Periphery – Periphery II CD review

Periphery are a band who have helped to revolutionise and evolve the ever growing sound of Djent, adding a fresh and technical lick of paint to a genre that has only come around in the past few years. Presenting Periphery II, Periphery’s 2^nd creatively titled full album that packs more power and punch than the Rocky trilogy and is ten times heavier than Iron Man fighting The Terminator. There is no band out on the scene at the moment creating a sound as wholesome and musically demanding as Periphery and thanks to this mind blowing album, this 8 string guitar obsessed six piece from Maryland may be on their way up to the big league.

Periphery II is very much dual guitar driven – with each song containing a monstrous, down tuned, distorted guitar riff capable of blowing a whole through our atmosphere is played loud enough. Tracks such as ‘Facepalm Mute’, ‘Ji’ and ‘Scarlet’ are all memorable moments on the album in which guitarists Jake Bowen and Mark Holcomb can let rip, spewing forth: Violent, bouncy riffs, slick guitar licks and the occasional solo to form some of the heaviest and most brutal riffs on 2012. It’s a huge part to their killer sound and without it they would be just a bog standard metalcore band.

The experimentation with both melodic and harsh vocals really enhances and adds interests to Periphery’s music. Sticking to the hardcore music approach of “screamo” verses and clean cut, catchy choruses, Periphery use the contrast in vocal styles to their advantage, keeping the listener constantly hooked through tracks like ‘Ragnarok’, ‘The Gods Must Be Crazy!’ and ‘MAKE TOTAL DESTROY’ and giving the listener something to sing along to with the very talented Spencer Sotelo. These aren’t just songs. These are anthems, and it’s down to the change in vocal styles throughout these songs that make them so memorable.

With 14 tracks totalling just over one hour, Periphery II can be seen as quite a progressive album, so progressive in fact that guitar god, John Petrucci of Dream Theater even does guest guitar work on the track ‘Mile Zero’. There is so much going on in each song – with each section being a variation or completely changing from the last to show just how talented Periphery are not only as song writers, but also as musicians.

 Periphery are one of the best metal bands to emerge in the past 5 years, and Periphery II is the album that will get them they recognition they deserve. It’s loud, it’s heavy and it’s destructive… Bring on Periphery III [8/10]