Periphery
Periphery are an American Progressive Metal band founded in 2005, whose relative success has made them leaders of the so-called 'djent' movement, a wave of metal acts that employ Meshuggah's chugging, rhythmically complex riffing style as a key component of their music. While acts like SikTh and Textures may have developed the prototypical form of the subgenre, creating a more melodic and experimental take on the original formula, Periphery are generally credited as its zeitgeist band, kickstarting the popularization and diversification of the genre.
Periphery's own music uses the aforementioned staccato 'djent' riff style, highly compressed and mid-boosted production, and glitchy electronic segments to create a heavy, mechanical feel, using lush clean guitars and soaring vocals to add a more emotive, earnest edge.
Current Lineup:
- Spencer Sotelo - lead vocals, lyrics
- Misha "Bulb" Mansoor — guitars, production, primary composer
- Jake Bowen — guitars, programming
- Mark Holcomb — guitars
- Matt Halpern — drums, percussion
- Adam "Nolly" Getgood - bass (temporary), production
- Periphery (2010)
- The Icarus Lives EP (2011)
- Periphery II: This Time It's Personal (2012)
- Clear (2014 EP)
- Juggernaut: Alpha (2015)
- Juggernaut: Omega (2015)
- Periphery III: Select Difficulty (2016)
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Take Meshuggah (somewhere in between Chaosphere and Nothing), make them a little lighter and teach them to use actual singing, and you'd get the gist of Periphery. Well, not exactly - see Genre Busting below.
- Epic Rocking: Racecar, the 15-minute climax of their self-titled debut.
- Excited Song Title: Jetpacks Was Yes!
- Follow the Leader: Regarded as the flagship band of the rapidly expanding djent scene...not like they particularly care.
- Genre Busting / Genre Roulette: The band has elements of this. While they have Djent's signature progressive/Groove Metal hybrid at their core, not only do they vary in heaviness, they also draw influences from various other genres, such as Mathcore (Totla Mad, parts of Buttersnips), Post-hardcore (Jetpacks Was Yes!), Nu-metal (Ow My Feelings)...they even dropped a song that could be called tech death (Zyglrox). They also throw in some glitchy electronic beats and effects reminiscent of IDM/Drill 'n Bass every once in a while.
- I Am the Band: Nearly everything Periphery has released thus far is an "official" version of Bulb's old demo tracks, usually simply with vocals added and some minor changes in instrumentation. Reportedly, though, the rest of the band will have much more input on Juggernaut.
- Mind Screw: Spencer's lyrics can be quite cryptic. Here's a fun activity: read the lyrics to Buttersnips, and then try to figure them out without looking at the explanation below.
- Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Either a hard 7 or a soft 8, most of the time, but they can be quite diverse: Jetpacks Was Yes! is around a 5 (or 4, for the EP version), while Zyglrox is a hard 9, skirting a 10 in some places.
- Non-Appearing Title: The odd, often absurd (Buttersnips and Jetpacks Was Yes! in particular) song titles on Periphery.
- Oddly-Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: The title of their second album, "Periphery II: This Time It's Personal."
- One of Us: Oh, so very very much. Just look at their recent videos, which contain everything from pointless yet humorous asides, their takes on the YouTube Poop, an extended discussion on Skyrim, and some trolling for good measure. Bulb is also very keen on interacting with fans on YouTube and posting on blogs such as Metal Sucks, and his signature sense of humor is well loved.
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I love how Periphery nearly always get the top comments on their own videos, simply because they're so goddamn hilarious! |
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- Progressive Metal / Groove Metal: Codified "djent", generally a fusion of the two styles.
- Revolving Door Band: They went through two drummers and three vocalists in five years, before they even released an album. After that, they lost a guitarist and a bassist just for good measure, leaving Misha and Jake as the only founding members left. They could end up Dillinger Escape Plan territory if they don't watch their step.
- Bafflingly, they seem to be on very good terms with many of the departed band members, to the point of going out of their way to help with their new projects in some cases. Maybe they're plotting to take over the world or something.
- Serious Business: The music seems serious and profound, but especially given that they pioneered a new scene sweeping the metal world, the band members themselves have a very relaxed and humorous attitude toward what they do. See One of Us.
- Signature Song: Icarus Lives
- Vocal Evolution: Spencer Sotelo, the latest in a long line of vocalists, was not very-well recieved by some fans, the most common complaints being that his singing was "whiny" and that his Harsh Vocals lacked power. Come the Icarus EP, however, all but the most die-hard of haters admit that's he's settled into his role excellently.
- Zombie Apocalypse: Buttersnips, apparently:
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Misha: Spencer, any comments on [Buttersnips]? |
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