A Perfect Circle

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I know I'm gonna get a lot of heat for this, but it must be said:

A Perfect Circle fully deserve to be in the ProgArchives.

Now, I know a lot of you have gone out and heard "Judith" and "The
Hollow" and it never crossed your mind that APC was a progressive band.
Well, to put it bluntly, they are.

Although APC may follow the standard 3-minute structure (well, okay...
5-minute structure), but there are other elements that define prog.

A list of this very site's definitions of Prog:

"Lyrics that convey intricate and sometimes impenetrable narratives,
covering such themes as science fiction, fantasy, history, religion,
war, love, and madness. Many early 1970s progressive rock bands
(especially German ones) featured lyrics concerned with left-wing
politics and social issues.

Unusual vocal styles and use of multi-part vocal harmonies. See Magma, Robert Wyatt, and Gentle Giant.

Prominent use of electronic instrumentation — particularly keyboard
instruments such as the organ, piano, Mellotron, and Moog synthesizer,
in addition to the usual rock combination of electric guitar, bass and
drums.

Use of unusual time signatures, scales, or tunings. Many pieces use
multiple time signatures and/or tempi, sometimes concurrently. Solo
passages for virtually every instrument, designed to showcase the
virtuosity of the player. This is the sort of thing that contributed to
the fame of such performers as keyboardist Rick Wakeman and drummer
Neil Peart.

A piece that is composed of a patchwork of musical themes that could
conceivably stand as individual songs, but together serve to relate a
complete narrative through music. Examples are "Supper's Ready" on
Genesis' Foxtrot (the "Willow Farm" section of which was played as a
single), "A Day in the Life" on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
by The Beatles, Jethro Tull's Aqualung from the album of the same name,
and "The Gates of Delirium" on Yes's album Relayer (from which the
single "Soon" was taken).

A piece that allows the development of musical ideas via progressions
or variations in the manner of a bolero or a canon. "King Kong" on
Frank Zappa's Uncle Meat is an example."

To me, this is a healthy list by itself, but the main arguement for my
case is the sheer compositional talent present in APC's work. This is
not so much present on the debut album "Mer de Noms" (main exceptions:
the Rose and Orestes) as it is on "Thirteenth Step".

As a professional composer, I know compositional talent when I hear it.
That's the main reason I listen to prog is just that: composition. And
APC definately has it. You could get me started on the number of bands
already in this archive without an ounce of compositional talent, but
this is not a post to degrade other music.

Essentially, I'm pleading for you guys to go out, pick up a copy of
13th Step (or download it, whatever) and give the whole thing a good
listen. Main recommendations: "The Noose" and "Gravity". If you can
listen to those tracks and not hear the prog, then you need your head
examined.