While early work on new material traces back to as early as 2008, years of slow progress would ensue due to conflict between the band's chief music writers, frontman Maynard James Keenan and guitarist Billy Howerdel, largely stemming from their commitments to other projects and inability to come to an agreement on the direction to take the band.

Renewed focus, alongside assistance from music producer Dave Sardy, helped propel the band into much more productive sessions across 2017, with the album being completed in early 2018.

Thematically, the album covers a variety of Keenan's views on modern societal, religious, and political issues, focusing on his perceived lack of accountability in humanity.

A Perfect Circle initially formed in 1999 when Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan, burned out by the band's legal issues in the late 1990s, offered to sing on material that then-guitar tech Billy Howerdel had been writing for his own musical endeavors.

[6][7] They ultimately postponed those plans to quickly record a third studio album Emotive, a collection of politically themed cover songs to coincide with 2004 U.S. Presidential Elections.

[10] Similarly, Howerdel began work on his own solo album, and released it, Keep Telling Myself It's Alright, under the moniker Ashes Divide, in 2008.

[13][14] In December 2008, Keenan first revealed that he and Howerdel had begun writing new material, but that he envisioned it as only being a handful of songs, rather than a full album.

Then we’re going to get together next month and combine where we’re holding these ideas, then get in a room and get with the band, play them in a live setting and see what happens with the human element that comes into the picture.

Right now, I have the songs in demo form but they’re easily finishable, but he’s sending me down different paths and has asked me to take out my scissors and cut them into different shapes and paste them back on a page.

"[24]Howerdel later noted that his 2014 writing sessions were particularly prolific, and where he initially wrote the original iterations of the music for a number of Eat the Elephant's songs that made the final track list.

[25] After the slow, on and off sessions for years, work in earnest on the album began in late 2016, with Keenan free from commitments from Tool, Puscifer, and the busy harvest season for wine-making at his winery, Caduceus Cellars.

[27] The track "Eat the Elephant" also went through a number of changes and iterations, originally starting as a song for Howerdel's solo band, Ashes Divide.

[27][31][32] Tracking recording sessions for the album began in mid 2017, were slowed for a few months while the band went on North American tour, and worked resumed for a final intense period over late 2017 and January 2018.

[27] Howerdel stated that a majority of the songs that made the album's final track list were ones written within the last three years, with one outlier that was considerably older.

[24] While he indicated that the album would likely not be as overtly politically themed as their prior release, Emotive, he also conceded that "it’s probably impossible to escape the torment that we all are going through in this year...this turmoil is probably really great for the arts.

"[36] A press release was issued stating that "With a title like Eat the Elephant, A Perfect Circle’s new record has clear political overtones that Keenan admits could stir up controversy", though Keenan clarified that this was not written by him or the band, and refused to explain the meaning of the album, only conceding that it referred to multiple things, and that the album split a balance: "You don't want to be too topical, because then you date your art.

[36][39] "Disillusioned" was interpreted to be a statement against society's need for instant gratification, and overdependence on cell phone and mobile device usage.

[42][43] Keenan confirmed the interpretation, stating it was commentary on people's tendency to offer "thoughts and prayers" rather than putting forth effort into solving issues like gun violence.

[45] The track "So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish" also makes allusions to the 2016 deaths of Gene Wilder, Muhammad Ali, Carrie Fisher and David Bowie.

[47] Rolling Stone described the album's sound as "a moody, sensitive portrait of a band that decided to grow up and make a record that reflects where they are now as artists rather than trying to recapture the past",[27] while Billboard described the album's sound as paradoxical in nature, "like both a return and a departure from APC’s 2000 debut, Mer de Noms, for it retains the act’s moody, introspective aesthetic but expresses it with less guitars and bombast.

[38] He stated some of the album's sound was inspired by the work of Depeche Mode,[49] and the track "Hourglass" was described as being more electronic-driven than their prior music, with drum and synthesizer parts more up front than the guitar, and featuring robotic-sounding backing vocals to Keenan.

[25] Howerdel later disclosed that "Delicious" had originally been written for Mer de Noms, but was ultimately left off the album; Keenan's drastic reworking of the vocal parts lead to it finally being released on Eat the Elephant.

[54] In early 2017, the band announced they had signed a worldwide-release record deal with label BMG for releasing their fourth album.

[55] Keenan and Howerdel chose BMG because they allowed them to retain complete artistic control over album; the contract was signed without any requests to hear any of the music, something they found encouraging.

[59][60] On October 13, 2017, the band released a fifteen-second trailer teasing something called "The Doomed", though not revealing if it was a song or album title.

[66] A limited-edition box set of the album was also released, featuring an album-length holographic film shot by Steven Sebring.

[71] AllMusic praised the album's diversity and flow, noting that "each song a wildly different part of the whole, yet unmistakably belonging to the same powerful beast" and concluded that it was "a cohesive and bold statement...a triumphant comeback after too much time away.

MetalSucks generally praised the album, but was more critical to its more mellow sound, concluding that it was a "... good one, and if it's anything like APC's other records, it will get better with age...it's definitely worth your time, just don't expect [a return to] Mer De Noms.

agreed with the sentiment, lamenting the lack of any more aggressive, hard rock tracks of prior albums, like "Judith" or "Pet".

[82] All lyrics are written by Maynard James Keenan; all music is composed by Billy HowerdelCredits adapted from CD liner notes.