PERIPHERY – II (This Time It’s Personal)

Ever since I heard the debut self-titled album from Periphery, I knew that the band was something special. Since day one, they have demonstrated a dedicated work ethic. And the palm-muted wonder that was their self-titled debut has a new brother simply named “Periphery : II” and that’s what we’ll give a look at right now!!!

Most listeners, in the first instance of listening, usually decide if they like Periphery or not. It seems the band that inspired the djent craze is usually in a love/hate relationship with music fans. I can tell you that on “Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal” the variation featured on the album and overall improvements may be just the thing haters need to become fans of Periphery. Their guitar leads are much more melodic and tend to stray into the territory of more melodic, progressive metal alongside wild, flamboyant solos.With Wes Hauch (The Faceless), Guthrie Govan (The Arstocrats), and John Petrucci (Dream Theater) contributing as well with their solo abilities on “Mile Zero,” “Have A Blast,” and “Erised” respectively surely this album is a great guitar freak challenge to obtain and observe. The Mixture of electronic sounds/ loops has its role and the spine of bass/drums sound so insanigly concrete and smart with time signatures and figures changing all the time but the result being flawless…As for the vocal lines (brutal or melodic) have both reach a new higher level. It sounds really nice to see them strayed from their Meshuggah-esque sound with somewhat sterile vocals, into a more melodic, progressive sound (maybe the tour as Dream Theater’s guests has a lot to do with their transformation).

“Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal “ is, without a shadow of a doubt, a great album but, although I usually don’t view length as much of an issue, clocking in at over an hour seems a bit excessive but I have to admit that this is one of the basic characteristics of successful progressive music…Long length songs…So we have to get used to it.

They may lose and gain fans in this transition, but one thing is without question: Periphery have taken their sound and not only refined it, but also experimented on a wider range of music fields. Good for them, Best for us!!!