‘Tradition of submission starting from the womb’.
Today my friends I’ve got the latest album from the fantastical, multi-layered, futuristic even, Periphery, always ahead of the game, not looking back for a second. Now you’ll all be aware of the continuing debate about ‘Djent’ it is a topic that is avidly discussed, difficult to compartmentalise, I suppose it has come to the stage that we all agree to disagree. Periphery like to dabble; they research all the different facets in music, the history, the development, the ins and outs and whys and wherefores, they then apply this knowledge to their already keen songwriting and composing skills.
We dip into Greek mythology with ‘Atropos’ one of the three sisters that comprise The Fates, Clotho, who weaves the threads of human life, Lachesis who is ‘the allotter’ deciding how much time we all get on this earth and Atropos, the third sister who decides with her ‘Abhorrent Scissors’ when to end it all and cut our thread. The video reminds me of the graphics in the work of Oranssi Pazuzu, exciting, cutting and having an element of Cubism with the boldness and abstract effects.
Holding all the aces they come charging at you with intricate musicianship, hearts on their sleeves, unflinching, steadfast in their attitude and eyes on the prize. Sharpening their talons and injecting a fresher, brighter appeal into this era of modern music. ‘Wax Wings’ enters the arena with the words ‘the surgery of mending pieces is hanging over me’ articulate and brazen in the awareness and thought process behind the writing. I really love all the mythological references, they give the album a story within a story, securing links with a time gone by and effectively securing a dominion in the present day. The dulcet tones of ‘Silhouette’ and ‘Dying Star’ are a rekindling, whispering their affirmation into the listener.
Periphery are Misha Mansoor- guitar/programming, Jake Bowen- guitar/programming, Spencer Sotelo – vocals, Mark Holcomb- guitar and Matt Halpern on drums all pulling together to create an exquisite mix of hooks, chord changes, grooves, and multidimensional interaction, with connectors and junctions, weaving a musical landscape that is exciting, exhilarating and fun to listen to.
There is an intelligence that is much more complex, an aggressive aspect in the heaviness of the delivery, but it is all pure, unadulterated, with no artificial additives. The vampiric ‘Dracul Gras’ invites you to ‘open your veins’ as you succumb to the -ahem- delights of this nightly demon. Despite the grotesqueness of the subject matter, there is a magical, child-like fascination in the last 2.21 minutes with a composition that escorts you away from the ugliness.
You need to be in this for the long haul to appreciate the work that has gone into producing the album, with some lengthy tracks, sit down with drinks and snacks I’d say, this is life changing stuff right here.
It’s Djent Jim, but not as we know it.
Azra Pathan
Periphery – Djent Is Not A Genre out now