Album Review: Periphery-Periphery II

Periphery has come a long way in two years. They've ridden a wave of popularity of their debut self-titled album, toured with a wide range of acts including Protest The Hero, Fair to Midland, and Fear Factory and even became the founding fathers of an imaginary genre (djent). Two short years later and Periphery is back with their second full-length album and it's an even greater success than their first album.

Peirphery II is a logical stepping stone for Periphery. It's not too different from their older material and it won't alienate old fans of the band, but there is a substantial amount of growth in all aspects of the band. The most substantial growth occurs in the songwriting department. The groove elements and electronic/ambient sections of their sound are still very much present, but there is enhanced focus on the progressive elements. The more melodic moments makes for some of the most effective, haunting, and just plain great songs of Periphery's career. "Luck as a Constant" and "Scarlet" are beautiful, soaring progressive metal songs with stunning melodies and the best use of Spencer Sotelo's vocals to date. These songs have so much depth yet at the same time are infectious as all hell and are bound to get stuck in your head while at the same time blow you away with the stunning musicianship exhibited by the whole band.  Periphery doesn't forget their heavier side either with shorter tracks like "Face Palm Mute" and "The Gods Must Be Crazy!". No matter which side of their sound they are going for going for Periphery nails it on this record. Another huge leap-forward for Periphery is the vocal work from Spencer Sotelo. It's clear he busted his ass doing vocals for this album and his hard work pays dividends for both styles of vocals he does. His cleans are better and more refined than ever and his screams are much, much improved (They're are actually pretty fucking brutal now). Sotelo was already in the top-teir of metal vocalists, but his performance on this record shoots him up even highter on that list. He is nothing short of an incredible vocalist.

Another cool thing Periphery did on this album is invite guest guitarists to do solos on the album. This is an idea that I wish more bands would do. It brings some different styles of playing to the music and I really admire what Periphery has done here with their wide-range of excellent guitarists. Jazz-fusion guitarist Guthrie Govan ("Have A Blast"),  progressive metal icon John Petrucci (and ironically Periphery guitarist Jake Bowen's uncle) of Dream Theater ("Erised") and new Faceless gutiarist Wes Hauch ("Mile Zero") unsurprisingly deliver fantastic solos. What did surprise me is the that best solo of the bunch was from Wes Hauch. No disrespect to Govan or Petrucci, they are two of the finest guitar players of all-time, but Hauch's solo blew my fucking mind. As a huge fan of The Faceless, I am absolutely elated to see what he will bring to the band on their new album (If it ever sees the light of day). Kudos to Periphery for being the first band in a long time to have multiple guest solos on one album and I hope more bands follow suite in the future.

Periphery II is another success for Periphery. They have continued to grow and mature as a band, while keeping their sound in tact. The whole band stepped their game up and it pays off big time. This album is sure to please old Periphery fans and more than likely win them some new ones as well. This seems like an album that will continue to get better over time and there are good odds that my rating will go up in the coming months. Job well done Periphery and I'm stoked to see them again at Summer Slaughter next month.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Luck as a Constant
2.Scarlet
3.Mile Zero