Periphery II: This Time It's Personal

It has been some time since I have heard an American album that incorporates ALL of the music I like into one album. There are hints of so many bands in this album that you can only call this display from Periphery "Original" in every way. They have hints of Soilwork, Meshuggah, In Flames, Korn (the old stuff), Deftones (the old stuff), Raunchy, Incubus (the old stuff), Animals as Leaders (they are amazing if you have not listened to these guys), etc... Their first album was good...but nowhere close to this one. The first album used tracks from the incredible Misha Mansoor as "Bulb" and found a singer to fill a spot that did not need to be filled...Misha, you should have done the album as an all instrumental and then started with Periphery as a separate entity...my opinion (and not that big of one). But this album sounds like a band...not a guitarist looking to find "the rest." Spencer is absolutely an amazing singer. The first album didn't showcase the skills this guy has. In this album he leads the band, and does it with angst, creativity, and uniqueness. Not taking anything away from Misha...the guy is an absolute genius; I listened to every single song from "Bulb" and still think that those are some of the best guitar riffs ever produced. For the longest time I thought "Zylgrox" was made on a computer...nope...it was Misha. Anyway, back to this album. Buy it. Give it a listen...and then try not to get addicted to the different angles produced by this group. They have a different sound...the radio won't play them (thank god...the radio sucks) because they don't sound like the rest of the crap that the majority of mindless teenagers plug into. But if you like metal, and a feeling of intensity followed by release...buy this album and enjoy. I love it. You will too.

The band is full of talent, each in their own instruments, but also their collective talent and arrangement together is so tight. Each song has it's distinctive angle, has a thrashing, exhilarating, hard-driving rhythm and then has its beautiful, melodic parts and wailing guitar solos by Misha and Jake that make you want to weep for its beauty and emotion. Spencer is a phenomenal vocalist with such strong heavy scream-singing and then can actually beautifully belt out strong and emotive melodies with great phrasing and vocal quality. It's such a perfect mix of harsh and beautiful that both guys and ladies appreciate the music equally, maybe for different respective reasons, but it is a quality mixture that really brings respect and appreciation from the listener. Plus, they are such quality musicians when you are lucky enough to catch them in a live performance- you really ought to treat yourself to their live concert which is such a high-energy and rewarding experience. I have such respect for Periphery, I look forward to their next album and future shows! They are absolutely the real deal.

Following the success of their first album, Periphery II delivers much like its predecessor: Challenging and rewarding musicianship that delivers on every level. This album has a narrative quality through its transitions and almost seems to flow thematically from song to song. The effect is one of the only albums in many years I can remember setting and forgetting to listen to every song. Spencer makes a big improvement here, delivering choruses that alt rock bands could only dream of, and also amping up the aggressiveness in most songs. Highlights are almost too innumerable to count - including the multiple guest guitar solos scattered in the album. My favorite song is probably Make Total Destroy, because it goes from fingerboard tapping guttural guitar tuning and syncopation to flawless rhythm and groove to power chorus and back again in less than 2 minutes. This is the kind of writing and musicianship that other bands in this genre struggle to achieve with any quality, and Periphery delivers with perfection. Even people who hate this genre will appreciate the accomplishment of Periphery on this album. Can't wait for PIII!

I won't drag out this review with breakdowns of each song. The overall impression of Periphery's sophomore album is resoundingly favorable. Start to finish these guys demonstrate their mastery of polyrhythm, layering, articulation, melody, harmony and even throw in some musical surprises. They certainly have the chops to contend with anyone in Djent metal. They also manage to make metal accessible to the average listener. I'd be less apprehensive giving this album to a friend who doesn't like that "screamo" stuff.Why it's 4 instead of 5 stars is because I found myself skipping more tracks on this album than on their debut album. There are so many BRILLIANT moments (perhaps my favorite is the gut-punching riffage that serves at the album outro on the last track - how do you even MAKE a guitar do that sound? maybe it's a 9 string? does that exist??), but there is some less than exciting parts too. I don't think they needed to have so many guest guitar soloists on this album, they definitely have the skill themselves. The first album was perhaps lacking in lead guitar solos, but there was significant track to track variability and each track was exciting in its own right. This album can be a little shades of gray.All said and done however, this is still a brilliant album and it's pretty early on in their careers. No doubt we have many more good tracks yet to come.

Peut-être un peu moins foufou djent que les précédents albums, mais absolument pas déçu, au contraire ! On reconnaît bien leur patte experte, c'est du tout bon !

Messo nel lettore cd della mia auto a settembre, è ancora li.Per chi apprezza il metal un po' più moderno con influenze di diversi generi, questo è un disco da non lasciarsi scappare.

Periphery's latest album is the first I've heard of them, and from this point on Periphery is a band I will be following. Their music is loud and their music is heavy- the complex headrush delivered by their three guitarists, thumping bass, and intricate drumming coupled with Sotelo's unique vocals and powerful lyrics makes for something truly inspiring. And on top of this, the rush is often interrupted with ambient segments and electronic outings to keep things fresh and flowing.I highly recommend this album to any fans of music.

Being more of an 'old school' metal fan (a la Pantera, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Megadeth etc), I have to admit that while most new metal bands are technically dazzling and are musical trailblazers in their own right, I have trouble identifying or enjoying a majority of the 'djent/mathmetal' whatever bands that spring up everywhere nowadays. There is no doubt they are great musicans, and are unquestionably pushing boundaries, but I tend to prefer music that is simpler and more digestable and do not sound like 'guitars, drums and amplifiers falling down stairs' - a quote I've heard somewhere describing modern metal bands. Whilst this Periphery album is anything but simple, I decided to give it a go after randomly hearing and seeing the video to 'MAKE TOTAL DESTROY' and enjoyed it. I'm glad to say, the album didn't dissappoint!The 14 tracks that appear on this album are, for the most part, heavy and melodic metal numbers, with an industrial edge, as well as quite a few 'What the Hell?' and Steve Vai-esque moments. Quite a few of the tracks have what I'll class as 'inbetween skits, fade outs and hidden tracks,' which might not please some listeners and isn't really something I'm a massive fan of (e.g Soulfly's first album - how annoying was all that crappy reggae fade out at the end of most songs!?), but it seems to work quite well on this album and is both a bit of welcome break from the sheer musical intensity of the 'proper' songs, whilst also maintaining the albums' momentum and showcasing the band's variety. The second track 'Have a Blast' for example, starts off with a classical instrument improv (violin!?) some electronic craziness, and then a pummelling heavy riff, which makes a change from the Metallica-esque acoustic to electric trick that's been ripped off excessively - here's lookin' at you MachineHead!!!The vocals change between a screaming hardcore style to a very melodic and high pitched singing which reminds me a lot of Mike Patton on Faith No More's 'The Real Thing' album. Seriously, it does sound strangely similar and the melodic - growling/screaming dynamic is very reminiscent of Fear Factory.The guitars somehow manage to compliment the vocals and draw attention to themselves at the same time. The riffs are heavy and intense and shift from both the lower and higher ends of the fretboard. It does make for an intense listen, which admittedly isn't for everyone, but I find fresh and exhilarating. If you were looking for labels I guess 'djent' would be the most accurate, but there are quite a few Meshuggah/Fear Factory-style Staccato moments, thrash riffs and the occasional slow, sludge metal type riffs.Reading around this album, I hear many fans of the band's first album are calling this a 'more mainstream' and even 'sellout' album!!! Which to me, boggles the mind!!! If this is mainstream or radio friendly I must be in a parallel universe, as this is probably as far away from those tags as I can imagine.An adrenaline rush of an album with enough tempo changes, melody and solos to count till the cows come home! Awesome album and reccommended to any metal fan and rock fans looking for something different and challenging.

自分はClear→1→Alpha→II と聞きましたが、このアルバムが1番好きです。2番目はClearですかね。1stは宅レコだったせいもあってか、テクニックゴリゴリの割に音に厚みがなくて、物足りない感じでした。Racecarは名曲だと思いますが、如何せん響かない^^;それに比べると、IIからは流石といいますか音の重厚感や奥行が格段に良くなっているわけですプログレもポップさも重視しているようで、聞きやすさもgood.ゴリゴリの楽器隊にVoがメロディを作っていって、ギターソロで飽きさせず、SEで曲と曲の間をつないで全体をまとめていて、１枚通して聴ける数少ないアルバムに思えます。IIを聞いてPeripheryが気に入った人は、1st、Clear、Alphaの順に聞くといいと思います。Alpha/Omegaは少し上級者な感じですね。買って損はしないと思います。