A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms

Billy Howerdel spent years working as a guitar tech for Tool, Nine Inch Nails and Fishbone while quietly writing an album nobody had heard. He played some of it for Maynard James Keenan, who was renting a room in his house at the time and offered to sing on it. Released in May 2000, Mer De Noms entered the Billboard 200 at number four, sold over 188,000 copies in its first week, and became the highest-charting debut ever by a rock band. It was certified platinum within five months.

"The Hollow" and "Judith" are the aggressive end, the latter carrying one of the most quotable and most furious lyrics Keenan has written. But the album actually lives in "3 Libras" and "Orestes," where Howerdel's layered guitars, Paz Lenchantin's strings and Keenan singing far quieter than anyone expected create something closer to a slow-burning art rock record than the Tool spinoff people came looking for. Josh Freese drums, Troy Van Leeuwen plays guitar, and Alan Moulder mixed, which explains a lot about how wide it sounds.

Twenty-five years later it holds up as its own thing rather than a side project, and it stayed on the charts for 51 consecutive weeks because word of mouth kept doing the work. The songs Howerdel had been carrying around in his head turned out to be worth the wait.

This double LP reissue is housed in a gatefold sleeve with lacquers cut by Ron McMaster. On Virgin.