PERIPHERY — Periphery (review)

Album · 2010 · Progressive Metal

4/5 · 2011-01-16
Andyman1125

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.