Understanding A Perfect Circle

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INFO: A Perfect Circle is a rock band that was founded back in 1999 and is known for being a super group made up by rock artists that had already made success with previous bands. Some of the early members included vocalist Maynard James Keenan from Tool, guitarist Troy Van Leween who had worked with bands like Orgy and Korn, and drummer Tim Alexander who’s best known for his work with Primus. But the founding father of this band is Billy Howerdel.
He’s worked as a guitar tech for the likes of David Bowie, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Tool. And A Perfect Circle was his opportunity to finally take the stage himself. But with a strong musical figure like Maynard by his side, there certainly were opposing arguments during recording sessions. In this video we’re gonna
find out what inspired these guys to create the sound of A Perfect Circle?

[DMTInfinity]

Maynard's words are very wise.

Truly an individual who has touched the divine.

This isn't to say he's anything other than a normal man.

But he is most certainly a reliable arrow to the unspeakable in which our species is drawn to for meaning and understanding. And to me that's absolutely beautiful and makes everything he does from all three of his bands to his wine and food company all the more respectable and inspirational.

[ericbartha]

I still, 20 years later, get shivers down my spine whenever I hear the opening notes to "The Hallow." I listen to Mer de Noms in it's entirety almost weekly. It's arguably the greatest record ever produced.

Fun fact that was excluded... Billy mastered it in his garage, not some fancy studio. The dude is a savant and goes under appreciated. Maynard is, of course, a lyrical genius and his lyrics connect with me on a deeply personal level. So glad those two men met!

[mattman]

Thirtheenth step is probably my all-time favorite album

[rubaidaallen]

Mer de noms was and is still an incredibly beautiful album . A stunning achievement. I saw APC open for NIN years ago. Beautiful show. Wish I could relive that night.

[riskyrobtv]

Great video. I am loving “Eat The Elephant” but Mer De Noms will forever be my favorite!

[clintonraubenheimer]

One of my favorite APC songs is Passive from the Emotive album. It was one of those songs that helped me through a pretty rough period I experienced.

[corywashburn]

I love APC because the instrumentals are unreal and crazy unique by themselves and then to have Maynard infuse his own puzzle into them is just perfect. Also, it may pertain to current events, but the lyrics are written in a way that they will be timeless.

[Digiacide]

No mention of Josh Freese or Paz Lenchantin? Really?

[Grrizo]

Understanding Soundgarden/Chris Cornell would be awesome :)

[brandonmunday]

Passive was a reworked 'Tapeworm Project' that Maynard was in with Trent Reznor. The original song was called 'Vacant'.

[StickMan]

Best band ever: TooL
Second best band: Puscifer
Third best band: A Perfect Circle.

Damn you Maynard...

[TitanicSubGoBoom]

Maynard has said Failure is a huge inspiration. That's his favorite band.

[markkelly]

Just wanted to point something out quickly. Tim Alexander was only the drummer for 1 song on Mer De Noms, that song being The Hollow which is track 1. Josh Freese was the drummer for the rest of the album and is widely considered to be the official drummer for the group before departing. He is even featured in the video for the first single off Mer De Nom which was Judith. Cheers

[ferrenberg]

Lovely video. I disagree with one point, though. I think Thirteenth Step is a heavier album than Mer de Noms, and a more straightforward record. Although there were some tracks like Vanishing, Lullaby and The Nurse Who Loved Me really heavy on ambience, I see Mer de Noms as a more experimental album, with only Judith being a straightforward hard rock song.

[A.N.A_youtube]

Thirteenth Step is my favorite album. I'm gonna need for them to keep arguing and collaborating. 😂 Pure magic. ❤
Beautiful analysis of my favorite band. Thank you.

[colemarie]

Yo.
Paz Lenchantin was a member of A Perfect Circle- contributing either solely or some combination of strings, bass, piano, acoustic guitar, and/ or backing vocals-
On albums Mer de Noms, Thirteenth Step, eMOTIVe, and Amotion.
You can easily see her in the Judith video (one of their most well known songs) playing with the band to verify lol.
She's been touring bassist for the Pixies since 2013 and is now a permanent member of the band, and has contributed to some pretty well known bands/albums (like Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf).
Also has worked with a lot of well respected underground/artsy type musicians and bands.

So a well rounded, well respected, longtime professional musician. Not to be a pain in the ass, but there aren't too many ladies in rock and metal, and even less with those accolades.

I think she deserved a mention tbh.

[faultypremise]

Mer de Noms, silent 's'. It's French, Sea of Names.

[tallmetalhead]

The new album is amazing! I’m glad the music went in this direction. As a metal fan I like to mix it up and just listen to the layers of a softer sound. Plus the vocals are beautiful and inspiring.

[thugnarsty]

I fell in hard love with eat the elephant, ive had thousands of play throughs with merdernoms and 13thstep so of course i am attached to them but i can fight through the nostalgia, i will look back on eat the elephant as a classic in a few years. I listened to it every day for weeks

[jcdova]

A perfect circle is one of those bands that once you listen to it you have to be in a certain state of mind. Some of the music is brilliant once you give it a chance.