In a new interview with Ed Masley for Arizona Republic, Maynard James Keenan discusses Existential Reckoning, the upcoming album from Puscifer (pictured above), and casually reveals that he contracted COVID-19 at the end of February and is still, in fact, recovering as he prepares to release the new record. Read an excerpt below.

Q: What was it like to have your plans for the entire year upended?

A: Well, I'm not a delicate flower. You make the adjustment. 'OK, well, we can't do that. So what are we gonna do? Are we just gonna take this opportunity to unplug and kind of step back and reevaluate everything?' It was good. I mean, I was still recovering from having gotten COVID at the end of February. I'm still dealing with the residual effects. But it was ugly. I survived it, but it wasn't pretty. So I definitely had to deal with that."

Q: Wow. I didn't realize you had COVID.

A: "Um... yeah. I kind of didn't want to run around screaming it. But it's real. And there's after-effects. I had to go through some major medications to undo the residual effects. Still coughing. There's still lung damage."

Q: Oh man, I'm really sorry to hear that.

A: "Several of my friends, too. Very not old people, young people, in shape, runners, who contracted it as well. And they're still dealing with some of the after-effects. I lost a few family members."

Q: Man, I'm so sorry to hear all that. Are you feeling all right now?

A: "Well no. I still have the cough. Every other day, I have these coughing fits because my lungs are still damaged at the tips. And I just got over the inflammation that was going on with my wrist and hands. I had an autoimmune attack on my system in the form of, like, a rheumatoid arthritis. Basically, from what I understand, it attacks weird spots and it's random. So that's what I got. That was my prize."

Read more at Arizona Republic.

Recent reports out of Jerome, Ariz. confirmed the impending arrival of Existential Reckoning, a 12-song album from the special agents operating under code name Puscifer. The release is scheduled for an October 30 arrival via Alchemy Recordings/Puscifer Entertainment/BMG.

The agents, Mat Mitchell (guitar, bass, keys) and Carina Round (vocals, keys), with agent-in-training Maynard James Keenan (vocals, stories) a.k.a. Dick Merkin, preview the forthcoming release with “The Underwhelming”. Get the single here, and watch a visualizer below.

In a report to commanding officers, the trio said: “In the summer of 2016, we received a call from Hildy Berger, Billy D’s loving wife. Billy D, rumored to have been carrying nothing but a bottle of wine and a mysterious briefcase, had disappeared without a trace somewhere in the high deserts of the Southwestern United States.

"Rumors of alien abduction were at the forefront throughout the dark web chatter. Therefore traditional methods of tracking a lost and hopeless drunkard in a dirty leisure suit were not an option. We hypothesized the only way to locate the subject was to construct traversable bridges between intuition and technology, requiring us to explore the metaphorical mycelium between Math and Passion, Art and Order, and Hope and Proof. Through these methods we are able to pinpoint the exact location of both Billy D and the mysterious briefcase.”

The agents recruited back-up: Greg Edwards (an experienced Agent having worked in operations classified as Failure and Autolux; bass, guitar, keys), Gunnar Olsen (drums) and Sarah Jones (drums). Existential Reckoning was produced by Mat Mitchell and Puscifer. The album was recorded and mixed by Mat Mitchell at Puscifer Studios in North Hollywood, Calif.

Album pre-orders include a number of limited edition vinyl variants including pure clear (indie retail exclusive), high dispersion gold, a wine & vinyl bundle featuring “oakwood” and trans red with black swirl versions as well as translucent tri-color clear blend (Revolver exclusive). Digital pre-orders include an instant download of both “Apocalyptical” and “The Underwhelming”.

Existential Reckoning tracklisting:

"Bread And Circus"
"Apocalyptical"
"The Underwhelming"
"Grey Area 5.1"
"Theorem"
"UPGrade"
"Bullet Train To Iowa"
"Personal Prometheus"
"A Singularity
"Postulous""
"Fake Affront"
"Bedlamite"

"The Underwhelming" visualizer:

"Apocalyptical" video:

Born somewhere in the Arizona desert, Puscifer is an electro-rock band, multimedia experience, traveling circus, and alien abduction survivors. The group’s catalog consists of three full-length studio albums—“V” is for Vagina [2007], Conditions of My Parole [2011], and Money Shot [2015] - in addition to a series of EPs and remixes. Beyond the core trio of Maynard James Keenan [vocals], Mat Mitchell [guitar, production], and Carina Round [vocals, songwriting], the group’s ever-evolving ecosystem encompasses a cast of characters such as Billy D and his wife Hildy Berger, Major Douche, Special Agent Dick Merkin, and many more. Meanwhile, the moniker’s origins can be traced to a 1995 episode of the HBO classic Mr. Show where Keenan first utilized the name “Puscifer.” Entertainment Weekly christened them, “Exceptionally groovy,” and Revolver fittingly described them as “indescribable.” Renowned for an immersive live show, the group’s performances blur the lines between concert and theater, traversing the dusty American Southwest with Billy D and Hildy or the sweaty squared circle with Luchadores. They’ve brought this to life everywhere from Coachella to Bonnaroo. On their 2020 debut for Alchemy Recordings/BMG, entitled Existential Reckoning, Puscifer track Billy D back to the desert and, just maybe, uncover the truth about aliens once and for all.

(Photo - Tim Cadiente)