Artist

A Perfect Circle

American rock supergroup

Los Angeles, United States • Formed 1999

A Perfect Circle is a music group from Los Angeles, United States, active since 1999. Their discography on Gatefold includes 11 records.

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Albums tracked

219

In collections

1999

Since

Biography

A Perfect Circle is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: Mer de Noms, their debut album in 2000, and followed up by Thirteenth Step in 2003; then in 2004, Emotive—an album of radically re-worked cover songs. Shortly after Emotive's release, the band went on hiatus; Keenan returned to Tool and started up solo work under the band name Puscifer

The Arc of A Perfect Circle

The pivots — what forced A Perfect Circle to reinvent.

The Guitar Tech Demos
Howerdel originally wrote this material with a female vocalist in mind before Maynard jumped on the tracks. This era was defined by a desperate, high-gain atmosphere and Josh Freese’s precise, session-pro drumming that gave the songs a rigid structure Tool never had. You hear it on Mer de Noms, where the production is dense with Howerdel’s layered guitar tracks and Paz Lenchantin’s ethereal backing vocals.
The Thirteenth Step Shift
The lineup shuffled with Danny Lohner and Jeordie White coming in, moving the band away from the raw crunch of the debut toward a more cinematic, conceptual polish. They moved the focus to groove and negative space, reflecting a heavy lyrical focus on addiction and recovery. The result was a cleaner, colder record that leaned on Howerdel’s ability to create tension through delay pedals rather than just distortion.
The Analog Synth Pivot
After a decade-plus hiatus, the band returned for Eat the Elephant by ditching the heavy rock tropes for piano-driven arrangements and Moog synthesizers. Producer Dave Sardy was out, and Greg Wells—known for working with pop artists—was brought in to help Howerdel navigate a digital-meets-analog transition. It stripped away the last remaining vestiges of 90s alt-metal, replacing them with a shimmering, dystopian pop sensibility.

Influences

Failure — Howerdel worked as a tech for Failure and has cited their 'space rock' production as a massive blueprint for his guitar layers. You can hear the DNA of Ken Andrews’ dry, thick guitar tones all over 'The Hollow' and 'Pet'.
The Cure — The band famously mashed up 'Lovesong' with 'Diary of a Madman' live, and Howerdel has pointed to Robert Smith as his primary influence for melodic textures. The chorus-heavy guitar wash on '3 Libras' is a direct descendant of the Disintegration-era sound.
Joni Mitchell — Maynard has gone on record stating that Joni’s phrasing and vocal movements taught him more about singing than any rock frontman. Her influence is clear in the way he winds his vocal melodies around Howerdel’s unconventional time signatures.
Cocteau Twins — The band covered 'Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires' and borrowed the heavy use of reverb and layering from Robin Guthrie’s playbook. The shimmering, indistinct guitar bed on 'Breña' is a total tribute to that 4AD label aesthetic.
Devo — They covered 'Freedom of Choice' and utilized Mark Mothersbaugh’s approach to synth-pop irony during their more experimental stretches. That mechanical, slightly detached rhythmic pulse became the backbone for their later, more electronic-heavy material.