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By Adrian Gomez / Journal Arts and Entertainment Editor Published: Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at 4:02PM Updated: Thursday, June 9th, 2022 at 12:02AM

After a few years off the road, Mat Mitchell is gearing up to head back on the road.

It’s a familiar place for Mitchell, who is one-third of the rock group Puscifer. He is joined in the band by Carina Round and Maynard James Keenan.

“I’ve been keeping busy and trying to be creative and stay healthy,” Mitchell says.

Puscifer is heading on the road to support its 2020 album, “Existential Reckoning.” The tour will make a stop in Albuquerque at the Kiva Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 14.

Mitchell says for the tour, there will be a full, theatrical production integrated into the concert.

He says expect to see it continue the alien/”Men in Black”-type theme surrounding the album and that the band is looking forward to performing on tour again.

“Existential Reckoning” marks the band’s fourth full-length studio album.

“This one was a little different to make because we were in isolation,” Mitchell says. “More was required to keep people safe and that was the only struggle.”

Mitchell says the flow of how Puscifer creates hasn’t changes in over a decades – though the ideas are constantly changing.

“The instrumentation and approach changes with each record,” he says. “For one of our records, it was banjos and acoustic.”

Mitchell says from the creative side, the trio started the record before the pandemic locked down the world.

“All of the original seeds of songs were planted and we developed them over that time,” he says. “We’ve done enough records at this point, that we know what we’ve been itching to say. The process now is about how you navigate through. We all like to come from left field and you are expecting something and how do you take that.”

Historically, Puscifer isn’t precious to arrangements.

“We’re open to interpretations,” he says. “We’ll definitely rework those songs that don’t fit and we’ll make them fit the tone of the tour.”

Mitchell says on the first record, the trio recorded it in a little shed.

“On the tracking vocals, you can hear horses in the background,” he says. “It’s not all done in a traditional studio. We create environments that leave memories. When we work on the older tracks, it takes us back to that specific process.”

With a music catalog that continues to grow with each album, Mitchell says Puscifer finds itself in a luxury.

“I remember the first tour, we had to extend everything,” he says. “Now we have 10 different options to play. There’s a lot more variation to play with. That makes it fun for our fans who catch a number of different shows. It’s always new.”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 14

WHERE: Kiva Auditorium at the Albuquerque Convention Center, 401 Second St. NW

HOW MUCH: $42.50-$169, plus fees at ticketmaster.com

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