Toronto-based instrumental metal group Intervals have finally released their first EP, The Space Between. If you’re into the likes of Bulb/Periphery and melodic guitar oriented music like Piotrek Gruszka, then Intervals are a band to watch out for. The Space Between was mixed and mastered by Red Seas Fire‘s Adam “Nolly” Getgood, so you know you’re getting some quality sound. Stream it below and download it at Bandcamp!
- JR
I’m sure in more ways than one, too!
Just a quick one, as there’s not much to say here, and this is a few days old, but we’re old and world-weary (in a Dark Knight Returns sort of way, you understand) and there’s not a lot of other news. I guess everyone is playing that there new Batman, huh?
So Misha ran through Periphery‘s pre-show routine/set-up/whatever with the Metal Injection guys before one of their Frak The Gods tour shows, so catch that below if you’re into that sort of thing.
If you hadn’t heard, Periphery have announced Alex Bois’s replacement in Haunted Shores mastermind Mark Holcomb, which is a damn good fit we think. Good job guys!
- CG
Do you like technical and melodic guitar jams from bands like Animals as Leaders, Scale the Summit, and Bulb/Periphery, as well as projects like Piotrek Gruzka?! Well you can (and should) make an effort to add Sithu Aye to your music library this very minute.
Sithy Aye is a guitarist based out of Scotland who just recently released his debut album Cassini. It’s djenty instrumental progressive metal that offers some spectacular guitar solos and leads that don’t overcomplicate things with unneeded wank (although there’s enough room here for showing off), focusing on breathtaking melodies. Chances are, if you’re an avid reader of this site, you will absolutely enjoy this album. You can stream it above and download it for free on Bandcamp.
Let’s also throw Sithu a bone and like his Facebook page. As of this writing he still has under 200 likes. Criminal!
- JR
PARTS. PARTS EVERYWHERE. I figured I’ll probably end up making more parts to this as I have a seemingly huge list of bands that I dislike, but have one or two good songs. Thanks to Alkahest for the killer idea and DeusExMachina for further inspiring me, but I’ll spare the super long intro of how this shit originated and get straight to the chase.
Warning, though: some of the bands you find in this article may cause extreme what the fuckery.
Periphery – Racecar; Jenova Theme (Cover)
Easily the most overrated band in the djent pseudogenre. Now before any buttfrustrated fanboys backlash at me hear me out: I don’t think they’re bad by any stretch, but you have to admit they’re overrated, at least to a small degree. That said, I like the musicianship Periphery has going, but that man upfront isn’t very good in my eyes. I appreciate that he doesn’t resort to blatant autotune and other gimmicks, but his singing is poor and his screams are really stale. But in this song the combination of his voice and the musicianship is really enjoyable. The strangest thing is that I don’t even like the instrumental version of this! It’s the vocals and instruments coming together that make a really wicked song:
Okay, I know Periphery had nothing to do with this cover, but I didn’t want to make a 2nd entry for their guitarist so I’m just gonna classify them as one. Anyway, Bulb to me isn’t very special (and I think Eggeh is far better, but that’s just me being a fanboy), but oh man did he cover a really killer song from one of my favorite games, Final Fantasy 7 (inb4 weeaboo). Everything about this is fucking awesome:
The metal community at large is divided when it comes to Periphery, and the #1 grievance that I’ve been hearing lies in Spencer Sotello‘s vocal work. For some reason, a lot of people are turned off by his singing. I suppose I get it, though. The aesthetic isn’t for everyone. Personally, I love Spencer’s voice and I hold Periphery’s debut record in high regard, being on of my favorites of the year.
So, you could imagine my excitement when I heard the band are working on not only a new EP, but their second full length album.
Here’s guitarist Misha Mansoor with the skinny.
“Hey everyone, it’s been an amazing whirlwind of a year for Periphery and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon. We are currently preparing for a long tour with Darkest Hour, Veil of Maya and Revocation, which is going to be a blast and we can’t wait to get back out there to play for everyone. Also, we encourage everyone to come and meet us at our merch booth after each and every show to come and hang with us. We love hearing feedback from our fans and getting a chance to meet new people.
We also will have a fresh new, longer setlist with a BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW SONG and a few fun surprises just for this tour. We are also giving lessons on our respective instruments (a lot of days are already booked!), so please come out early to see us and jam with us. Contact us on myspace or facebook if you are interested in lessons.
I am also really happy to announce that Periphery is well into the writing process for our upcoming EP. We have tracked most of the instrumentation and vocals and are making final tweaks on everything but you guys are in for a treat. There will be some re-tweaked material, some rare material and some brand new material on it so there will be something for everyone.
We have also been working on material for our second full-length now, so that we can have as much time to refine it before we record the final product. Be sure to check our MySpace and Facebook pages regularly for our updates. Our goal with our music is to cover as much ground as possible while staying true to our sound, and hopefully evolve from previous work all at once. It’s a tall order but a fun challenge nonetheless, and we are doing our best to ensure that the new material will fulfill that goal.
We want to thank all of our fans for their love and support. We would be nowhere without you and we want to be able to meet you all and thank you in person, so be sure to come out to the shows and hang out with us. We also want to thank Darkest Hour for giving us the opportunity to be on this very special tour with them and it is such an honor for us. You guys are in for a treat. See you there.”
The evidence is piling up; 2011 will be bigger and better than 2010. BTBAM, The Faceless, Born of Osiris, Necrophagist (oh please Jesus), Protest the Hero, Devin Townsend, and Periphery are already on the horizon for next year. Someone invent the time machine already.
Here’s “Icarus Lives!” from their debut Periphery, out now on Sumerian Records. Did you know Icarus had wax wings and flew to the sun AND LIVED? It’s true! He may have had wings of wax, but he had balls of steel.
- JR
I normally don’t post anything on Saturdays, but justice doesn’t wait for business days.
Some douche that goes by “Ishi-mira” stole a Drewsif Stalin song and is pawning it off as his own, when all he did was pitch-shift the song and throw on some leads. I’m told this guy has a history of doing shit like this, apparently stealing songs from Bulb and Tre Watson. If you’re gonna throw leads over someone else’s song, the least you could do is ask for permission and give credit.
The track in question is “Perihelion”, which is actually Drewsif’s “April 22nd,” but the other one is most likely stolen as well.
You know what to do, internet.
- JR
I’m sure that most of the people who are reading Heavy Blog Is Heavy also keep tabs on The Number Of The Blog, so I’m sure everyone who cares at this point has read my Sumeriancore Sunday post on Born of Osiris‘ new three-song teaser track. So for those that don’t know, I’ll give you the short version, as I’ve said all I really had to say about this new teaser yesterday.
Born of Osiris recorded three new songs with Periphery’s Misha Mansoor producing. The new songs are shaping up to be sounding really good, with a very big and proggy sound. Everything’s better, from the vocals to the keyboards. If this is the new and improved BoO sound, then their next full length album will blow everything else they’ve done out of the water. This new EP will be amazing.
You can check out the teaser track on the band’s MySpace page. It’s on the bottom of the player, so scroll down to see it. No word just yet on the release date. I’ll be sure to fill you in when more details are revealed.
- JR
According to Born of Osiris‘ Facebook page, the band has recorded three new songs with Periphery‘s Misha Mansoor, which could possibly be released as an EP in the coming weeks.
See? I wouldn’t lie to you!
No officially announced word yet on if these songs will be released in the form of an EP or not, but I know I’m pretty excited about the idea of Born of Osiris working with Misha; he’s a good producer and maybe BoO working with someone other than The Faceless‘ Michael Keene would help keep things fresh. [Seems that Chris "Zeuss" Harris handled production duties on A Higher Place. My mistake.] Last year’s A Higher Place was a pretty solid album, and I’d like to assume they’ve gotten better since then.
More word on the new music when it comes in, but I’m already looking forward to this.
After the jump, you can see their video for their song “Now Arise,” which is off the aforementioned A Higher Place, out now on Sumerian Records.
- JR
Chances are, he has more talent at 17 than you do at 25.
I love this era of “do it yourself” metal. Anyone with passion and drive can create an album and put it online for the masses to digest. Sure, you get a lot of amateurish shit, but we tend to weed through and pick out the gems. Metal, in particular, is getting a great surge of sound in the home-spun “djent” department, what with Cloudkicker, Keith Merrow, Bulb/Periphery, Chimp Spanner, Tre Watson (whose album you can pick up here at HBIH), and the like.
In that regard, I got an email from one Andrew Reynolds (not the pro skater) concerning his one-man project Drewsif Stalin’s Musical Endeavors. Andrews a young gun, recently turning 17 in April. His music fits right in alongside in the djent sound, but in the same vein as Cloudkicker, Andrew throws in a twist of atmospheric post-rock and shoegaze from time to time, particularly on his EP, A Particularly Beautiful Day. He also has a full length album called An Insomniac’s Narrative, which features vocals on some tracks!
Just like the norm in this DIY genre, this shit’s free. Get your double-take of free music, courtesy of Drewsif Stalin’s Musical Endeavors. This may very well be my favorite music submission we’ve gotten so far. Thanks, Andrew!
- JR
After waiting for a couple of years, rotating band members, and extensive touring, it’s finally here. Periphery‘s debut album Periphery is out. But was it worth all the wait and anticipation?
You bet your tits it was.
If you’re some jerk who is not familiar with Periphery, they combine the groove and complex math metal riffs of Meshuggah with soaring vocal melodies and beautiful ambient guitar work. This mending of styles works wonderfully. How’s about we combine the musical stylings of Meshuggah and Cynic together and give them an ambitious and passionate singer? You’re in for a treat.
