Mer de Noms
| Mer de Noms | ||||
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| Studio album by A Perfect Circle | ||||
| Released | May 23, 2000 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:25 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Billy Howerdel | |||
| A Perfect Circle chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Mer de Noms | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| Melody Maker | |
| NME | (7/10) |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Sputnikmusic | |
| Rock Hard (de) | 8.5/10 |
Mer de Noms (French for "sea of names") is the debut album by American rock band A Perfect Circle. The album was released under Compact Disc format on May 23, 2000. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on October 31, 2000. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4, making it the highest ever Billboard 200 debut for a rock band's first album. It sold over 188,000 copies in the first week, and stayed on the charts for 51 consecutive weeks. The album peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Top Pop Catalog Albums on October 4, 2003, three years after the album's release. Mer de Noms has since been released on vinyl record format.
Musically, the album features a sound that "returns the listeners to the daze of prog rock" and "blurs between alternative rock and hard rock, with many slower tunes exhibiting an intense smolder rather than flash burn."The New Yorker magazine also noted that the band experiments with "the seam between heavy metal and alternative rock" on the record. Various instruments featured on the album include acoustic guitars, violins and xylophones.
Most of the album's lyrics were dedicated to various people that lead singer Maynard James Keenan knew. The track listing consists of various names such as "Judith", "Breña", "Rose", "Thomas", "Magdalena", "Orestes", and "Renholdër" (for musician Danny Lohner).
The symbols on the front cover of the album can be translated to "La Cascade des Prénoms," which translated to English means "the waterfall of first names".
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