Is A Perfect Circle a Christian Band? No, A Perfect Circle is not a Christian band. In fact, frontman Maynard James Keenan is proudly anti-Christian.
Formed in 1999 in Los Angeles, the band is something of a supergroup featuring members from many different iconic bands in the Alternative Rock genre. Initially started by Billy Howerdel from Ashes Divide and Maynard from Tool, the group has seen a rotating list of members from all corners of the Alternative scene.
They were initially active from 1999 to 2004 and released three albums during that period. Those albums are:
- Mer de Noms – 2000
- Thirteenth Step – 2003
- Emotive – 2004
Following the release of the third record, they went on hiatus until 2010. The band has regrouped since then, and released their most recent record, Eat the Elephant, in 2018.
A Perfect Circle Band Members
A Perfect Circle band members include 1. Maynard James Keenan 2. Billy Howerdel 3. James Iha. They are an Alternative Rock supergroup.
| Band Member Name: | Band Member Duty: |
| Maynard James Keenan | Lead Vocals |
| Billy Howerdel | Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Bass |
| James Iha | Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards |
| Matt McJunkins | Bass, Backing Vocals |
| Jeff Friedl | Drums |
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Maynard James Keenan
Keenan is the founding member and frontman of A Perfect Circle. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the group.
Known for doing the same in the seminal Alt-Metal group, Tool, the singer started APC when Howerdel, who was then staying with him, played him some demo tapes. Keenan could hear himself singing those songs, and so the seeds of the group were set.
As the main force behind Tool, Keenan was already a prominent figure in the world of Alternative and Metal and had made quite a name for himself due to his soaring vocals, abrasive yet philosophical lyrics, and strenuous relationship with his fans. APC allowed him to try something different, mellower, but without losing the edge that had brought him much success.
Billy Howerdel
Howerdel is also a founding member of the Alternative Rock band. He primarily serves as the lead guitarist but plays other instruments too.
In fact, the guitarist has more of a claim at the title of founding member than even Keenan as the idea was his original conception. A former guitar technician who had worked with acts like The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Fishbone, and even Tool, Howerdel met Keenan in 1992 when his then-band was opening for Fishbone.
Three years later, when Howerdel needed a place to stay, Keenan offered him a room at his North Hollywood home, and it was there that the guitarist showed the singer the aforementioned. Though he initially wanted Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins to sing, she proved unavailable and thus the band was born.
James Iha
Iha is the rhythm guitarist of A Perfect Circle. Aside from Keenan and Howerdel, he is the next most recognized member.
However, to most Rock fans, the guitarist is perhaps more known for being one of the founding members of the prominent 90’s Grunge and Alternative band, The Smashing Pumpkins. Iha joined the band years after it had started, replacing Danny Lohner, who himself had replaced the first guitarist, Troy Van Leeuwen, in 2003.
Since he joined the band, Iha has been a permanent fixture, barring hiatuses, and has also lent his skills with the keyboards to the band. Aside from their first album, he has been involved with every album in their discography, and regularly tours with them too, even when he was touring with the Pumpkins.
Matt McJunkins
McJunkins is the bassist for A Perfect Circle. He has been playing with the band since 2010.
One of the two current members who joined after the end of the hiatus, prior to APC he was best known for being a touring musician for the Eagles of Death Metal as well as a founding member of The Beta Machine, which also featured his current band mate Jeff.
McJunkins found his way into APC through Howerdel because he had asked the bassist to join his project, Ashes Divide. They toured for much of 2008 alongside Jeff, Andy Gerold, and Adam Monroe, and from here the bassist would interact and work with Keenan’s other band, Puscifer too.
So, when APC announced they would be reforming in September 2010, McJunkins was the first person they asked to join the band as their bassist.
Jeff Friedl
Friedl is the drummer for the California band. He is also the most recent addition to the group, joining in 2011.
As with his The Bone Machine bandmate McJunkins, the drummer’s introduction to the band was by way of Howerdel, who had asked him to join his project Ashes Divide too. From there Friedl also started working with Keenan and Puscifer.
However, the reason why he wasn’t asked to join A Perfect Circle alongside McJunkins is that previous drummer, John Freese, who had been in the band even before Iha, was still working with them. However, Freese had to leave for a while to drum for Weezer, so Friedl was added as a last minute addition.
Freese then had to permanently leave the group, which left the spot open for Friedl to become the latest member of A Perfect Circle to join.