PERIPHERY

When the album started it had one of the most epic intros I have heard in a while, though it kind of tailed off towards the end of the track, I was hopeful though that this sophomore effort from this progressive metal band would be better than their first album. Well all I can say is this album pisses me off. The first 2 tracks are quite excellent, but then the band pretty much loses me for the next 7 tracks. Not that they are terrible songs, there are some amazing parts throughout each of these 7 tracks, but then there are sections that just derail the entire song and throws off the groove they had going. Then you get to track 10, Erised, and here you see the mind-blowing potential this band has. This is easily the best song on the album. The final 4 tracks have more of the inconsistencies. So what you have here is 1 amazing song, 2 great songs and then a roller coaster of music that will soar for one minute and then cut you down at the knee-caps the next. I wanted to love this album from the word go, but to me its just a little inconsistent, but don't take my word for it, perhaps other people just get it more than I do.

After just 3 listens, I am blown away. Periphery's first album was pretty much a summary of the entire "djent" style that's been uprising recently, but this one is something different.

The opener, "Muramasa" is one of those opening tracks that you know will precede a great album. The rest of the album doesn't completely live up to the opener, but on second listen, it's all just as good.

Although Periphery's genius in residence is guitarist Misha Mansoor, the real star of this album is vocalist Spencer Sotelo. Misha has tried to hammer into the fans that the vocals are now a part of the band, by not releasing an instrumental version. But Spencer is not just a guttural screamer like he was in the first album, he carries the melody throughout most songs, making them more than just technical compositions, but songs you can sing your lungs out to.

There are a couple of online streams of the album at the moment, so go listen to it if you're wanting a more melodic side of the 'djent' style, as well as the classic technicality of the band.

Highlights "Muramasa", "Have A Blast", "Scarlet", "Erised"

4.5/5, pushed to 5 because I feel like it.

When my interest in djent began to rise rapidly, I was in the CD store and saw this album. I'd heard of it before from other djent fans and thought it might be of interest to me, so I decided to buy it, hoping this would increase my interest in the genre further.

Now the first thing I noticed upon looking at the albums booklet is that the band has three guitarists, something you don't often see. And boy can they ever play! The guitar playing is the focus of this album and a huge highlight as well, with the guitarists employing many different techniques into their playing to make it quite an interesting listen. In fact the musicianship all around is quite impressive.

Another good thing to note is the production, which fits the music pretty much perfectly. The riffs in this album are pretty fetching, especially on the track "Icarus Lives!", and the lyrics, while they may not be some peoples cup of tea, are also pretty well done.

Now there is one place the album falls flat on it's face for me: the vocals. The vocals get very tiresome, very fast, and can often make sitting through this one an ordeal. The harsh vocals are almost cringeworthy and the clean vocals tend to grate at moments. However I understand that not everyone has a problem with this, but there are many others who share my sentiment, so I guess it's very much a love/hate thing.

But all and all, a decent album. Definitely not for people who aren't a fan of technical music. Also, if you've heard Animals As Leaders before and you like them, this gives a similar sort of sound only with vocals. And if you can get past those vocals, you should love it. 3 stars in my book.

'Periphery' - Periphery (7/10)

The '00s may not have seen too many positive developments in music and metal in particular, but a rising trend in metal has been the 'djent' scene, a particular style of math metal pioneered by Meshuggah's palm-muted guitar work. One of the most popular bands in this style is the Maryland group Periphery, who had been promising a full-length debut to their fans for years before finally coming out with this self-titled debut. A very modern blend of metalcore and progressive influences, the album should certainly appeal to the 'djentlemen' that have so long awaited the release. Although the band's first full-length feels as if it drags on for far too long without enough meat on its bones, the album is an expertly produced piece of progressive metal.

In regards to variety here, there is not much to go around, but Periphery do what they do particularly well. Rhythmic experimentation and a constant thirst for throwing the same few muted chords into as many different time signatures as possible is what much of the band's music can be described as. There is more here to dig into however; additional mellow arrangements are layered overtop to give the music an ethereal quality to it, and the vocals of Spencer Sotelo are skilled, if anything. Through growls and clean vocals, the singer of this band can really belt out, and his modern style really makes me think that I'll be hearing alot more bands of this sound emerging in the next years.

The songwriting is generally quite good, although the vocal hooks and melody can feel often drowned out by the more 'djent' and mathematic aspects of the music. Each musician here is rock-solid in the execution, but as an album that crosses over the seventy minute mark, it doesn't feel like the band has the sound to make the journey consistently interesting. Instead, many of the songs sound quite alike as if treading the same territory of the one before it. That can really rob the album of its experimental flow, despite the album being an absolutely incredible listen if restricted to a few tracks.

'Jetpacks Was Yes', 'Icarus Lives!' and 'The Walk' are all winners here, whether for their added rhythmic madness or stronger melodic hooks. One important thing to mention here is the incredible production of the album. With the exception of the drums (which sound rather mixed out and underwhelming) the album has a very ethereal and spacey sound that really takes 'Periphery' a step above your typical mathcore act.

I cannot praise the great musicianship here enough, and as for songwriting, there is plenty of potential. However, Periphery still needs to clip some fat off of their act before making the masterpiece fans have been hoping for.

A Very Good Idea, Average Result

When I saw that Periphery had released an instrumental version of their debut album, I thought I had struck the motherlode. During 2010, I've been exploring the world of djent metal, and one of the underground legends of the scene is a guy that goes by the mysterious name of Bulb. He's actually an extremely average, studious looking fellow by the name of Misha Mansoor. He produced and help record the phenomenal Animals as Leaders album, and had been producing monstrously brutal djent on his soundclick site as Bulb for some time. Demos of his full band Periphery have been circulating for awhile, but to my ear there was a lot of great guitar playing by Bulb ruined by some pretty average metalcore vocals that didn't really get any better with a new singer. I dislike metalcore vocals pretty intensely in general, so...instrumental version...perfect, right? Some of the best djent out there is instrumental, and if it was anything like the AaL album, certainly we'd have something to get excited about.

As it turns out, the result is certainly an improvement, but an incomplete product. Some of the songs were actually constructed as instrumentals in the first place, but I believe others were intended to have vocals from inception. As a result, some songs on the instrumental version have some repetitive sections that were meant to support vocals. (I actually prefer this to what's on the real versions, but a vocal style that matched the intensity, virtuosity, and complexity of the music is really what is missing here.)

The other obvious thing that probably got in the way is that Misha Mansoor and Tosin Obasi are actually fairly distinct guitarists. Bulb's riffs are far more brutal, often as brutal as djent godfather Meshuggah's. For a lover of breakneck riffs, Periphery may have some of the best. IN addition, Bulb's lead style is a little more traditionally virtuosic. To an extent, the music is meant to cater to pure guitar fans. A song like "Zyglrox" had seen various forms on the interwebs before this "official" version and has always been an instrumental guitar feast. (Other have criticized it for being a mathematical technique orgy, but that's the point!) Bulb does not, however, possess the same sense of harmony or simple beauty that Obasi lends his project. This album is a gang of gents with billy clubs laying into a mouthy victim for an hour. Occasionally they stand up and take a breath, give each other some high fives, and then they begin again. As I said, if you like your metal brutal, without pity, and relentless, this is your album.

I would actually like to hear an intentionally instrumental Bulb album. (Along with probably every other djent fan out there). There, we might get something truly amazing. Still we have a good album perfect for working out to.

This is it ; these verry skill musicients (probably 8 cords guitare) have made a master piece of prog or DJENT they call it , technical prog is not for every one and it is the rares form of prog This album is just they ultimate of the genre before periphery this was BULB i have to say this is male stuff HA HA .The music is just squarling of spinning Accord that all work together with a semi grouth voice and regular at time . this is the future of the genre comming live to my here, me i simply love it dont forget this is extreme to, so .For fan of tech prog go for it

I've been Jitterbugged by Djent!

After years (and years) of waiting and wading through multiple vocalists until settling on Spencer Sotello as the pipes to lead the band, Periphery's debut has FINALLY been released. A spectacular show of heavy metal chops and progressive bombardment, this album is a great addition to any heavy tech metal fan. I was familiar with many of the songs from Misha Mansoor (Bulb)'s sounclick, and it was nice to hear vocals on them, many of the lyrics having great messages behind them as well.

Insomnia is a good opener, with spectacular attack and steady rhythms. The song really fleshes out Periphery's signature metalcore/deathcore/progmetalcore/epiccore sound with Mansoor's great djenting guitar and Sotelo's surprisingly great vocal capacity.

The Walk is one of my favorite tracks on the album. It has an awesome intro, and a (again) steady rhythm with that powerful djent that is attributed to Periphery.

The Letter Experiment might takes a small amount of time to really get into the song, but once the meat of the song is accessed, its a great track.

Jetpack was Yes offers a breather to the heavy bombardment of metal, but the techno elements may alienate a few people at the start of the track. As the track progresses, a great melody is brought out, showcasing Spencer's vocal capacity.

Light has always been one of my favorites from Misha's soundclick, and in the album, it did not dissapoint. The transitions are spectacular, and the growling and melodic vocals fit perfectly with the songs djent-y melody.

All New Materials is another breather with wonderful melodies that compliment the vocals profoundly well. Periphery always seems to know how to do that despite their extreme heaviness.

Buttersnips is by far my favorite track on the album, save perhaps Icarus Lives and maybe Racecar. That spectacular intro blossoms so nicely into the verses and chorus, making one hell of an epic track!

Icarus Lives, which was one of the first Periphery tracks I heard, when Casey Sabol was the vocalists, has always been a spectacular track. That killer intro, and Spencer's whisperings open into such a wonderful track. The vocals and their allusion to Greek mythology are also great, not to mention the message behind the words.

Totla Mad is a great track. Wonderful polyrhythms permeate the song beautifully.

Ow My Feelings could be called a weaker track, but weaker in Periphery standards is still absolutely awesome!

Zygrox seems to just be a mashup of notes made to sound interesting. It is one of the weaker tracks on the album, with just fast notes and drum beats throwing themselves at the listener with all their might.

Racecar lets the listener truly appreciate Periphery's prowess. Combined with great musicianship, the vocals make an excellent track and closer. Again a deeper message is found in the lyrics. Polyrhythms contribute to the already awesome track. All these elements make the 15 minute long track fly by.

ALBUM OVERALL: This album is, simply stated, worth the wait of years. Almost every year since they started in 2004 they said they would release an album, oh it's pushed back. Nope this year! Never-mind, we needed a new singer. But finally, almost 6 years after all this, Periphery has blasted through with a killer debut album and some killer tracks. They were able to pick the very best that they've written throughout the years and compile a fantastic studio album. 4+ stars.