PERIPHERY IV: HAIL STAN

For the life of me I cannot understand the lack of love this band gets on the archives. Everything from the supposedly "emo" vocals to Periphery's "dumb" fans (yes, one reviewer on another album accused Periphery fans of not being the most intelligent bunch) are used as excuses for justifying the hate or underwhelming appreciation of their work.

I can only hope that open-minded listeners can leave these preconceived notions aside and give this record and honest spin. Ear destroying riffs, passionate melodies, and excellent electronic interludes and passages are, through truly progressive ambition, weaved together to produces Periphery's best record since 'Periphery II.'

Perhaps most encouraging of all is how Periphery have managed to reign in their excesses. The songs feel tighter with less sprawl. The run time still characteristically spills over the 60-minute mark, but thanks to very varied song writing, you would hardly know it while listening.

My personal rating for this record was 4.5 out of 5. I found 'Follow Your Ghost' to be unnecessary and 'Crush' squandered some of its potential. But these are minor flow on an otherwise superb record.