A Perfect Circle’s 2000 debut album, Mer de Noms, marked the beginning of one of heavy music’s most perfect unions.
While steered by TOOL vocalist Maynard James Keenan and that band’s onetime guitar tech, Billy Howerdel, APC have charted their own path with a signature violet-tinted emotional vibrancy. That all began with Mer de Noms, a record that could groove through gloomy, alt-metal-tinged moments with the best of them, but likewise harnesses its own uniquely exquisite, symphony-strings-coursing sophistication (courtesy of then bassist-violinist Paz Lenchantin).
But what’s the one standout track that shines above all others on this exceptionally stellar debut? We asked this exact question of Revolver readers on Mer de Noms’ silver anniversary — here are the top five vote-getters.
“Sleeping Beauty”
No delusions, here: Revolver readers rank Mer de Noms’ moody groove-ballad pretty high in the APC catalog.
“Sleeping Beauty” is a simply-chugged, sweetly-sung, but ultimately melancholic sway where Maynard reimagines the titular fairy tale far, far away from the Disney-fied happy ending.
The song’s Briar Rose is left in a hopeless state by song’s end, while Keenan awakens to the fact that he’s got an unhealthy hero complex (“Such a fool to think that I could wake you from your slumber/That I could actually heal you”).
“Magdalena”
Many A Perfect Circle fans have been overcome with emotion whilst listening to “Magdalena.” It’s not hard to understand why.
The track first sucks you in with a stark-and-airy, bass-and-drum motif supporting Keenan’s tremorous cries of becoming transfixed by the “moving temple” of Magdalena. The song eventually heads towards a hypnotic aesthetic — both the singer and Howerdel’s musical contributions overwhelmingly whirl through the speakers, as if replicating the dizziness one feels after seeing Magdalena
Upon first hearing Keenan’s narrator bow down before the holiest of altars, listeners found themselves a worship song like no other.
“Judith”
For many Revoler readers, you still can’t get much better than A Perfect Circle’s debut single, “Judith.” Indeed, it’s a must-hear that still hits big, between its doom-waltzed pace, post-blues slide guitar, expressive octave melodies and sky-bound vocalizing from Keenan.
With the latter in mind, “Judith” also sports one of the singer’s heaviest set of lyrics, with Keenan harnessing the pain his devoutly religious mother lived through after becoming paralyzed — and his own frustrations with an unfair god forcing suffering upon his followers.
“3 Libras”
Even from the outset, A Perfect Circle never wanted to just throw you the obvious. Sure, the sound of Keenan’s signature vocal style and a heavy-ass guitar riff can give off some TOOL-ish vibes, but then there are aesthetic swerves like Mer de Noms’ “3 Libras.”
As one of the softer-stated stunners on the album, the record’s second single showcases Howerdel’s fanciful acoustic fingerwork and Paz Lenchantin’s graceful violin bowing. It’s downright gorgeous, and delivers a good bit of dynamics on the debut LP.
On the one hand, it’s difficult to not feel a little bit disappointed once “3 Libras” ends — but then again, there’s nothing really stopping you from pressing repeat.
“Orestes”
APC followers came out in droves to vote “Orestes” as the ultimate track from the band’s debut release. In fact, Howerdel himself popped up in our Instagram comments to explain that it’s likewise a personal fave.
As he put it: “For me, ‘Orestes’ is the song that was the sonic spring board for the band’s sound. It helped the whole album fall into place.”
The song balances near-dream-pop guitar textures with alt-heavy expressiveness, and sports one of many killer, yet tender performances from the group’s frontman.
This is all to say, Mer de Noms’ “Orestes” may well be the song that truly pulled everyone — from bandmates to an ever-faithful fanbase — right into Howerdel and Keenan’s perfect circle.