10 Best Supergroups In Hard Rock And Metal

Ever since the turn of the century, the metal scene seemed to be itching for something a little bit more complex. Since the fad of nu metal had pretty much embarrassed itself in the TRL period, the tides started to shift towards the proggier side of the spectrum, with the biggest albums coming from the likes of Mastodon and Gojira. While each of these bands were brilliant on their own, it took a true auteur to show how sinister a metal band could really sound.

Started in the mind of Billy Howerdel, A Perfect Circle made its first steps when Billy was working as a guitar tech for Tool, where he started to write music with Maynard James Keenan. Although originally focusing on a female vocal presence, Keenan and Howerdel fit like hand in glove on both Mer De Noms and Thirteenth Step, with James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins being brought on to add some dense digital soundscapes.

As far as the metalheads go, the debut really is all you need, being a much more straightforward outing for Keenan and less bug-nutty as something like Tool can get at times. If you want to get fascinated by them though, Thirteenth Step shows them becoming even greater sonic creators, with songs that teeter the edge of sanity while staying grounded. Whereas the prog rock wave may have hinted at some greater metallic expansion, A Perfect Circle is what happens when you start thinking of metal on a cinematic scope.