Periphery- Periphery Review

So, Periphery is perfect. Really. This band (featuring prog genius Misha "Bulb" Monsoor) never fails, ever, at anything. I promise. Buy this album for your love of prog music. Buy it for your love of melody, ambient sounds and amazing vocal passages. Buy it because you love guitar music and need inspiration to learn some insane new techniques. Buy it for these and many other reasons, as long as you hear this assortment of djent, shred, jazz, metal and Jeff Loomis.

Yes, I said Jeff Loomis. Of Nevermore fame. Read on.

Look, the whole prog/metal scene, like every other vein of metal, has been saturated and overrun by posers and pretenders. Periphery instantly stands out, from the first minute of Insomnia straight through til the last second of the epic Racecar. Most prog heads know and love Bulb (Misha, guitars), but he's just the beginning of what this band has to offer the world. The other two axemen in this sextet are perfect complements to Misha's writing style; also, the triple guitarist setup is used in perfect form here, as Periphery capitalizes on the ability to both harmonize and add another lead or keep the rhythm going. This way, they lose much less of their sound live than bands with two guitarists...at least, thats how I understand it. Any way you look at it, Jake Bowen and Alex Bois never simply follow Misha's playing; instead, they highlight it, underline it, and make the overall sound of the album fuller. Chording, clean playing, solos and lead tracks are layered expertly on this album.

Not sold on the whole "three talented guitarists" thing? Fine, lets talk vocals. I've mentioned Tommy Rogers of BTBAM before, simply because his style is one completely his own. Spencer Sotelo shares this quality of distinction and talent, as any second of this album could tell you. I've never heard someones down-n-dirty growls and screams share the same minute of music as such...well, angelic vocals. His clean singing is superb; I was impressed with the simple range he has (it sounds like he can sing in at least 3-4 octaves? someone help me figure that out lol.). Highs, lows, harmonies, no matter WHAT he sings you can be assured Spencer's experience and skill will shine though.

This is where I complain about the drummer and bassist, right? Talk about how basic they are when seen in the same band as such talent as Misha, Jake, Alex and Spencer? Sorry to let you down, but Tom Murphy and Matt Halpern are the backbone of this incredible display of musical skill. Tom's bass playing seems to be where steady, rhythms are provided, while Halpern complements the bass and rhythm guitar with his own incredible poly-rhythms and patterns. I mean, Halpern was tasked with the impossible: replacing the octopus known as Travis Orbin (of Sky Eats Airplane), so you know the guys amazing. And he doesn't disappoint. His fills are smooth, his rhythms are tight and precise, and no matter what the mood of the song, he always seems to have the perfect part written for it. Tom keeps his parts simple, not too many solos or insane technical flourishes to be found on the lower end of the spectrum. But don't let that take away from the fact that this is what prog bassist forget to be: dependable, fast, creative and above all else, complementary to the rhythm instead of trying to stand out too much from it.

This was a long post. Lemme give you the concentrated version: Periphery = talent + awesome + melody + heaviness + this is a band you need to hear.

Tracklisting:

1. Insomnia
2. The Walk
3. Letter Experiment
4. Jetpacks Was Yes
5. Light
6. All New Materials
7. Buttersnips
8. Icarus Lives
9. Totla Mad
10. Ow My Feelings
11. Zyglrox
12. Racecar