Saturday (May 23rd) marked the 20th anniversary of the release of Mer De Noms, the debut album from A Perfect Circle. The band was originally conceived by guitarist Billy Howerdel, a former guitar technician for Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, Fishbone and Tool. Howerdel met Tool singer Maynard James Keenan in 1992, when Tool was opening for Fishbone, and the two became friends.
Three years later, Keenan offered Howerdel, who was looking for lodging, a room in his North Hollywood home. This provided Howerdel the opportunity to play demos of his music for Keenan. Pleased with what he heard, Keenan remarked, “I can hear myself singing (those songs).” A Perfect Circle was formed a short time later.
Howerdel told us not long ago that collaborating with Keenan can be difficult but rewarding: “It's an interesting process. You know, you get kind of married to things — 'cause I've sat with him alone for a long time and I'd go, 'Okay, this is in a place where I'm feeling good about it,' and, you know, Maynard's got some other ideas. And it's hard to take a deep breath and go, okay, well, gotta in your best Buddhist way let go of that, rearrange it and approach it from a different angle. And good things come from that.”
The rest of the band's initial lineup consisted of bassist and violinist Paz Lenchantin, former Failure guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, and Primus drummer Tim Alexander. The latter was replaced during the recording sessions for Mer de Noms by Josh Freese.
Mer De Noms, which meant “sea of names,” came out on May 23rd, 2000 and entered the Billboard 200 at Number Four, making it the highest ever debut on that chart for a rock band's first album. It sold over 188,000 copies in the first week, and was certified platinum later that same year. Three singles were released in promotion of the album, “Judith,” “3 Libras” and “The Hollow,” all of which hit the Top 20 on the rock radio charts, with “Judith” reaching the Top Five.
A Perfect Circle played its first live show in Los Angeles in August 1999, and embarked on its first tour — opening for Nine Inch Nails — in April 2000. The group also toured with Foo Fighters, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Our Lady Peace before headlining on its own.
Howerdel told us a while back how he felt about the band's early success: “I was appreciative then, I'm certainly appreciative now of how everything came together — how all the forces came together and made it happen, and all the timing worked out, with the Nine Inch Nails tour, opening for them, and, you know, having key people at Virgin Records believe in us and ferociously campaign to market the band in the right way, and Maynard's reputation with Tool in place. . . everything just came together.”
A Perfect Circle has recorded three more albums since Mer De Noms, including 2003's Thirteenth Step, 2004's Emotive and, after a long hiatus, 2018's Eat The Elephant.