A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle is an American Alternative Rock Supergroup formed by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool lead singer Maynard Keenan. It has also seen contribution from people from The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and others. Their style is similar to Tool (mostly due to Maynard's vocals) but has its own distinct sound and ranges from heavy rock to more soft-toned songs and instrumentals.

The band went into a hiatus in 2004, but has since worked on other projects and is as of 2011 in the process of releasing a new album.

Their current lineup is:

• Maynard James Keenan (also of Tool)
• Billy Howerdel
• James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins)
• Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, hundreds of studio recordings)
• Matt McJunkins (30SecondsToMars, Puscifer)

Former members:

• Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age)
• Tim Alexander (Primus)
• Jeordie White aka Twiggy Ramirez (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails)
• Paz Lechantin (of many bands)
• Danny Lohner aka Renholdër (Nine Inch Nails)

Discography:

• Mer De Noms: their debut album, dedicated to various people Maynard knew. Mer De Noms means "sea of names."
• Thirteenth Step: A concept album dealing with the problem of addiction from various perspectives. Also other things, depending on interpretation.
• Emotive: (Released on November 2nd 2004, election day in the United States) includes covers of anti-war protest songs such as "Fiddle and the Drum" by Joni Mitchel, "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, and "Imagine" by John Lennon.

A Perfect Circle provides examples of the following tropes:

• Album Title Drop: Not the album per se, but the actual band name, in "Orestes".

Metaphor for a missing moment
Pull me in to your perfect circle

• Driven to Suicide: "The Outsider" is about a melodramatically angsty person who is threatening suicide but may or may not actually do it.
• Epic Instrumental Opener
• Guttural Growler: Maynard's voice is usually quite smooth, but in "Gimme Gimme Gimme", the chorus is spoken in a hoarse growl.
• Looped Lyrics
• Obsession Song: "Thinking Of You"
• Performance Video: The video for "Judith". Averted in singles from Thirteenth Step onwards.
• Protest Song: "Pet", "Let's Have a War", "Freedom Of Choice", and their covers from Emotive.
• Religion Rant Song: "Judith" is a scathing condemnation/rejection of Christianity aimed at Maynard's mother, who kept her faith even after being crippled for decades.
• Sequel Song: "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums", to "Pet".
• Supergroup
• Word Salad Lyrics