Author Topic: The Periphery Thread  (Read 199579 times)

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Online Zantera

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1365 on: March 16, 2023, 08:53:33 AM »
This album's damn good. After the mild disappointment that was Hail Stan my expectations weren't too high for this one, but I'm pleasantly surprised that it managed to be almost as good as Periphery II and III. I think Silhouette was a swing and a miss, and Everything Is Fine! doesn't have much going for it beyond being super aggressive, but I like every other song on the album and thankfully those two are the shortest ones.

Hail Stan was a disappointment? Reptile and Satellites are top10 Periphery songs right there.

I haven't had a chance to listen to the new album yet but I am looking forward to. Will probably enjoy the first spin tomorrow to celebrate the start of the weekend. :P

Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1366 on: March 16, 2023, 09:04:49 AM »
Reptile is definitely the best song on the album, but Racecar and Omega are still their best 10+ minute epics, imo. Satellites doesn't do much for me. And apart from Garden In The Bones and Crush, neither does the rest of the record. Unless you count Juggernaut Alpha as its own album, it's the weakest Periphery album for me.
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Online Zantera

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1367 on: March 16, 2023, 09:10:35 AM »
Reptile is definitely the best song on the album, but Racecar and Omega are still their best 10+ minute epics, imo. Satellites doesn't do much for me. And apart from Garden In The Bones and Crush, neither does the rest of the record. Unless you count Juggernaut Alpha as its own album, it's the weakest Periphery album for me.

I'm with you on Racecar, that song is fantastic! I would say their discography as a whole is pretty damn consistent. When your weakest release is the Clear EP it's really not that bad. Out of the albums I would say the Juggernauts are probably bottom for me but there's some great stuff on those as well. I know some might say the debut and while Spencer has come a long way vocally since then, I feel like the songs on that album just slaps really hard. If that album had the vocal performance of later Spencer it would be even better.

Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1368 on: March 16, 2023, 09:15:13 AM »
I think the Clear EP is underrated! It's obviously less substantial than their full albums but Feed The Ground, Zero, The Parade Of Ashes, and Pale Aura are all bangers.
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Offline goo-goo

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1369 on: March 16, 2023, 09:23:05 AM »


I've often joked that Spencer's clean vocals are boy band quality. They took that to heart with Silhouette. Got to say, really not feeling that track. I have nothing against a good ballad, but I really didn't like anything about it. The synth, the electric drums or drum machine, it was all just way too much for me. I couldn't even finish the track my first time through. I bailed on it.


I think to understand that song, you need to listen to Spencer's synth stuff. I actually love this song (and his synth project). Project is called Nik Mystery. I can't remember if King Mothership also relies on synths or not (that's Spencer's solo album I believe). Haven't listened to it for a while but I'll do that right now.

https://nikmystery.bandcamp.com/

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1370 on: June 18, 2023, 06:37:42 AM »
Hello  :)

I would like to quote myself from a post I posted roughly one year ago in the Between The Buried And Me thread:

I feel like now that I know every single album by Neal Morse, Yes, Genesis, DT, Crimso, ELP, Marillion, SW & PT, Tool, IQ, BBT and many, many more, it's hard to really get to know a new artist that really blows me away. And I feel like for a few years now, weirdly, this happens roughly once every year. Last year, it was TesseracT. 2020, it was Leprous. I am absolutely in love with those bands and though have known their names for years before, I had never checked them out. BTBAM is another example for a band I have known about for years but never really checked them out - until now. It might be very early, but maybe, these guys are this year's "discovery of the year" for me  :tup

I think this is happening now with Periphery, similarly to those bands. I recently listened to Periphery V and it blew me away. I will now dive into the Periphery discography, starting tomorrow, with the debut and I'm very excited to check out some music by a new artist I am not yet familiar with!

I would love to hear some of your thoughts on their musical evolution. Some of you may know I am much more of a prog guy than a metal guy although I have come to love some heavier/rougher prog metal/djent over the last 2 years. What are everybody's thoughts on the Periphery debut? How does it compare to their newer output (f.e. Periphery V)?
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Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1371 on: June 18, 2023, 08:53:06 AM »
The debut is good but a bit unrefined compared to their later stuff. It's way more riff-oriented, and the riffs are good thankfully, but there's certainly less of an emphasis on big, catchy melodies and stuff. Spencer's voice is also a bit rough at that point, but not to the point where it really bothers me.

Periphery II is definitely where they came into their own, and it's still their best album in my opinion. It's also easily their most melodic - there's some heavy as hell songs like Ragnarok but most of the album doesn't really emphasize that heaviness as much. Their sound has stayed pretty much the same since then, though their more recent albums (especially Periphery IV) lean more into the heavier side of it.
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Offline BlackInk

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1372 on: June 19, 2023, 01:38:37 PM »
Pretty much agree with buddyhunter. The debut will always be a classic to me, and Racecar is an absolute masterpiece. But "objectively" speaking it's a bit thin, both in terms of the instrumental sounds, as well as the vocals (especially the harsh vocals). P2 is definetely a big step up in quality, although I think they peaked with the Juggernaut double-album. Maybe you'll like it as well, as I think it is their most proggy work so far.

Offline fadetoblackdude7

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1373 on: June 19, 2023, 03:51:26 PM »
I’m probably the only guy that thinks the newer albums are superior to the old ones. P3, P4 and P5 are absolutely incredible. I think the songwriting is more mature and the melodies are a lot stronger. P4 is my personal favorite album, but I think all of their albums are good.

Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1374 on: June 19, 2023, 03:56:10 PM »
I’m probably the only guy that thinks the newer albums are superior to the old ones. P3, P4 and P5 are absolutely incredible. I think the songwriting is more mature and the melodies are a lot stronger. P4 is my personal favorite album, but I think all of their albums are good.

P3 is fantastic and very close to P2 in terms of quality imo!
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Offline Metro

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1375 on: June 19, 2023, 04:17:27 PM »
They’re a band that gets better with every album. P2 was my favorite until Juggernaut. Then that was my favorite until P3. Then P3 was my favorite until P4. Etc.

Online lonestar

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1376 on: June 19, 2023, 04:34:08 PM »
I think P3 is still holding on as my favorite.

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1377 on: June 21, 2023, 11:38:14 AM »
I listened to Periphery's debut album over the last 3 days. And while there is far too much to digest to really give a verdict on this album, I would like to share some thoughts.

1. Even with Adam Getgood not yet producing/mixing/engineering, this album sounds AWESOME. I often have some problem with debut albums because the production tends to be a little amateur-/self-made-like. But here... wow. Drums are crisp (although that hihat sound is debatable, I don't mind it). If anything, it's even a little overproduced/compressed (?).

2. For a debut album, this is all really advanced and the band had already found their signature sound (from what I have heard on PV). Not to mention the technical abilities of the musicians. Those guys are tight af.

3. The vocals are different than on PV, more growling, less screaming (if that makes sense). I am excited to hear Sotelo's development over the years. I wouldn't mind a little more clean vocals because his clean voice is beautiful.

I will continue listening to this album over the next few days because I am not yet ready to move on to PII. Consider me hooked  :metal
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Offline Lonk

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1378 on: June 21, 2023, 11:57:34 AM »
PII was my discovery of the band and still a favorite of mine.
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Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1379 on: June 21, 2023, 12:05:05 PM »
My rankings:

1: II
2: III
3: Juggernaut: Omega
4: V
5: Juggernaut (combined)
6: Periphery
7: Clear
8: IV
9: Juggernaut: Alpha
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Online twosuitsluke

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1380 on: June 21, 2023, 12:16:11 PM »
I think the Clear EP is underrated! It's obviously less substantial than their full albums but Feed The Ground, Zero, The Parade Of Ashes, and Pale Aura are all bangers.

I totally agree. I think after P2 it’s actually my favourite release by the band.

I'm assuming it's a tribute to Nobuo Uematsu, (composer of the majority of the
Final Fantasy series) as I'm pretty sure Misha Mansoor is a fan.

The name is definitely referencing him, and apparently a vocal melody in the chorus is lifted from the FFVII theme (not sure what the "theme" of that game is so I don't recognize it myself).

You are dead right, and there are actually a few references in there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7HL2J_GHGU

If you scroll the comments to @matombler3009 he says the following:

There are so many nods to Final Fantasy in this it's incredible. This song means a lot to me (I discovered you guys through Misha's FF metal remixes) and I've been lucky enough to interview Uematsu so I've got genuine goosebumps listening to this. What an incredible way to end an album. Here are the nods to Final Fantasy I've noticed!

Intro guitar lead is super reminiscent of the FF VII main theme
Vocals underneath this section remind me of FF X Hymm of Faith
2:04 vocal melody is the same as the first part (five notes) of FF VII's main theme
2:23 vocal melody is the same as the second part (eight notes) of FF VII's main theme
4:00 sexy guitar pattern reminds me of the music that plays after the victory fanfare in fights for FF VII
6:27 string section + guitars are riffing around the same motif as the FF VII theme


That’s so cool. I have already listened to a lot of the FF covers Misha has done, but I might spin a few more for nostalgia's sake.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2023, 12:25:34 PM by twosuitsluke »

Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1381 on: June 23, 2023, 01:50:52 AM »
All the praise for PII makes me very excited for this album  :o still stunned by the debut though.
I guess I have to start searching their albums in vinyl now…
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Offline Fritzinger

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Re: The Periphery Thread
« Reply #1382 on: July 20, 2023, 03:57:50 AM »
I have been listening to Periphery II for the last weeks now, much to the anger of my girlfriend. I have now listened to the thing around 12-14 times.

And yes, it's more versatile, "proggy" than the debut, despite shorter song lengths. But it's not at all more accessible, the first listen was even a little disappointing for me. But after a few listens, some beautiful melodies appeared between the polyrhythmic riff attacks. There are even some reprises and callbacks from previous songs spread on the album. The performances are top notch, the production is awesome, but I guess these two things can be presumed on a Periphery album. I knew JP played a solo somewhere on the album but I didn't check on which song. I did that on purpose so I could see if I could recognize his style immediately. Turns out I can ;) Guthrie Govan's solo on Have A Blast is great as to be expected with the Govenator, but I have heard far better solos by him (Regret #9).

Great album, but it didn't hit me as much as when I heard PV for the first time. I'm looking forward to checking out what sounds like a more experimental EP, Clear. I am still hooked (for over 6 weeks now!)  :metal
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