“Here I sit like a marionette, strings on my limbs, rope on my neck.”
It’s been almost four years since Periphery returned to the fold. The longest the Maryland progressive metalcore titans have gone without a release, there was an air of mystery as to just when the group would make their comeback. Now, in 2023 with the brilliantly titled Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre, Periphery seek to prove that not only did those years away not detract from their synergy as a unit, but instead has seen them rise to an all-time high in songwriting prowess.
Opener and debut single “Wildfire” wastes no time in establishing P5’s intent in its immediacy. So much of the record is littered with the group’s heaviest and most bombastic moments to date, and “Wildfire” exemplifies that perfectly. Explosive, aggressive, sprawling and epic – the opening moments of P5 demonstrate the album’s core ethos, in building Periphery’s wildest and widest-reaching spread to date. Its percussive verses, gargantuan chorus, and juxtapositionally smooth jazz break reminiscent of something Twelve Foot Ninja would craft all work to paint a masterful picture of what’s to come.
Third track “Wax Wings” certainly offers up a different side to the record, too. Containing one of the most encapsulating moments Periphery has ever created in its bridge, the melodic cut demonstrates early on that Periphery are just as comfortable in serenity as they are in chaos, as the record further demonstrates down the line.
An important thing to note about P5 is just how long this thing is. Despite standing at just nine tracks, much like P4, the album lands at a daunting 71 minutes. Even through this, however, Periphery seem to have refined their songwriting down to a point where, even in the album’s longest and most sprawling tracks, their individual lengths don’t feel nearly as long as they seem on paper. Penultimate track “Dracul Gras” demonstrates this, being far and away the album’s longest cut at almost 13 minutes, but creating a naturally sequencing ebb and flow throughout its runtime that keeps it feeling fresh.
Jumping back to the album’s midpoint, however, we get perhaps the most immediate cut in Periphery’s storied history in “Everything Is Fine!”. Seemingly Periphery’s take on a Dillinger Escape Plan cut, “Everything Is Fine!” is a masterful exercise in all things chaos. Frenetic riffing, punishing blasts and piercing vocals are strewn throughout this track’s absurdly dense five-minute run. Ending with far and away the heaviest breakdown in the band’s catalogue, “Everything Is Fine!” establishes its place as one of Periphery’s most electrifying cuts to date.
The album winds things back a tad with following cut “Silhouette”. The album’s ‘shortest’ track, standing at just south of five minutes, it’s a sweet, synth-tinged alt-pop cut that allows the audience a moment of reprieve following the blindsiding fury of “Everything Is Fine!”. The pulsating ‘80s synths, upbeat pads and uplifting vocals all combine to create a concoction that works absurdly well given just how far out of Periphery’s typical wheelhouse it is. For those versed in guitarist Jake Bowen’s solo work, it won’t stand as much of a sonic surprise, but it’s still a welcome change of pace for a mainline Periphery release.
Jumping ahead a couple of tracks, we find “Zagreus”. Serving as the second half to P5’s lead double-single alongside “Wildfire”, I truly do not think there could have been a better record-seller picked than this. Standing not only as P5’s strongest cut, but one of the finest in all of Periphery’s catalogue, “Zagreus” is truly something special. A ferocious, theatrical and downright epic eight-minute prog rager, the track contains almost all of Periphery’s strengths into one tight, unforgettable package. Its mellow bridge, leading to its brilliantly heavy conclusion, still gives me goosebumps even this far on from hearing it for the first time. With its closing full-band moments feeling like a “breakdown” in the truest sense of the word, as its guitars descending into perpetual chaos and the drums rage on in full force, “Zagreus” has one of the most gorgeously and fully realised conclusions I’ve heard in metalcore in some time, and one that I partially wish closed out the album as a whole.
P5 closes with “Thanks Nobuo”, and if I were to level any significant criticism at the record, it would be that by the mid-point of this sprawling 11-minute closing track, the momentum the record builds from “Everything is Fine!” onwards does come to somewhat of a halt here. That said, in isolation, “Thanks Nobuo” is a gorgeous and gargantuan track in its own right. Its sombre string-led closing minutes are unmistakably beautiful, and serve to send off P5 in glorious style. Part of me does still wish “Zagreus” closed out the record, but this is a more than serviceable, and perfectly apt way to close out such a stellar record.
If Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre proves anything, it’s that the Baltimore unit are at an absolute peak of creative synergy. With their seventh LP, Periphery have crafted a truly special, and incredibly impressive foray into the world of progressive metal, and have proven once and for all that djent is not a genre, but a lifestyle.
9.5/10
Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre releases next Friday, March 10th via the band’s own 3DOT Recordings, and you can find pre-orders for the record here.