Periphery - 'II' album review

The emergence of the genre known as 'Djent' has resulted in a plethora of bands utilising what can only be described as the guitar tone of Satan himself. Periphery are undoubtedly one of the genre's forerunners and they showed this with their excellent début record that managed to capture the essence of  Djent in every track; with chugging riffs, luscious solos and polyrhythms. With their second album it is clear that Periphery wanted to capture the magic of their début (which made them stand head and shoulders above the vast majority of their peers) but to drive it forward and to give themselves a more well rounded and perhaps even unique sound. An amiable task, but, did they manage it?

 The great thing about Periphery is the sheer ease with which their music can be listened to, in terms of a progressive, technical metal band they are perhaps the most accessible and this makes for some great songs. That's right. Not just tracks that showcase the bands huge amount of talent, but songs. Well written, well performed and wholly listenable songs. Here is a band that gain great influence from the progressive metal titans Meshuggah -the band that coined the term 'Djent' - managing to craft an album that consists of songs that don't tax the brain in a way that the new Meshuggah record does (don't get me wrong though, 'Koloss' is breathtaking) but also manages to leave the listener with a feeling that they won't be able to get the full amount of satisfaction out of every song without listening to each one for a third, fourth or fifth time. A great achievement indeed.

However, don't let the fact that this is a somewhat accessible record fool you. The musicianship on this album is frankly sublime. The guitar work in particular stands out; with an abundance of riffs, solos and mind boggling grooves. It is something to behold. Furthermore, the vocals on this record are fantastic, soaring melodies and brutal growls, 'II' has it all. It is probably the vocals that separate this album from the competition, the variety is a breath of fresh air and you will have a chorus or two circling around your head after listening.

Another great thing about 'II' is the length, you get a lot of bang for your buck, 14 tracks clocking in at around the 70 minute mark. The best thing about long albums is that you can really sink your teeth into them. They provide plenty of sustenance and this is very true of this record. You will find yourself crawling inside it and not wanting to leave, every fresh listen revealing another little intricacy you didn't notice earlier.

So, yes, Periphery did achieve their aim, producing an incredible album which will unquestionably be appearing in many people's 'albums of the year' lists. A mature, unique sounding record without a bad song. Fantastic. 8.5/10