ARTIST: Periphery
ALBUM TITLE: Periphery
RECORD LABEL: Sumerian Records
RELEASED: April 20th

By Justin Polak
Co-founder, Ambassador to the Mushroom Kingdom

I love the progressive genre.  From the early 70′s psychedelic based bands to the modern heavy metal ones, I am always in the mood for an epic sounding adventure.  Periphery clearly wants to throw their hat in the ring with their self-titled debut, but does it pull me like so many progressive albums I got into throughout the years?  Well, the answer is both yes and no.

I’ll start with the good news.  The album does have fast, layered guitar work, which I’ll admit I am a sucker for.  Even though the solos don’t compare to other works I have heard, by no means are they bad.  With time, I am sure I’ll appreciate them more.  The drum work is also amazing.  This is the first band in quite some time that had me focusing on percussion more so than other instruments.  I find this especially odd because a lot of their songs have a similar tempo.  Sure, it’s talented when you go all over the place with drums, but they must have done something right to hold my attention without resorting to changing it up all the time.

I also thought the electronic elements, though mainly present at the end of a few tracks, were very unique.  I certainly wasn’t prepared to hear anything like that on this album, and it caught me off guard in a good way when I first heard it.  I only wish that they incorporated it in their actual songs more instead of using them as a way to close off the last minute of a song.  It’s a shame too, because I believe Periphery could have pulled it off after giving this album a few listens.

Photo from myspace.com/periphery.

Which brings me to the bad news.  The similar tempos for most of the album may have worked for drum track, but I couldn’t stand the rhythm guitar.  Look, I love a good “jugga-jugga-ja-jugga jugga” as much as the next man, but I found it very distracting as it is present in just about every song.  Maybe it was mixed too loud for me, or maybe I couldn’t help but imagine a twenty stringed guitar set to 11.  Oh sure, that sounds awesome on paper, but it was just too damn distorted–and I love distortion!

I also can’t get behind the vocals.  I honestly tried…I really did.  I mean, I have no problem with Robert Smith’s vocals for god’s sake, but Spencer Soleto’s voice sounds too cartoonish when it reaches a low growl.  When it get’s high, it makes Cedric Bixler-Zavala of The Mars Volta fame sound tame, which I guess accomplishes something.  Be warned:  If you are anyone who absolutely can’t stand vocals that constantly switch from dirty to clean on a moments notice, then you won’t be a fan of Periphery.  I personally let it pass, but as I made clear by now, I just wish they were better.

I will say that there were a couple of moments on the album that I can’t help but mention, as I believe it shows Periphery has much room to grow, and can be a serious contender in the Progressive Metal genre.  At the end of one of the tracks midway through the album, there is a sketch that briefly talks about the band members in a mock 40′s style advertisement.  It was amusing, but not laugh out loud funny.  The reason why this is notable to me is that it shows that Periphery doesn’t take themselves seriously, which I think is key to any progressive band’s lifespan.

The other moment is the closing track “Racecar,” which is a fifteen minute monster that did a flawless job of holding my attention.  I could take or leave the other tracks on any given day depending on my mood, but I will always be ready for “Racecar.”  It has a haunting melody which sounds like a grotesque version of early Yes, believe it or not.  If “Racecar” is a sign of things to come from Periphery, then we might just have another winner on our hand.  But for now, their self-titled debut makes for an interesting listen, nothing more.

RATING: 6.5/10

Front page image from sumerianrecords.com.