A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms
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Free Music Notes for Mer De Noms
Free Music Review: Well... 4.5... read on and you'll see why...
Hit: 5 Stars
My tastes are changing. After having religiously listened to Tool (religiously... what an odd choice of words, don't you think?) for two years, I decided to give Maynard's "un-side project" A Perfect Circle a go-around. But APC is not the only thing Tool did for me. It is because of Tool (and my girlfriend) that I now enjoy classic progressive rock such as Yes, Kansas, Pink Floyd, and Queen. Now I can't give a second listen to most modern music. A Perfect Circle came along just before the genesis of my new progressive rock mindset, and it's a good thing it did, too. APC blends the best of modern alt-rock and metal with the awesome songwriting of Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan to bring us a fresh, radio-friendly, but at the same time beautiful and progressive, modern rock album.Had it not been for classic Yes albums such as Close to the Edge, or the omnipresent Pink Floyd prog smash Dark Side of the Moon, then Mer De Noms would still be nestled snugly in my CD player. Not to say that Mer De Noms is not a good album--it's just not as fresh as it was when I bought it. Listening to it now is almost nostalgic, like this is what I listened to before I was enlightened. I still sway and move to the "H" influenced grungy sound of "Rose" and the sweet, simple acoustic "3 Libras" and I still bang my head to the raucous "Thinking of You" and "The Hollow." I still catch myself singing along with heartfelt melodies such as the one in "Sleeping Beauty" and screaming along (to the disdain of my parents) with "Judith."
This album is the best and most beautiful of Tool combined with the edginess of Tool and the Smashing Pumpkins, combined with the dark atmosphere of Tool and Nine Inch Nails, combined with the vocal harmonies of Tool. Well, as you can see, this album is very Tool influenced. Billy was Tool's guitar tech as he wrote the material that would become Mer De Noms. The reason I rounded up from 4.5 to 5 (as opposed to rounding down to 4) is because of this album's longevity and timelessness. I bet ten years down the line I'll pick it up one day and still move and sway and bang my head and remember the good old days.
Free Music Review: Awesome starter for APC!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is so cool! It is really weird sometimes, but still awesome!! Here is a small review of each song.
The Hollow 5/5 - Awesome vocals, and really interesting guitar riffs! It really is a really rockin' song!!
Magdalena 5/5 - Probably one of the best APC songs ever. It has to grow on you, but it's great! It starts off all soft and then goes into this awesome, hardcore, heavy section. Cool guitar solo-like things!!
Rose 5/5 - Another great song! Really cool distortion, really good riffs, just a great song in general!! I love Maynard's singing!!
Judith 5/5 - Pretty much my favorite song by a long shot. It is such a powerful song!! It has a really weird structure, though. The chorus(es) are longer than the verses! Some of the verses are just like one line! Such an AWESOME SONG!!!
Orestes 4/5 - One of the few songs on this album that I don't love. Too slow and soft for me. Kind of boring.
3 Libras 5/5 - A really good acoustic song by APC. They have so many different styles!! This song is really catchy and awesome! Another weird structure. The chorus is pretty much the verse!
Sleeping Beauty 5/5 - When I first heard this song, I didn't like it that much. Now I've realized that the guitar in it is sharp and raw. Such an awesome song!! Now I love this song!
Thomas 5/5 - Really good, heavy guitar, but really strange vocals. He sings all high pitched and stuff. But other than that, a really great song.
Renholder 4/5 - A really interesting instrumental. A bit creepy, but cool.
Thinking of You 5/5 - The guitar in this song is really awesome!! So is the bassline! Crazy drumming!! The drummer is so amazing!! Yet another awesome song!
Brena 4/5 - This song has really cool vocals and stuff, but some of it isn't too great. If is wasn't for the pretty bad stuff, I would give it five stars.
Over 4/5 - Just an outro for the CD, so there is not much to say about it. A really weird song, though. A good ending piece.
A Perfect Circle created a real masterpiece! Almost all the songs on this album are awesome! I love APC!!
Free Music Review: Different Forum...Same Quality
Hit: 5 Stars
Why oh WHY would a musician/composer form a second band to sound exactly like his main project? People, of course this is not Tool...why form A Perferct Circle if it were? Having said that...this album is good. Nay, it's excellent. One of the best of the late 90's in fact (IMHO of course). Haunting yet melodic, instrospective yet aggressive, intense yet accesible...this is a band that has hit full stride on its first album...thanks in large part I'm sure to a stellar cast of musicians. Of course Maynard is the biggest gun here followed by Billy, but make no mistake...you have Josh Freese on drums here, and this is one of the hottest young guns in the rock/pop world today - he's recorded everywhere with everyone and he absolutely shines here.
The combination of textures and sounds on this album - organic, acoustic sources (guitars, percussion, drums, violins!) combined beautifully with distortion, effects and a hint of electronica are part of what makes this album so powerful. There's a huge palette of sounds here without it sounding contrived or cluttered.
There's controlled rage, brooding instrospection, haunting melancholy...all on this album. It's no mean feat to make fury, rage and grief sound moving and melodically beautiful. That's what makes this album so strong...no matter how dark or raging the music -- it's always melodic, always with a sense of song structure and purpose, always MUSICAL. There's so much texture and emotion on this album....from Maynard's forlorn, brooding or sensitive singing to the combination of emotion-drenched chord progressions, and powerful yet thoughtful drumming (with a touch of atmospheric keyboards). The key to "Mer de Noms" is nuance and subtlety...within the immediacy and aggression there is finesse and grace. Each time you hear it you will discover something different.
All of the songs are good...stand-outs to me are "The Hollow", "Magdalena", "Judith" and "3 Libras". These are songs that exemplify the power yet grace and dynamics of this band. Simply an excellent release!
Free Music Review: Beau de la mer
Hit: 5 Stars
The cliche rock of today has almost eclipsed any and all signs of intelligent life on the planet we call music. Instead of having solid bands today we have fads that prop their heads upon their TV, manifesting nothing more than commercial commodities. My generation (I'm only 17) is growing up on the KoRn and Limp Bizkit, two bands whose success is due to their marketability. You would think that bands like these are good because their on TV all the damn time but they are barely a facet of an entire spectrum. The rest of it can be described in 3 words: A Perfect Circle. I choose them as the other side of the wall because they don't simply mesh instruments until everybody nods their heads while the lead singer is all about how he "can't find anyone," but because they transcend all of the prior thoughts of this almost arcane genre. Its hard to find a good band today and APC is one of the best. From "The Hollow" to "Over," the album teems with creative juices, and why not? Howerdel has been a guitar tech for Tool, Smashing Pumpkins, and NIN among others, Josh Freese is probably one of the best drummers I've heard in a long time (a former Guns N' Roses Member), Troy has outstanding guitar skills, and Paz always seems to rise up with the melodies of her Bass guitar and her violin. She never gets drowned out by the commotion. All in all, the album is beatiful. The majestic trance of the music will hit you as soon as you hear Josh come in with the drums on "The Hollow." There are few things in this world that can tell you that you're dead, one of them is not liking this album. Keenan is a genius vocally, he sounds a hell of a lot better here than in Tool (That's not to say Tool isn't great either) because he doesn't have to scream over the instruments, he actually sings. Something rare in a genre like this today. There's nothing else to say but BUY THIS ALBUM. If you only have 15 bucks and you're trying to decide between music and food, trust me, you'll be filled with their sounds. A Perfect Cirlce rocks!Free Music Review: Breathtaking And Moving
Hit: 5 Stars
Just about everyone grew tired of the comparison of A Perfect Circle to Tool a long time ago, so for anyone uneducated enough on the subject to continue comparing two stellar, yet drastically different bands, quit wasting everyone elses time. Maynard James Keenans vocals are absolutely moving, especially on the beautiful "3 Libras", "Orestes", "Sleeping Beauty", and the surging "Magdalena". The lyrics, tone in his voice, and overall mood are different than anything Maynard has ever done before, with the only similarities between A Perfect Circle and Tool being the rocking "Judith" and "Thomas".Though Maynard may bring the big name to the band, the real skill and brains behind the group lies in Billy Howardel, who recorded almost all of the guitar and bass parts. The guitars stretch across an impressive threshold, taking you on a wave of surging power one minute ("Judith", "Thinking Of You"), then led into soft acoustic melodies the next ("3 Libras", "Orestes"). All topped off with powerful solos such as the breathtaking one in "Magdalena" and "Brena" in which Billy Howardel himself does the lead vocals just makes this an all and out experience.
Josh Freese's and Tim Alexanders' drums add the real depth along the moving bass lines also. The only real complaint is that Pez Lenchantin and Trey Van Leeuwen are not used very much in the studio effort, as Billy Howardel is behind most of their studio parts. However, Pez's violin parts add an exceptional and necessary touch to many of the songs.
All and out, if you're really looking for a comparison, A Perfect Circle is more straight-forward mainstream rock-sounding than Tool's dark, acid-trippy, full frontal mind assault. Though the two share the similarities of intelligent and advanced song meanings and musicianship, they are, whether some fans accept it or not, two different bands who deserve their own seperate attentions and should be respected for that.