A Perfect Circle is an American rock band founded in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan in Los Angeles, California. A Perfect Circle has published four studio albums, the first three of which were released in the early 2000s: Mer de Noms, their debut album in 2000, followed by Thirteenth Step in 2003, and Emotive, an album of dramatically reworked cover songs, in 2004. The band went on hiatus shortly after the release of Emotive; Keenan rejoined Tool and began solo work under the alias Puscifer, while Howerdel released a solo album, Keep Telling Myself It’s Fine, under the moniker Ashes Divide. The band reassembled in 2010, and played live events on and off between 2010 and 2013, but went into hiatus after the publication of their greatest hits album, Three Sixty, and a live record box set, A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone and Echo, in late 2013. The band regrouped in 2017 to record Eat the Elephant, their fourth studio album, which was released on April 20, 2018.
Due to Keenan’s other musical responsibilities, the band has been prone to downtime, featuring a range of musicians throughout alternating periods of activity and inactivity, and has changed line-ups on each album, leaving Keenan and Howerdel as the only constant members. Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Josh Freese on drums were the initial members of the band. Prior to Freese, Primus drummer Tim Alexander had briefly stood in as a drummer in the band’s earliest live gigs; however, this was prior to the release of any material. Danny Lohner, band collaborator and producer, and Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie White were also members for a short time in the early 2000s. Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, bassist Matt McJunkins, and drummer Jeff Friedl make up the current lineup, with the latter two also contributing to the linked Puscifer and Ashes Divide projects. The stylistic content of A Perfect Circle’s songs has stayed consistent throughout the changing cast and multiple lineup changes, with Howerdel as music composer and Keenan writing lyrics and vocal melodies. The band’s studio albums have garnered generally positive critical and commercial reviews, with their first three studio albums selling a total of 4 million copies as of 2005.