A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel has confirmed that the band is actively working on new material. During a recent conversation with Kevin Kellam of the Minneapolis rock station “93X“, the musician discussed the group’s future recording plans following the late May release of their newest single, “Starless“.
“There’s more [music] underway. And in the spirit of soft deadlines, I’m not gonna give you the date, but we’re working toward something,” Howerdel stated.
A Perfect Circle recently kicked off their highly anticipated European tour with a show in London. Managing studio time while on the road, however, has proven to be a logistical challenge for the guitarist.
“We’re on tour. It’s hard to get solid things done when you’re out here,” he continued. “I sometimes optimistically think that’s gonna happen, and, like today, we’re six shows in, so we’re about two weeks in, and this is the first day I really slept, even though I might not look like it. I just slept, went to the gym, ate a meal, got on with you, and it’s not been like that. So to get real cracking on to the new album, it’s gonna be… I need a couple more of these days to line up over the next tour.”
The conversation then shifted to his creative partnership with Maynard James Keenan, the celebrated frontman for A Perfect Circle, progressive metal titans Tool, and the experimental collective Puscifer. Howerdel praised his bandmate’s intense focus and relentless work ethic when it comes to songwriting.
“I feel more creative with him [than I do with other musicians]. I don’t know. I mean, you’d have to ask Maynard, but I feel like when it’s time to work, it’s time to work for him. Or it’s time to f**k around and just shoot the s**t, then that’s what we’re gonna do then. But when it’s time to work, we’re kind of in it. And it’s not super serious all the time, but it’s focused. And he’s got a great work ethic. I don’t know anyone — I mean, he’s at least in the top three hardest-working people I know that have real vision, conviction, a vision that he’s gonna execute and be tenacious about it. And he’s like that with music. Once the train starts rolling, it, it’s rolling. Then that feels good. I don’t anticipate it going like, ‘Eh, I don’t know. This is kind of softly not going the way we want it to be.’ No, we’re gonna figure it out. We’re gonna set soft deadlines, which I guess they can be hard deadlines, but our soft deadlines are pretty intense. They’re meant to be hit. Anything could happen, but when we’re underway, it just feels, like, ‘Okay, we’re moving in the right direction.’ Now, you can’t force the greatest idea to come out, but you can get yourself motivated to go, ‘If I don’t hit this deadline, then bad s**t’s gonna happen.’ So it’s a fire lit under your a**,” he concluded.
Penned earlier this year, “Starless” was recorded at Howerdel‘s own Lankershim Ranch Studio in Studio City, California. The track features longtime drum collaborator Josh Freese and was mixed by Matty Green, known for his studio work with U2, Florence + The Machine, and TV On The Radio. Howerdel also personally handled the production duties for the single.
A Perfect Circle 2026 Tour Dates:
- June 15 – Budapest, HU – Budapest Park ^
- June 16 – Zagreb, HR – SRC Šalata #
- June 18 – Zürich, CH – Halle622 ^
- June 20 – Clisson, FR – Hellfest
- June 21 – Düsseldorf, DE – Mitsubishi Hall ^
- June 23 – Tilburg, NL – Poppodium 013 #
- June 24 – Amsterdam, NL – AFAS Live #
- June 26 – København, DK – Copenhell
- June 27 – Oslo, NO – Tons of Rock
- June 28 – Stockholm, SE – Gröna Lund
- July 01 – Berlin, DE – Zitadelle ^
- July 02 – Praha, CZ – Forum Karlín ^
- July 04 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU – Rockhal
- July 05 – Werchter, BE – Rock Werchter 2026
- July 07 – Paris, FR – Zenith Paris ^
- July 09 – Oeiras, PT – NOS Alive 2026
- July 10 – Madrid, ES – Mad Cool Festival
With Puscifer:
- November 25 – Mexico City, MX – Estadio Fray Nano %
- November 28 – Buenos Aires, AR – Microestadio Argentinos Juniors %
- November 29 – Santiago, CL – Hipodromo de Chile %
- December 04 – Adelaide, AU – The Drive %
- December 06 – Melbourne, AU – Rod Laver Arena %
- December 08 – Brisbane, AU – Riverstage %
- December 10 – Sydney, AU – Carriageworks %
- December 11 – Sydney, AU – TikTok Entertainment Centre %
- December 13 – Auckland, NZ – Spark Arena %
- December 15 – Tokyo, JP – Zepp DiverCity %
- December 17 – Osaka, JP – Zepp Bayside %
- December 19 – Honolulu, HI – Neal S. Blaisdell Arena %
- ^ with Jehnny Beth
- & with Reclus.É
- # with A.A. Williams
- % with Puscifer
