Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Periphery
Label: Sumerian Records
Release: year_month
Runtime: 29:12
Rating: 3.5/5
In recent years, Periphery have become something of a stumbling block in the metal scene. They have their champions, but they have their haters too. The latter accuse them of building an entire genre, djent, on variations of a single riff, and of course popularizing it. Despite all the criticism, you have to admit that Periphery are a hugely creative band, and ideas are positively swarming around them. Pretty much every year they surprise us with something new.
The band is currently recording its third full-length album, titled Juggernaut, which should have come out this year, but with all the touring they’re doing, there simply wasn’t time for an album. Besides, Periphery don’t do quick-fix albums; they take a huge amount of time over the production itself. But for the impatient among us, the band surprised everyone early in the year with the EP Clear, which offers seven new songs. The first track, the instrumental Overture, was written by all the members together, while each of the remaining songs was written by one member alone. With that, the band also wanted to show how they work, what style each member has, and what sound each one brings to the front.
After Overture, Clear continues with The Summer Jam, written by guitarist Jake Bowen. The song itself is nothing special, feeling like a kind of b-side from the creative process of the previous two albums. The next track, Feed The Ground, written by drummer Matt Halpern, seems more promising in its own way. Above all, it’s the most groovy of the lot and more rhythmically dynamic too. On top of that, the keyboards make it pretty atmospheric, which gives it a dark edge. The instrumental Zero, written by founding member Misha Mansoor, could be called the high point of this release. Despite the lack of vocals, the dynamics of the track are incredible, as is the structure, and the riffing is “broken” in his typical style, to use his words: »broken«. Zero confirms that Mansoor is still the core of this band. The fifth track, The Parade Of Ashes, written by vocalist Spencer Soltelo, is basically the most pop song on the whole release. Soltelo once again mixes his clean and harsh vocals. Plenty of people find the clean singing unfitting and too soft, but his imagination for vocal lines knows no bounds. The sixth track, Extraneous, was written by bassist Adam “Nolly” Getgood, who is a guitarist at heart. He joined the band after the second album was done, and his earlier work stood out in the English band Red Seas Fire. The instrumental Extraneous doesn’t stand out the way Zero does, but unlike Mansoor, he put the bass guitar more up front, which is yet another interesting angle from a production standpoint. Nolly is also a producer, and his contribution will be more evident on Juggernaut. The closing track, Pale Aura, written by Mark Holcomb, flirts most with melody and brutality, helped along by Matt Halpern with blast beats and fast pedals.
It makes no sense to call Clear a top-tier release, but it nails the identity of each individual member, which is an achievement in its own right. And Periphery have made the fans a little happy with it, too, while everyone waits for the big new album, Juggernaut.
Lineup
Spencer Sotelo – vocals, guitar and bass on “Feed The Ground” and “The Parade Of Ashes”
Misha Mansoor – guitar, programming, production
Jake Bowen – guitar
Mark Holcomb – guitar
Adam “Nolly” Getgood – bass guitar, guitar, programming and production on Extraneous
Matt Halpern – drums
Production
Misha Mansoor, Adam “Nolly” Getgood, Taylor Larson
Tracklist
1. Overture
2. The Summer Jam
3. Feed The Ground
4. Zero
5. The Parade Of Ashes
6. Extraneous
7. Pale Aura
