Periphery - Topic

The process of innovation doesn’t sit still or sleep. Instead, it relies on constant motion. In 2015, Periphery landed two albums in the Top 20 of Billboard’s Top 200 chart as Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega respectively bowed at #15 and #16 during the same week. Meanwhile, the intertwined conceptual epic garnered praise from Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Outburn, and more. Only months after the release, the Washington, D.C. progressive metal disruptors—Misha Mansoor [guitars, programming], Jake Bowen [guitar, programming, backing vocals], Matt Halpern [drums], Spencer Sotelo [lead vocals], Mark Holcomb [guitars], and Adam “Nolly” Getgood [studio bass, guitars, programming]—collectively decided to start creating what would become their 2016 full-length, Periphery III: Select Difficulty [Sumerian Records]. “We ended up with a bit of downtime, so we wrote,” explains Misha. “We’re always working on ideas, and you want to bring them to life when you can. We saw a window of opportunity where we had a little bit of space in the schedule, and we thought, ‘Let’s get to work on new music.’ Juggernaut was so long and comparatively stressful. It took six months. Initially, we decided to try and make an EP. Everybody was down with that. With this fresh start, we were all hooked. This was our first stress-free experience. The time crunch actually helped it become the most cohesive too. It all turned into Periphery III.” “We write what we feel,” adds Jake. “It came together very naturally. Normally, we stick to the cycle of put out an album, tour for a year, and then record another album. This time, we felt an itch and just kept moving forward.” Forward progression defines Periphery’s trajectory. Since the release of 2010’s self-titled debut, the band has covered magazines such as Guitar World, Revolver, Modern Drummer, and Bass Player. Boasting a relentless touring ethic, they’ve packed venues on bills with everyone from Deftones and Dream Theater to Between The Buried and Me. In addition to performing at festivals such as Rock on the Range, Chicago Open Air, Download, and more, the musicians lead their own summer camp: the Periphery Summer Jam. Going into their latest offering, the boys would continue to embrace that evolutionary spirit. Expanding the sonic palette, Misha bought a Moog synthesizer and incorporated it into the framework of the album. He also drew from orchestral libraries to infuse a cinematic scope. “I wanted to get the hang of synth