Track Listing
1. The hollow 2. Magdalena 3. Rose 4. Judith 5. Orestes 6. 3 libras 7. Sleeping beauty 8. Thomas 9. Renhold�r 10. Thinking of you 11. Bre�a 12. Over Year: 2000 Label: Virgin - Official Site |
A Perfect Circle - 'Mer de noms' - By M. Freeman
'Mer de Noms' is the debut album from A Perfect Circle. The album features frontman of Tool, Maynard James Keenan, there are comparisons to Tool throughout the album, but this is a little different in so many ways. 'Mer De Noms', or Sea Of Names is in fact the brainchild of Billy Howardel. He had apparently written a number of songs and shown them to Maynard who loved them and convinced Howerdel that he was the man to have on vocal duties. For those fans of Tool, I think many would be pleasantly surprised by Keenans' influence on the record in hand, but there is certainly a little added maturity to the music. The album opens with 'Hollow', a great opener if ever I heard one. Layered with guitar-made atmospheric effects and sweeping vocals, this makes for a beautifully produced song. The vocals are what carry the song and the melodic feel is almost majestic. Howerdel's guitar work is intricately textured and fits in magnificently with the musical accompaniments. 'Magdalena' is a fairly dark song and it unfortunately has some teething problems, those being that it takes a while to get going, and once it does, it slows back down again. There's a fair amount of space between the tracks themes, and this is helped along by the samples and effects that appear throughout the slower portions to keep the listener interested. 'Rose' has the darkness from the previous track infused in it, the difference being a little more of a fuller sound in places, and an Indian feel overwhelms the piece. Not a bad piece but it may take a few listens to really bring you in and grab you like much on offer will do instantly. The first single to be taken from the album, 'Judith', is instantly memorable, and one of the more high-tempo tracks. It succeeds well in being an outside track, if you will, from the rest of what is featured here. Tool fans will not be disappointed with this track, layered guitars and screaming vocals. A definite high point of the album. 'Orestes' and 'Three Libras' are two songs which have very similar sounds and I personally think they fit together tremendously well. In a way, they perhaps would have worked better being separated in the album, but they work just as good as they are. 'Orestes' features a very laid back and sparse instrumentation with truly haunting vocals. Many people regard Keenan as one of the greatest singers of the genre, and 'Three Libras' is proof that this praise is not faulty. Both pieces are pure emotion which flood the sounds perfectly. A quieter moment, but perfection personified. The thicker production comes back to the album when 'Sleeping Beauty' kicks in, another great cut but lacks the emotion of the previous listens and so often feels better when played apart. The vocals are just as smooth as many of the albums art, and the lyrics are again, something special. A supernatural track is may be said, but it's a good track from start to finish. 'Thomas' is one of the tracks that I think you either love or loathe, it has parts that tend to drag on a little too much, but it's a great track in it's own right. The production does have a bit of a flooded feel though, and that is perhaps the downfall of the track. The end is superb, a well worked and excellently composed assault that boasts all the musicians at their peak. Track nine, 'Renhold�r', is an instrumental. It contains haunting and complex layers, the plus point being that they fit together well, the negative point being that the track seems to be meant as a breather, fine, but it's in the wrong place on the album considering there are only two more 'proper' tracks remaining. A good piece all the same, emotion-filled again, but seems slightly out of place. 'Thinking Of You' is a track that went un-noticed on my first listen, somehow, as this is one of my preferred pieces now. Admittedly, it begins like a typical industrial track that's been heavily over-produced, but that aside, it stems out into an epic piece. Catchy chorus lines nearing the track's finale make it just that little bit better. 'Bre�a' returns to the atmospheric, yet slow tempo sound that makes 'Mer De Noms' what it is, a slightly depressing composition overall, but some expertly emotive vocals once again present the listener with a nice track to sit and reflect to. The final track on the album is named 'Over', I'll be perfectly honest, I never really gave this track a chance, and I somehow doubt I'm alone there. Towards the end it improves slightly, but one can't help but think this was just placed on to give the album an extra track to boast, either that or Howardel has some meaning behind it. For me though, this seems to be a let down in contrast to the rest of the disc. If something different is what you're after, then 'Mer De Noms' is ideal, the main fault I find with the CD is that it has a similar tone across the whole album. That small negativity apart, this is a really special album, a lot different to much of what we hear these days and beautifully layered in it's composition. Metal Obsessive Grade: 90% |