Billy Howerdel is a name that most fans of Tool and A Perfect Circle have heard of. Howerdel famously worked as a guitar technician for Tool in 1996 after the release of Ænima before forming A Perfect Circle in 1999, which included Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan. The band would go on to record three successful albums and tour the world before they went on hiatus in 2006.

This hiatus allowed Howerdel to pursue a solo career, and with the help of Josh Freese, producer Danny Lohner, and a collaboration between a few fellow musicians, ASHES dIVIDE came into fruition and Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright was the result. The album is similar to A Perfect Circle, but in a sense, is also radically different from what APC was doing in the early part of the – œ00s.

Howerdel has always been praised for his guitar work, and Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright is no different. Howerdel is able to keep the music grounded, with his guitar adding to the dark and emotional lyrical content. His riffing can go from quick to steadfast to calm ambivalence all in the same song. The same is said about his bass work, which sounds upfront and organic in the mix and drives many of the song’s melodies.

The keyboard/piano is a tool that Howerdel uses several times to his advantage to increase the tension. Sword is a perfect example of this, with a single piano playing a beautiful, yet repetitive, piece, with Devo Keenan’s cello following along with the piano in the background. The song then builds steadily into some of the heaviest playing on the whole album. The piano ends the song the same way it began – depressing, repetitive, and magnificent.

Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright mixes a solid blend of alterative rock bordering on hard rock melodies with softer, acoustic driven songs that could almost count as ballads…just very depressing ones. Stripped Away hits you like a Shinkansen Bullet Train (yeah, I just used that reference), while impressing you with the way that he can use a guitar to create a moody sonic landscape. Enemies is another fast one, with Howerdel almost shouting the vocals and Freese pounding the shit out of the drums, leading to the fastest ending of any song on the album.

Most people have heard of the single The Stone, which is one of the best songs on the album. It is hard hitting and has a few great solos packed into its tight four-minute running length. The Prey, which features Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, keeps the intensity at a high level and perfectly leads into the epic closer Sword.

There are a few songs that, as I said earlier, could be considered – œballads’ in the loosest sense of the word. Forever Can Be starts off with an acoustic guitar, before the whole band comes in, with the song showing off Howerdel’s vocal skills. A Wish is a short number, its dreamy atmosphere boosted by keyboards and slowly-played electric guitar.

It took me a few runs to truly get into Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright, as the album has so much going on in it that it takes multiple listens to really grasp what Howerdel has put on display. Some people may find themselves disappointed that there aren’t more songs in the vein of The Stone and Enemies. The album is softer than expected, but that is where Howerdel seems to be the most comfortable.

Whether ASHES dIVIDE is a solo project or the beginning of a long term band, Howerdel has made an album that could make it as big as any of the albums from APC. While we were all sad that APC went on hiatus, at least it gave a talented musician like Howerdel a chance to spread his wings and show off his songwriting skills.