates a tendency to pool them all together.

Tool, on the other hand are one of my all-time favorites. And at times, I feel like Keenan might be a little bitter at the fact that he lucked out with his first successful band. I just don't think that as many people will ever be touched by APC/Puscifer as there were by Tool.

And all the people who think that he's some sort of "mastermind" behind the creativity of Tool. I think that those are strictly people who relate to it on a lyrical level, which would make sense why they would place Tool at the same level with Maynard's other projects. But to me, the music arrangement and lyrics of Tool all work together to make the sonic giant that they give birth to.

The Official Tool Thread
 

At this point in the discussion, I feel like we've gone 'round and 'round in circles.

You know...I cried the first time I listened to Third Eye. 5.1 Bose Surround sound cranked 4/5 power. Several others had the same effect when I read the lyrics. Lateralus brings new things to my mind every time I listen through the album.

well, dude, Phil Anselmo's side projects all feature Rex Brown (the reason I picked up a bass) so they're bound to be similar to Pantera. Plus they're all f*ckin awesome XP

Tool is a really amazing band, very creative. I like bands that have there own intelligence to them, very unique band indeed. A Perfect Circle to me is a just a more mainstream Tool, more catchy lyrics, but just as good.

I wouldn't say overall APC is as good as Tool, but songs like 3 Libras have impacted me just as powerfully as a lot of Tool songs.

^ I agree. As for being mainstream, they both are equal in that aspect, I think.