PERIPHERY — Periphery III: Select Difficulty (review)

PERIPHERY — Periphery III: Select Difficulty album cover

Album · 2016 · Progressive Metal

4/5 · 2018-05-23
Kingcrimsonprog

Of all the Djent bands, Periphery are undoubtedly the biggest and most well known. Since 2005 they have been innovators boldly carving their own path through progressive and tech Metal styles, inspiring many in their wake.

Taking influences from mathy bands like Dillinger Escape Plan and Sikth, harder bands like the ferocious Messugah, the crushing parts from Iowa-era Slipknot, as well as taking the flowing guitar solo techniques from the likes of Dream Theater and mashing it together with the general sounds and clean/heavy dynamics of modern metalcore bands, putting that over the top of the bounce from the heavier Nu Metal bands and even peppering it with electronic and ambient bits that wouldn't feel out of place on a Nine Inch Nails record, the band manage to meld all these disparate styles into one cohesive and entertaining whole.

I know some people get uppity about anyone using the word 'Djent' and argue its either not a real subgenre and its just Prog Metal or else its just a lot of people copying Messugah but both of those sentiments are reductive and inaccurate and time has shown this to be a legitimate and true subgenre (just look at the number of bands who do it now, or the amount a websites devoted to it). You know; In the same way Doom is a real subgenre and not just a load of people copying Black Sabbath and that Power Metal is not just Traditional Heavy Metal.

If you like bands like Tesseract and want something heavier, if you like bands like Monuments and want something catchier, if you like bands like Uneven Structure and want something bouncier, you also really need to check out Periphery. If you like Periphery, this is a particualrly must-have album and not one to pass over or miss out on.

Periphery III Select Difficulty, is, confusingly, Periphery's fifth studio album (due to the Juggernaut Alpha & Omega albums which preceded it not being numbered). It was self produced and released in 2016. The music is a great mix of complicated awkward rhythms, soaring commercial choruses and spicing it up with shimmering guitar lines and the odd bits of electronics here and there. You get some great moments like clean singing over blast beats. There's violins and trumpets and choirs too. Its probably their most diverse album overall.

There are a few awesome heavier tracks like 'The Price Is Wrong,' 'Motormouth' and 'Habitual Line-Stepper.' The band also try stretching their wings a little bit. There are a few newer ideas and more quiet moments, like the superb closer 'Lune' with its beautiful backing vocals, or the catchy and commercial 'Flatline' which could be on the radio as well as the Faith No More influenced 'Reamain Indoors.' There's some great lyrics too. I've worked a lot in hospital and held a lot of people's hands as they die in front of me, and the lyrics to Flat Line are pretty affecting. I particularly like the hook 'He says send an angel to pull me from the hell below. This weight is far too much to own and this body doesn’t feel like home.'

I feel like maybe Periphery II This Time Its Personal is probably their best album overall for sheer impact and creativity at the time, and for how it broke them to a bigger audience, but for me this is a damn close second and their most cohesive and listen-to-on-repeat album to date. I like to leave this album on in the car and just play it end to end, over and over again. There isn't one song on this I wouldn't want to hear live and there are a lot on here that demands to be in compilations and play lists.

I also feel like this is also a great introduction point for people who don't know the band or the subgenre. If you like A Perfect Circle or Cog or Rishloo 'Lune' is really likely to hit you. If you like Slipknot when they go a bit Morbid Angel influenced 'Habitual Line Stepper' is worth checking out. I even feel like fans of Nu Metal and Rap Metal bands like Incubus and P.O.D and (Hed) PE might even get in on the bouncy bass driven 'Catch Fire.'

Overall, this album is pretty superb and deserves to be heard by more people. If you like any of the bands or ideas I've mentioned above, take a shot and give it a listen. I doubt you'll regret it.