Periphery — Periphery II

New to the Century Media label is the Periphery, which hails from an unlikely source when considering progressive metal: Washington, DC. Boasting a command of their instruments (and supported by clear, rich-sounding modern production) this second eponymous work demonstrates a professional-minded band at the cusp of its first big surge in recognition.

What’s to be heard on the album? Well, Periphery takes a route that many bands have since the inception of album-oriented rock in the early seventies: namely, the “blender” or “hybrid” approach. This is an approach which seeks to replicate the successful established sounds of other bands while attempting to project a facsimile of “progressiveness” under the guise of unique and inventively disparate combinations. The result is not quite what would be intended, however, when the formula which seeks to achieve [X + Y = Z] in actuality arrives at nothing more noteworthy than [X + Y = X + Y]. In Periphery’s case, the variables consist of open B string chugging ala Meshuggah; the mock earnestness and vocal melodicism of Devin Townsend; watered-down scalar guitar sections of The Dillinger Escape Plan and a general “new school” vibe which accords with alarmingly cliché trends in the current version of “heavy” music. The sum of all these elements wrapped in a one hour album is about as unwelcome to these ears as is a bloated dead whale in your living room.

Touted by the label as combining math rock (and I am not hearing any of the trademarked dirtiness of that genre) with progressive rock (which has little to do with either the original 70s prog or the newer prog throwback sound), Periphery is damned from distinction even in their promotional blurbs. This disconnect between label and band could not be more obvious when a cursory search for more information about the band reveals their self-designated category: djent, a style of “new” metal where the previously detailed combination of elements finds its target.

Indeed, we are essentially beset by this avalanche of confusing promotional presentation, cobbled-together songwriting, hackneyed repetition and an overabundance of musical ideas in album form (brevity, anyone?). There is no doubt that Periphery will continue to be listened to, seen live, promoted and recorded. The shelf life of such listenership is at this point unknown (who knows, perhaps they could even strip down and break into mainstream music territory), but the fact remains that all style and no substance will always appear obvious and hollow to some, while noteworthy to others.