Periphery
Periphery IV: HAIL STAN – 3DOT Recordings
There’s no point faffing around writing an intro to this review. A simple sentence isn’t gonna be enough to convey the skill, power and full-on ferocity. Plus, Periphery have penned a 16-minute epic to open up proceedings, so they win at this intro thing anyway. Seriously – ‘Reptile’ starts with strings, then slams hard with layers of sound spiralling out but perfectly controlled. It towers menacingly above the eight tracks that are still to come. This is just the start of it people! Spencer Sotelo’s vocals tear the meat from the bones of soul-shaking ‘Blood Eagle’. Guitars chop mercilessly through ‘CHVRCH BVRNER’. When this drops live, it is written by the prog. alt. metal gods the pit shall unite as one. The pace eases (slightly – don’t panic) on ‘Garden In The Bones’, while Periphery’s penetrating passion remains at fever pitch. Melodic ‘It’s Only Smiles’ and ‘Crush’ make you wonder ‘is this the same band?’ Each track leads deeper into a labyrinth of howling, growling, melodic, demonic, chilled, possessed music. Every killer song holds its own alone. But together they are stronger. ‘Periphery IV: HAIL STAN’ is unstoppable.
Review by Jo Wright