"By and Down" is a single by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ' ...

in 2013. The track represented the first studio material from the band in almost a decade's time. The studio version appears on the band's

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album, ''

Three Sixty ''Three Sixty'' is a greatest hits compilation released by American rock band A Perfect Circle on November 19, 2013. The set compiles songs from previous albums by the band and includes one new song, " By and Down". The album was also released in ...

'', while a live version appears on their live box-set '' A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone and Echo'', both released in 2013. The song peaked at number 8 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart. An alternate version of the song, titled "By and Down the River", was later released on the band's fourth studio album, ''

Eat the Elephant ''Eat the Elephant'' is the fourth studio album by American rock music, rock band A Perfect Circle. It is their first album release in fourteen years since 2004's ''Emotive (album), Emotive''. While early work on new material traces back to as ear ...

''.

Background

After the release of their third album '' Emotive'', in 2004,

went into a hiatus while the band's two major creative forces worked on other projects;

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Maynard James Keenan Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pusci ...

returned to work with his other bands,

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

and

Puscifer Puscifer () is an American rock group formed in Los Angeles by Maynard James Keenan, known as the lead singer of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. Initially, Keenan was the only permanent member, and as such he considered the project to be hi ...

, while

Billy Howerdel Billy Howerdel (born May 18, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle, as well as for his former solo project, Ashes Divide. Howerdel h ...

released a solo album, ''

Keep Telling Myself It's Alright ''Keep Telling Myself It's Alright'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Ashes Divide, the solo-project by A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel. While efforts towards a Howerdel solo album were started even back in his time in A ...

'' under the moniker

Ashes Divide Billy Howerdel (born May 18, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the founding member, guitarist, backing vocalist, songwriter, and producer for the band A Perfect Circle, as well as for his former solo project, Ashes Divide. Howerdel h ...

. While the band reformed to tour in 2010, the band remained unsure how to move forward with releasing new music, due to their respective commitments, and changes in the record industry. Instead, the band chose to focus on touring, working on new songs piece by piece on the side, and premiering any finished songs in a live setting. The sessions mostly just resulted in "jamming" and bits and pieces, not whole songs though, due to the material "not quite sitting right yet". The only complete song to result from these sessions would be "By and Down". The song was debuted as far back as June 2011, when the band played it live at their North American Summer tour. The band was initially unsure of what do with the song, with Howerdel stating he could see it could be "..put together in some collection...something more like a photo album where you collect these things and you put them in". Despite playing the song live on tour, the band struggled to capture the desired sound in the studio, with Howerdel noting:

"The song had been played live for so many years now, for, like, two years. 2011 we played it for, like, seven weeks on that run, and a month this past year we did South America and Australia. And it was kind of, not an afterthought but it was the last thing, the last piece of the puzzle to be completed before this album came out. I kind of underestimated what it would take to do it because we had played it live so many times. The song was pretty realized, and I knew what it was gonna be. But just like anything else in the studio, just because you know the notes doesn't mean you know how the production's gonna go down. It took awhile to craft it into a proper studio recording that you were gonna be proud enough to release. Once I was in the middle of it, it did feel like familiar ground again to do that, but it definitely takes a little while to get back on the horse."

The song resurfaced in discussions of a greatest hits album in 2013, with Keenan describing the song as "the new track that we've been working on, that we never quite got around to recording." The band announced that the song will be released as a single. The studio version will be released on the band's

album, ''Three Sixty'', on November 19, 2013, while a live version of a 2011 performance of the song will appear on the live

boxset A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

'' A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone and Echo''. Despite the song's multi-year history, the final studio release was finalized less than two months before its final release. The studio version debuted on October 14, 2013.

Sound and composition

"By and Down" has been described as

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

with

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

guitar-work. The song opens with

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

chimes, followed by the introduction of Howerdel’s "simple but atmospheric guitar lead", and plays out as a "

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

minor key In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals may ...

dirge A dirge ( la, dirige, naenia) is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegies ...

". Keenan's vocals come in as an "eerie cries" over Howerdel's guitar. The song builds in volume and intensity over time, with "clanging

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

" and "sweltering

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

hooks", "exploding" at its conclusion. Howerdel described the song's sound as "a journey. It's got a lot of movement to it, a nice arc and some subtle power".

Reception

The song has been generally well received by critics. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' favorably compared the song to

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, calling it a "five-minute Zep-style journey... is naturally moody, featuring what sounds like a gaggle of orchestra chimes and a melody that sounds like

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...

gone

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

praised the song for being "... a dynamic tune, much what one would expect from a Keenan/Howerdel production...‘By and Down’ comes highly recommended." The song peaked at number 8 on the ''

chart, and at number 34 on the respective 2014 year-end chart.

Charts

Personnel

;Studio *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Matt McJunkins :''McJunkins leads here. For people carrying the surname, see McJunkin'' Matt McJunkins (born March 19, 1983) is an American musician and photographer best known for touring and recording with the American rock band A Perfect Circle. He is a form ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Jeff Friedl –

References

External links

* {{authority control 2013 singles A Perfect Circle songs Songs written by Maynard James Keenan Songs written by Billy Howerdel 2013 songs Universal Music Group singles