Periphery’ new album, Periphery V: Djent is Not a Genre, is available now via 3DOT Recordings (listen here).
The critically-hailed collection almost didn’t happen. The band members have been forthcoming in recent interviews, sharing that the writing and recording process took far longer than any of their previous albums, and that geographic distance, largely due to the pandemic, had made writing difficult. Misha Mansoor, in an interview with Metal Injection, was candid about the experience: “There’s no point in putting out an album that we’re not proud of. And I was just not feeling good about any of this stuff. I was actually pretty demoralized probably up until halfway through. And we’d written an album’s worth of material and just nothing was really working or clicking. And I think it was largely because we weren’t all together. We were getting feedback at different times.”
“We challenged and pushed ourselves harder, and along the way we grew even closer as a band,” adds Mark Holcomb. “We are so proud of the final results! I also wanted to mention how exceedingly grateful we are to our fans for being so patient in waiting for this record.”
In the lead-up to today’s arrival of Periphery V: Djent is Not A Genre, the band has released a trio of songs, “Wildfire” (watch the video here) “Zagreus (watch the guitar playthrough here),” and most recently, the A.I.-enhanced video for “Atropos.”
“The feel of ‘Atropos’ features a push and pull between pretty/melodic and dark/chaotic sections,” explains Spencer Sotelo. “That gave me the idea to write about a person who lives, and leans into, a completely superficial lifestyle, and the destructive aftermath of what doing so brings about, not just in that person’s life, but in the world around them. I think the video captures the lyrical essence in its visuals really well, and I’m excited for everyone to enjoy it along with the song.”
The 9-song collection was produced by the band, with Adam “Nolly” Getgood contributing bass across the album. Jørgen Munkeby performs a saxophone solo on “Wildfire.”
Periphery is currently on tour with Underoath. The band have also announced a July 30 date in Manchester, U.K. at Radar Festival.
Periphery tour dates:
March 10 East Moline, IL The Rust Belt
March 11 Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Club
March 13 Grand Rapids, MI GLC Live at 20 Monroe
March 14 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
March 15 Kansas City, MO The Uptown Theater
March 17 Wichita, KS The Cotillion Ballroom
March 18 Denver, CO The Ogden Theatre
March 20 Boise, ID Revolution
March 21 Portland, OR The Roseland Theater
March 23 Wheatland, CA Hard Rock Live Sacramento
March 24 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
March 25 Las Vegas, NV Brooklyn Bowl
March 26 San Diego, CA SOMA
March 27 Tucson, AZ The Rialto Theatre
March 29 Albuquerque, NM The El Rey Theatre
March 31 Oklahoma City, OK The Diamond Ballroom
April 1 Little Rock, AR The Hall
April 2 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
July 30 Manchester, UK Radar Festival O2 Victoria Warehouse
Periphery have released six albums since 2010: Periphery (2010), Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal (2012), the two part Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega(2015), Periphery III: Select Difficulty (2016), Periphery IV: Hail Stan (2019) and Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre (2023). Over their career they have received two GRAMMY-Award nominations and have graced the covers of several magazines, including Guitar World, Revolver, Modern Drummer, and Bass Player. The band continues to explore avenues outside of their core work with Periphery, both with numerous side projects (Bulb, Haunted Shores, Four Seconds Ago, King Mothership, etc.), partnerships with various instrument companies, the creation of GetGood Drums (software libraries featuring drum and guitar packs), and an in-person camping experience with clinics (Periphery Summer Jam).
