I can remember the names of the songs because I play the heck out of this CD. Usually I don't try to remember song titles, just their location on the up/down button. But "Hollow", "Magdalena", "Rose", "Judith", "Orestes", "3 Libras" and etc easily come off the top of my head.

On the song titles, most are one word names, hence the French translation - Sea of Names. Each song seems to be a mental file of personalities known by Maynard James Keenan's vocal character. Each are a flashback or Keenan's biographical on them. Some are filled with the angst most Tool fans have come to identify as the voice of America.

Indeed Keenan is a superb conveyor of mumbling anger and "lachrymology" - the Tool philosophy of weeping penance. (Interestingly the album comes in both original and censored releases because "fuck your God!" is defiantly un-American) In some ways Keenan seems to mimic the industrial angst of Nine Inch Nails and industrial-pop-offs in the UK's Curve. This seems to be one of APC's methods as > songwriter/guitarist Billy Howerdel comes from the NIN camp and mixer Alan Moulder is the Curve producer.

Though APC has these industrial styles their raw sound is more of an organic sound of a rock band. Imagine a harder version of Chromakey. Yet imagine industrial without keyboards or heavy metal without crashing cymbals and power chords. APC can play heavy without exaggerating. With an outstanding production by corporate funding, heaviness comes from the raw power of the drums and bass, notably the drum work of Josh Freese. Howerdel and Troy Van Leeuwen are also dynamic on guitars, each melding their off-key melodies and grunge/doom/fuzz chords (contrary to > power chords) with the off-key melodies and grunge/doom/fuzz elegies of Keenan.

Their interplay is almost "progressive" and "technical" yet not deliberately trying to be that way. The music is made up with various time changes, odd timing, and off-key compositions. Yet it is amazing that everything seems to sway and pulse as one. But other songs also display Keenan's versatility as he croons, swoons, and sings to the moon. Unlike in Tool, he sings gently and soars on extended notes like a Bruce Dickinson (just an example, not a comparison).

One influence I can pick up is a quirky yoddle similar to that of Nina Simone and later of Lisa Gerrard and Elizabeth Frazier. Not unexpectedly, the band incorporates a bit of a slow, 4AD/goth twinklings as one of the many jingles, bells and whistles. Sometimes there are background keyboard effects such as a Smashing Pumpkins-like orchestra. Howerdel and Van Leeuwen's cascading arpeggios reflect off one another in a slow dance. Their waltzing, Middle Eastern rendition of oboes add subdued hues and far-out mind trips but then suddenly breaks into crashing power > chords (ok there are some).

The latter being the main draw it seems as Tool fans seek to quench their drought, it is welcome to also envelope yourself in the nuances and subtleties of Mer De Noms.

Other than my subjective opinion that the music is pleasing and a distinctive time stamp to my life, this album is also like technical/prog rock/prog metal in that it is wonderful to unwrap with the ears.