I’ve been a fan and a big admirer of Periphery’s music since the release of Periphery II and their tour with Dream Theater. I like all their albums since then. Now year 2019, they are back with Periphery IV: Hail Stan which contains “only” 9 tracks but it still goes just over one hour.
When it comes to their music, I can only label Periphery as Progressive Metal because they do not fit a musical genre or limitation. Musically PIV is not a departure from their sound, Misha Mansoor and band follow the same direction we are now used to: Progressive Metal with Djent guitars, alternated aggressive metalcore and clean vocals, catchy melodies and moments of radio friendliness. But there are some subtle differences: The album is very dark and heavy, even the softer songs have a a dark atmosphere around them (is STAN a word play with SATAN?). The second difference is the more prominent use of electronic music and symphonic arrangements. As always, the guitarwork from the three axemen is impressive and so is the drumming. The versatility and range of singer Spencer Sotelo don’t cease to impress me e.g. “Follow Your Ghost” and “Satellites”. The bass is competent but not a highlight. Nolly laid down the bass even though he is not credited as a band member anymore.
Periphery makes music as they see fit and love and that's very clear throughout the album from their own label. One of the biggest statements of this approach is the album opener, a 16-plus-minute musical journey. It features symphonic arrangements, aggressiveness, melodic moments, and electronic samples. The one-minute meditation sound that closes this monstrous track is welcomed so that we can catch our breath. The transition is even more important because the next three songs are pure modern metal aggressiveness. The first single “Blood Eagle” featuring a fantastic guitar solo, “CHVRCH BVRNER” which is basically a hardcore (almost Dillinger Escape Plan like) song with a catchy chorus, and “Garden in the Bones”, a mid-tempo catchy song with a big chorus. There’s a softer approach with tracks such as “It’s Only Smiles” and the electronic “Crush” which breaks the album flow but without compromising the overall experience. Specially given the album last two songs: The catchy and heavy “Sentient Glow” and another long epic “Satellites” with its ups and downs.
Overall a great prog metal album from Periphery which I am sure longtime fans will dig it. There will be an occasional nose twist to a couple of tracks in the mid section, but not a big problem given the power of most of the tracks. Despite the "no compromise" approach and the elements described, I still wish the band could've shown more evolution from the previous records by taking more risks. PIV is basically more of the same. The good news is that the same continues to be very good. But this is just me being picky, I’m still rating this album high and will certainly keep spinning it for weeks to come. Let’s celebrate PIV as another achievement from this great modern metal institution.
Genre: Progressive Metal
Released by 3DOT Recordings on April 5th, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment