A Perfect Circle

Mer de Noms

It's Maynard. Do I really have to say anything else?

Review Score:

(10/10)
Yet another masterpiece from Maynard and some new friends, blah, blah, blah, we all know how great he is. This is slightly better than Thirteenth step, which is more progressive and less heavy (not to say that this is even heavy, cuz it really isnt). An album for fans of Tool and other music for the mind. Mer de Noms (french for "Lake of Names") covers all emotions and many different musical styles. There's the anti-religious pissed off rocker "Judith" that I'm sure everyone knows by now. There's the creepy "Magdalena" (my favorite) a few melodic ballad types of songs ("3 Libras", "Sleeping Beauty", "The Hollow") and some more experimental stuff, as can be expected from Maynard ("The Rose (awesome)", "Thinking of You (with it's drum machine beats)" and "Renholder" (very ethnic). It's overall a lot more radio friendly than Tool, the parts arent as complex, and the songs are mostly around 4 minutes, follow verse/chorus/verse etc. The melodies on many tracks are amazing, and you can expect a lot of the usual metaphorical Maynard lyrics ("Orestes"). If you like Tool, or if you don't (this is very different, less heavy, more focused on melody) there is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON not to get this. This is an album everyone should have, metal fan or no, its not even really metal. This is a classic that is one of the essential basics. Buy it today.

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