A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup from Los Angeles, formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The group is active from 1999 to the present and is associated with alternative rock, art rock and progressive rock.

Formation and core members

Howerdel and Keenan remain the constant members across the band's changing line-ups. The original version of the group includes bassist Paz Lenchantin, guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and drummer Josh Freese. Primus drummer Tim Alexander briefly fills in on drums during the band's first live shows before any material is released. Other short-term members in the early 2000s include producer and collaborator Danny Lohner and bassist Jeordie White.

Albums and recording history

The band releases four studio albums: Mer de Noms in 2000, Thirteenth Step in 2003, Emotive in 2004 and Eat the Elephant in 2018. Emotive consists of radically reworked cover songs. After that release, the band goes on hiatus while Keenan returns to Tool and begins work under the Puscifer name, and Howerdel releases a solo album, Keep Telling Myself It's Alright, under the name Ashes Divide.

Activity and line-up changes

The group reforms in 2010 and plays live shows intermittently between 2010 and 2013. It then becomes inactive again after the release of the greatest-hits set Three Sixty and the live box set A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone and Echo. A further reformation in 2017 leads to work on Eat the Elephant.

The line-up continues to change across albums and periods of activity, with Keenan and Howerdel as the mainstays. The current line-up includes James Iha, Matt McJunkins and Jeff Friedl, with McJunkins and Friedl also involved in Puscifer and Ashes Divide.

Style and reception

Howerdel generally composes the music, while Keenan writes the lyrics and vocal melodies. The band’s studio albums receive positive critical and commercial reception, and the first three albums sell 4 million copies combined by 2005.