Photo: Travis Shinn
The alt-metal cult favorites broke their studio silence with a new single, a limited 7-inch, and a world tour that keeps growing.
Pour something dark: A Perfect Circle are back. After years of Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel disappearing into their other projects, the duo has dropped "Starless," a new single billed as a new dawn for the band — and it lands just days before APC launch their first European and U.K. tour in eight years.
For a band this allergic to a normal release schedule, that matters. APC's last full-length was 2018's Eat the Elephant, and apart from a 2024 split-EP track, the faithful have gotten by on tour dates and Keenan's parallel lives in Tool and Puscifer. A fresh APC song with no album cycle around it counts as an event. Here's what we know.
It Came Together Fast
Written earlier this year and tracked at Howerdel's Lankershim Ranch Studio in Studio City, California, "Starless" was produced by Howerdel, mixed by Matty Green (U2, Florence + the Machine, TV on the Radio), and anchored by longtime APC contributor Josh Freese on drums. For a band known for marathon sessions, it landed fast. "Some songs get kicked around and massaged for years," Howerdel said. "But once in a while, one takes shape quickly, as if it had been there all along."
What It Sounds Like
Unmistakably them: the song swings between heavy, guitar-forward muscle and patient, detailed quiet, with the push-pull precision that's defined APC from the start. Keenan, for his part, is already thinking past the recording. "Absolutely chuffed to debut this new track on stage in the U.K.," he 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."
Yes, There's Vinyl
A limited-edition "Starless" 7-inch is out now through our shop, with a custom etching of the band's crescent logo on the B-side and a custom adapter. It comes in two variants — silver/black, and white with sea blue and black splatter. Move quickly.
They're Touring Europe First
APC's U.K. and European run — their first there in eight years — opens June 3 with two sold-out nights at London's O2 Academy Brixton, then works across the continent's festival and headline circuit through early July. Jehnny Beth, Reclus.É, and A.A. Williams open on select dates.
The Tour Doesn't Stop There
A late-2026 leg pairs APC with Puscifer from Nov. 25 through Dec. 19, running across Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, and a finale in Honolulu. Tickets for everything but Japan are on sale now via APerfectCircle.com; Japanese tickets go up June 13 at 10 a.m. local time.
So this isn't a one-off drop — "Starless" is the opening move. And when a band calls something "a new dawn," it usually means there's more behind it.
A Perfect Circle tour dates:
3 June London, UK O2 Academy Brixton SOLD OUT ^&
4 June London, UK O2 Academy Brixton SOLD OUT ^&
6 June Nürnberg, DE Rock Im Park
7 June Nürburg, DE Rock Am Ring
9 June München, DE Zenith ^
10 June Warszawa, PL Torwar ^
12 June Wien, AT Nova Rock Festival
13 June Ferrara, IT Ferrara Summer Festival ^#
15 June Budapest, HU Budapest Park ^
16 June Zagreb, HR SRC Šalata #
18 June Zürich, CH Halle622 ^
20 June Clisson, FR Hellfest
21 June Düsseldorf, DE Mitsubishi Hall ^
23 June Tilburg, NL Poppodium 013 #
24 June Amsterdam, NL AFAS Live #
26 June København, DK Copenhell
27 June Oslo, NO Tons of Rock
28 June Stockholm, SE Gröna Lund
1 July Berlin, DE Zitadelle ^
2 July Praha, CZ Forum Karlín ^
4 July Esch-sur-Alzette, LU Rockhal
5 July Werchter, BE Rock Werchter 2026
7 July Paris, FR Zenith Paris ^
9 July Oeiras, PT NOS Alive 2026
10 July Madrid, ES Mad Cool Festival
With Puscifer:
25 November Mexico City, MX Estadio Fray Nano %
28 November Buenos Aires, AR Microestadio Argentinos Juniors %
29 November Santiago, CL Hipodromo de Chile %
4 December Adelaide, AU The Drive %
6 December Melbourne, AU Rod Laver Arena %
8 December Brisbane, AU Riverstage %
10 December Sydney, AU Carriageworks %
11 December Sydney, AU TikTok Entertainment Centre SOLD OUT %
13 December Auckland, NZ Spark Arena %
15 December Tokyo, JP Zepp DiverCity %
17 December Osaka, JP Zepp Bayside %
19 December Honolulu, HI Neal S. Blaisdell Arena %
^ - Jehnny Beth
& - Reclus.É
# - A.A. Williams
% - Puscifer
