Formed by Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan and former Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel, A Perfect Circle is an extension of the alt-metal-fused-with-art-rock style popularized by Tool in the early to mid-'90s. While similar to Tool in intensity and melancholy, A Perfect Circle is lighter and more melodic, with a theatrical, ambient quality that incorporates occasional strings and unusual instrumentation. After the release of Ænima in 1996, Tool found themselves in the midst of an extended legal battle with former label Freeworld Entertainment. When the dust settled two years later, the band reached a 50/50 joint venture agreement for future recordings and, feeling a little burned out, decided to take some time off. It was at this point that Keenan joined up with Howerdel and Paz Lenchantin to form A Perfect Circle. Keenan had met Howerdel in 1992 when Tool opened for Fishbone. Howerdel had been Fishbone's tech at the time and had played Keenan a few of his songs. Keenan was impressed and the two talked of collaborating in the future. However, the opportunity didn't present itself until after the Freeworld settlement. With Keenan on vocals, Howerdel on guitar, and Lenchantin on bass, the trio recruited ex-Failure and Enemy member Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and ex-Vandals and Guns N' Roses member Josh Freese on drums. The quintet rehearsed together but didn't announce the formation of a new band until performing for the first time on August 15, 1999, at a benefit concert at the Viper Room in Los Angeles. Howerdel, who had been composing songs for years, as well as working with bands such as the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails, became the band's chief songwriter and producer. A Perfect Circle released their debut album, Mer de Noms, in 2000. From: https://www.iheart.com/artist/a-perfect-circle-29559/
This man, Maynard James Keenan, may well be philosophical but he performs as an artist. That is his primary function in society. Art embodies feeling, emotion, information that is otherwise difficult to qualify but, nontheless, very real and generally significant to us. We tend to value art - possibly because art has this unparalleled ability to convey meaning through various mediums and not just spoken or written language. In other words, an artist does not have to explain his, her, or itself, through modern day language. If the work satisfies the artist's motivation, then it is a finished piece. Expecting a rigorous and/or logical explanation of said work is unreasonable and, possibly even, quite bizarre - however normal. So, therefore, permit me to address this piece from my gut - a place very real and possessing meaning, but a place that possesses little currency in a world that weighs words for the express purpose of creating corrupted scales upon which to weigh those very words. In me, Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums invokes frustration with the way civilization is going. We are but the descendants of a violent, aggressive manifestation of informational organization. We are prone to war, ready to snatch each other's faces off for minor grievances. Our society has become parasitic in nature rather than synergistic. We survive in spite of each other rather than as willing, mutual beneficiaries. How disturbing! Nay, how natural! Just go to sleep. Listen to the propaganda and the advertisements. Do not be alarmed or you may realize that you're a sheep, marching off a precipice to the benefit of someone claiming to care for you. Watch or read 1984, A Handmaid's Tale, Fight Club, various footage of Jane Goodall's research, and you will now the meaning of this song better than the artist himself. From: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858515743/
