For more than 25 years, Billy Howerdel’s A Perfect Circle has blended alt-rock, heavy metal and progressive elements to seamless perfection. The latest example of this is Starless, a new single released in May ahead of their 2026 tour dates.
Thankfully, Howerdel says that Starless is an appetizer that will eventually lead to the band’s first LP since 2018’s Eat the Elephant. For a player who started his career as a guitar tech before forming A Perfect Circle, the group’s continued success is a dream come true.
But he doesn’t let his ego get in the way. “I do sometimes underestimate that I’ve played or written music that people seem to be inspired by,” Howerdel tells Guitar World. “It’s the greatest compliment when someone says, ‘Your music made me pick up guitar, and it’s changed my life.’”
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As for what A Perfect Circle’s yet-to-be-announced fifth record might sound like, Howerdel says, “Even our last album, Eat the Elephant, when we played it live, I thought, ‘These are the best songs we’ve done…’ I’ll think that, but then I have to let it go.”
“You’ve got to be a Buddhist about it,” Howerdel says. “You’ve got to draw the picture in the sand, and then let the waves wash it away, so to speak, and move on. Then you look for the next piece of art you’re going to draw in the sand but not get too captured by what it used to be.”
What’s the story behind the latest single, Starless?
I’m sitting here looking at my rig in my hotel room right now, so… it’s being written and recorded. I’ll probably go back and finish the tracks in my studio once I get home from this tour
In a very distracted way, I had this little practice amp I’d been using a lot, and in the middle of watching a TV show, probably sitting around with the family, an idea would strike, and that’s where it started. This little amp was inspiring, and just a little different than going into the lab, flicking everything on, and making sure everything’s just right. It was more about capturing a moment.
Do you have a typical riff-writing process?
Recently, I haven’t been allowing myself to touch the keyboard, even if that could inspire things. Sometimes I’ll write a keyboard riff and replace it with guitar, but I’m sticking strictly to guitar right now. Having a decent-sounding amp at your disposal at all times is really inspiring and useful, but I don’t have a magic formula – just the mechanics of accessibility. [laughs]
Is there an album on the way?
Yeah, it’s underway. I’m sitting here looking at my rig in my hotel room right now, so… it’s being written and recorded. I’ll probably go back and finish the tracks in my studio once I get home from this tour in a few weeks, but I’m kind of right in the middle of it.
Is Starless a good indicator of what the rest of the record will sound like?
I don’t know what to say, except for the turns it [the upcoming album] takes. It’s always interesting to me when a song takes a turn that I’m not expecting, you know? It can just get you out of your modes and patterns.
What does that mean exactly?
For me, it’s looking at little riffs, of things that I’ve done from years past that I forgot I did. I have this big, long library of ideas that I’ll grab from, and I’ll listen through things, and I’ll not hear anything. But then, you pick it up on a Tuesday instead of a Thursday, and all of a sudden, that idea you had seven years ago is suddenly interesting, whereas yesterday, it wasn’t.
Are there any quirks or habits that, like them or not, have become integral to your playing style?
I’m trying not to get too good. [laughs] But I don’t know… there was a time when I was like, “I’m gonna try and become a much better player,” and I am a better player than I used to be. But I don’t let acrobatics get in the way of the song, you know?
There are things that I’ve done that were aggressively technical, and I’ve just stripped them back a bit. I’m not trying to be cool. It’s just that sometimes it doesn’t move the song forward. But then again, I do listen to things that are technical and enjoy them. It’s just different strokes.
Ultimately, you can be a great player, but can you write a song?
Yeah, but then again, there’s also the thrill of different appetites for different times. I very much appreciate Steve Vai, you know, the fluidity, and the gorgeous technique that guy has. It’s inspiring. But when I break it down, I want to write songs, so I might go more towards Will Sergeant from Echo and the Bunnymen, or David Gilmour.
Was there a lightbulb moment for you that brought you to that conclusion?
When I started playing guitar, there was this guy, P.K. Lavengood, on the [New] Jersey club scene who gave me a talking-to when I was getting into the lighting and guitar-tech world. He talked to me for probably three minutes, and it was about not being shy when you play guitar and to really give everything you’ve got in the moment.
It did a lot for me to kind of play harder, which lends itself to not playing technically very fast. So, I play really hard for better or worse. And after we released our first record, and were doing the second, I fell in love with The White Stripes. I think Jack White is like the last rock star that I can think of.
How so?
He’s very dangerous, and it [the music] feels dangerous. His approach to playing… you just don’t know what’s going to happen. He’s leading the band, but is the guitar in tune? Is he pulling it in? It was really exciting to me, and that was a reminder of what P.K. said to me years ago. It’s about what makes it the most human experience. When you’re seeing something almost come off the rails, and it doesn’t, but you’re at the edge of your seat.
So, is that sort of a mantra that you live by guitar-wise?
No. [laughs] Those things just happen through time. If you’re asking me to reflect on it, that’s the best I can do. But there’s nothing that sticks with me day to day, you know? But certainly, with playing live, it’s your job to eat, sleep, rest, and get ready for the show.
Do you have a favorite guitar at the moment?
Yeah, that’s easy! I’ve been playing the same 1960 reissue [Gibson] Les Paul Classic with Tom Anderson pickups. I play that ninety-nine percent of the time live. I also use it in the studio, but sometimes I dive into some other things and am starting to look at other colors with guitars.
How about amps and effects?
My Friedman is my main dirt sound, unless I’m using my Gibson amp, which is a more pirate-based sound. It’s like a gnarly, very squishy sound
Amps are inconsistent. My Friedman is my main dirt sound, unless I’m using my Gibson amp, which is a more pirate-based sound. It’s like a gnarly, very squishy sound. And for pedals, I use a Prescription Electronics Experience pedal, which I don’t think they make anymore, so I just got a clone from a company in Europe. That’s the only pedal I lean on.
As a so-called “super group,” what’s kept A Perfect Circle together?
I don’t know… the “super group” thing, even back then, I was a little bit like, “What? I don’t know what that means exactly.” I mean, I was a guitar tech, so I don’t know if I count as defining any “super” part. [laughs] But it’s an interesting band.
The parameters of [vocalist] Maynard [James Keenan]’s schedule dictate when we’re going to do something. He’s always looking to create and move things forward, but he’s got three musical projects that he oscillates between, so I don’t know, it’s always exciting.
How would you say A Perfect Circle has progressed from where it started?
We’ve progressed a lot. I’m as guilty as a music listener with the negative comments that come our way that say, “Why don’t you make the same music as the song that I first fell in love with?” But we’re always trying to move things forward because it’s about capturing where you are today.
It can be Maynard lyrically, or me musically; it’s about the melting pot that’s coming our way. Recently, that’s been things I’ve listened to forever, so I’ll revisit things that were first inspiring and see where they bring my writing.
