Periphery (band)
Encyclopedia
Periphery is an American metal band from Bethesda, Maryland
(by way of Baltimore, Maryland), formed in 2005.
account, Meshuggah
and John Petrucci
forums, and the sevenstring.org message boards. Before and during Periphery's tenure in the metal scene, Mansoor developed a reputation for doing his own audio production, the majority of which was performed with a home computer and a Pod XT
during this period. Mansoor has continued to update his personal project, Bulb, which preceded Periphery, often transferring songs between the two projects. Mansoor continues to be involved in a number of other musical projects, including Haunted Shores, and Of Man Not of Machine.
Between 2005 and 2009, Periphery worked with vocalists Jake Veredika, Casey Sabol and Chris Barretto, gradually moving from a Meshuggah
-influenced sound to a more ambient, melodic sound, with a focus on innovative production.
Periphery has toured extensively since 2008, supporting artists including DevilDriver
, Veil of Maya
, Animals as Leaders
, God Forbid
, Darkest Hour, The Dillinger Escape Plan
, Fear Factory
, Between the Buried and Me
, and Fair to Midland
.
in the United States, Distort Records in Canada and Roadrunner Records
in Australia and the rest of the world. On January 20, 2010, amid speculation that they had changed vocalists again, Periphery uploaded an album sampler featuring vocals by Spencer Sotelo, a San Diego native who was later announced to be Periphery's new vocalist. On April 8, 2010, Periphery posted a new track, "Insomnia", on their Myspace page and announced a tour of Australia in support of The Dillinger Escape Plan
.
Periphery released their self-titled debut album, Periphery
, through Sumerian Records on April 20, 2010. It debuted at #128 on the Billboard Top 200, as well as #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
After the release of the album, Periphery played multiple tours around the US and Canada; a short tour of Australia along with The Dillinger Escape Plan
, and a headlining tour of the UK and mainland Europe in February 2011. The band's first headlining tour, “League Of Extraordinary Djentlemen Tour”, featured support from TesseracT
and Monuments in the UK, while their mainland European shows included Monuments and The Safety Fire. The band ran into multiple health issues during the tour, of which Spencer Sotelo had a case of Bronchitis
and was regularly unable to perform the entire set. Jake Bowen also fell, breaking one of his fingers, in the first week of the UK tour and was unable to play for the rest of their headlining tour. He recovered and joined the band during the last couple of shows on their tour with Fair to Midland
and Scale the Summit
right before they dropped out of the tour.
On March 22, Periphery released a cover of Metallica
's song "One
", which was recorded for the Homefront
video game soundtrack. The song was released as a free download on the Homefront main website, as were other covers by The Dillinger Escape Plan
, As I Lay Dying
, Veil of Maya, and many others.
. The video features a re-recorded and re-structured version of the song, which was released on The Icarus EP. Periphery's first single from their "Icarus EP" titled "Frak the Gods" was released March 24. The song, production quality, and Spencer's improved vocal abilities received acclaim from both fans and music critics alike.
Periphery is currently in the studio working on their next two-part full-length release. The band stated via their Facebook
page that they will be releasing two full length albums. They will contain a mixture of reworked "Bulb" demos as well as completely new material written by the full band (in contrast to their debut album, where Misha had most of the creative input). The upcoming releases will also be the first to feature more prominent backing vocals from bassist Tom Murphy as well as the use of string arrangements and orchestral elements. The album will be produced by Misha and Adam "Nolly" Getgood (of British progressive metal
band Red Seas Fire) and will be engineered and mixed by Taylor Larson (Sky Eats Airplane
, Of Legends, Life on Repeat). The first of the two which will be entitled "Juggernaut" will be a concept album
, and is planned to be released around May 2012. The title of the second album has yet to be revealed, but unlike the first release, it will not follow a conceptual theme.
On July 6, 2011, Periphery announced via a MySpace blog post that the band had parted ways with guitarist Alex Bois. However, they will not be changing touring schedules, stating that they are hiring Mark Holcomb and Adam "Nolly" Getgood, to play Alex's parts during live shows until they can find a permanent replacement.
During their set at the Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, UK, the band played a brand new song. This song, entitled "Face Palm Mute", is set to appear on their next album. When Tom Murphy and Matt Halpern were interviewed before Periphery's set they stated that the band have enough material to write 3 new albums.
In July 2011, Mansoor elaborated on the forthcoming albums in Australian magazine Mixdown. He confirmed that there would be two albums recorded, and that one would be a concept album. Mansoor has had interest in a concept album for quite some time, stating that "[he] wanted to to get this concept album out there. It's been an idea for years and years." Mansoor also revealed that the band would release the albums separately, saying "[they]'ll probably do a staggered release, three to six months apart" and that "[he] really want[s] them to be these separate bodies of work, because they will sound different, and be completely different approaches, too."
On 7 September 2011, they were announced as the opening act for Dream Theater
on their European Leg of A Dramatic Turn of Events Tour
starting in January 2012.
On October 18, 2011, the band announced that Mark Holcomb (of Haunted Shores) is officially in the band as 3rd guitar player.
On November 16, 2011, bassist Tom Murphy decided to leave the band. The band released this official statement:
"We have some sad news to announce, unfortunately Tom Murphy has decided to leave the band:
'I'm sorry to announce that as of today I will no longer be playing bass for Periphery. I have had so many unforgettable experiences and have met so many wonderful people while playing with the band and just want to say thank you to all the fans for making that possible. I am leaving to pursue something new. If you are interested following up with me, feel free to add my personal page at facebook.com/tom.h.murphy.
-Tom'
We're very saddened by this but wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. Fortunately this will not effect our upcoming touring plans as Nolly [Getgood from Red Seas Fire] from will be filling in on bass and Mark Holcomb will take up his position as full-time guitarist."
Session
Former
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
(by way of Baltimore, Maryland), formed in 2005.
Formation and lineup changes (2005–2009)
Periphery was formed by guitarist Misha Mansoor in 2005. He slowly gained a reputation on the internet, primarily via a regularly updated SoundclickSoundClick
SoundClick is a music-based social community. It offers bands, artists, and music labels a platform for self-promotion. Songs can be streamed, downloaded in MP3 format, sold through the store, or licensed to others. SoundClick compiles daily charts for various genres, based on how many times a...
account, Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
and John Petrucci
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Along with his former bandmate Mike Portnoy, he has produced all Dream Theater albums since their 1999 release, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory...
forums, and the sevenstring.org message boards. Before and during Periphery's tenure in the metal scene, Mansoor developed a reputation for doing his own audio production, the majority of which was performed with a home computer and a Pod XT
Pod (amp modeler)
Pod is a series of digital guitar amplifier modelers from Line 6. Pods are designed to digitally simulate amplifiers. Most Pods also include cabinet models, and all Pods include effects models. All Pod variants include headphone ports and recording ports, and can be used to feed a signal into an...
during this period. Mansoor has continued to update his personal project, Bulb, which preceded Periphery, often transferring songs between the two projects. Mansoor continues to be involved in a number of other musical projects, including Haunted Shores, and Of Man Not of Machine.
Between 2005 and 2009, Periphery worked with vocalists Jake Veredika, Casey Sabol and Chris Barretto, gradually moving from a Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
-influenced sound to a more ambient, melodic sound, with a focus on innovative production.
Periphery has toured extensively since 2008, supporting artists including DevilDriver
DevilDriver
DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002. The band was originally named Deathride, however, due to copyright issues and the name being taken by several bands, Deathride changed its name to DevilDriver, which refers to bells Italian witches used to...
, Veil of Maya
Veil of Maya (band)
Veil of Maya is an American deathcore band, formed in Oak Park, Illinois in 2004. They are currently signed with Sumerian Records. They have recorded and released three full-length albums, All Things Set Aside , The Common Man's Collapse and [id], released through Sumerian Records...
, Animals as Leaders
Animals as Leaders
Animals as Leaders is an American, Washington, D.C.–based instrumental progressive metal band, formed by guitarist Tosin Abasi in 2007 which now includes guitarist Javier Reyes and drummer Navene Koperweis. The self-titled debut album was released in April 2009 by Prosthetic Records...
, God Forbid
God Forbid
God Forbid is an American heavy metal band formed in 1996 in East Brunswick, New Jersey.-Biography:Building up a following in the late 1990s by touring with bands such as GWAR, Nile, Cradle of Filth and Candiria, God Forbid's first full album Reject the Sickness was released by 9 Volt Records in 1999...
, Darkest Hour, The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
, Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
, Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me
Between the Buried and Me is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. They have released a total of five studio albums, as well as a cover album, an EP and a live DVD/CD...
, and Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland is an American progressive metal band that formed in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas. They are currently signed to E1 Music. According to the band's official website, their name comes from "...an old Texan play on the term 'fair to middling'." The band produced two self-released...
.
Spencer Sotelo and self-titled debut (2010–2011)
In January 2010, Sumerian and Periphery announced April 20 as the release date of the band's self-titled debut album, to be distributed by Sumerian RecordsSumerian Records
Sumerian Records is an American independent record label based in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. The label was founded in 2006 by Ash Avildsen, who is also a booking agent, and is managed by Shawn Keith. Fellsilent became the first non-US band to be signed to the label, in 2008. The label made a...
in the United States, Distort Records in Canada and Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
in Australia and the rest of the world. On January 20, 2010, amid speculation that they had changed vocalists again, Periphery uploaded an album sampler featuring vocals by Spencer Sotelo, a San Diego native who was later announced to be Periphery's new vocalist. On April 8, 2010, Periphery posted a new track, "Insomnia", on their Myspace page and announced a tour of Australia in support of The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
.
Periphery released their self-titled debut album, Periphery
Periphery (album)
Periphery is the debut studio album by American djent band Periphery, signed by Sumerian Records and released on April 20, 2010. Many songs on the track list had been written long before the release date but due to vocalist complications the debut album had been postponed on several occasions...
, through Sumerian Records on April 20, 2010. It debuted at #128 on the Billboard Top 200, as well as #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
After the release of the album, Periphery played multiple tours around the US and Canada; a short tour of Australia along with The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
, and a headlining tour of the UK and mainland Europe in February 2011. The band's first headlining tour, “League Of Extraordinary Djentlemen Tour”, featured support from TesseracT
TesseracT (band)
TesseracT are a British progressive metal band formed in 2003. They are currently signed to Century Media Records.-History:Tesseract started out back in 2003 as a personal side project, to Fellsilent, in the then-teenage Acle Kahney's bedroom...
and Monuments in the UK, while their mainland European shows included Monuments and The Safety Fire. The band ran into multiple health issues during the tour, of which Spencer Sotelo had a case of Bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
and was regularly unable to perform the entire set. Jake Bowen also fell, breaking one of his fingers, in the first week of the UK tour and was unable to play for the rest of their headlining tour. He recovered and joined the band during the last couple of shows on their tour with Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland is an American progressive metal band that formed in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas. They are currently signed to E1 Music. According to the band's official website, their name comes from "...an old Texan play on the term 'fair to middling'." The band produced two self-released...
and Scale the Summit
Scale the Summit
Scale the Summit is an American instrumental metal band based out of Houston, Texas. It formed in 2004 and signed to Prosthetic Records.The band draws influences from other progressive acts such as Cynic and Dream Theater. However, unlike most other progressive metal bands, they have no vocalist...
right before they dropped out of the tour.
On March 22, Periphery released a cover of Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's song "One
One (Metallica song)
"One" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the third and final single from their fourth album ...And Justice for All. "One" was also the band's first Top 40 hit single, reaching number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100...
", which was recorded for the Homefront
Homefront (video game)
Homefront is a first-person shooter video game developed by now defunct Kaos Studios and published by THQ, in which players play as members of a resistance movement fighting against a near-future Korean military occupation of the United States. The story was written by John Milius, who co-wrote...
video game soundtrack. The song was released as a free download on the Homefront main website, as were other covers by The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
, As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying (band)
As I Lay Dying is an American metalcore band from San Diego, California. Founded in 2000 by Tim Lambesis and having completed their first Line-up in 2001, the band consists of vocalist Tim Lambesis, drummer Jordan Mancino, lead guitarist Nick Hipa, rhythm guitarist Phil Sgrosso, and bassist Josh...
, Veil of Maya, and many others.
Icarus EP, the departure of members and Double Album(2011-present)
On January 19, 2011 the music video for "Jetpacks Was Yes!" was posted exclusively on NMENME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
. The video features a re-recorded and re-structured version of the song, which was released on The Icarus EP. Periphery's first single from their "Icarus EP" titled "Frak the Gods" was released March 24. The song, production quality, and Spencer's improved vocal abilities received acclaim from both fans and music critics alike.
Periphery is currently in the studio working on their next two-part full-length release. The band stated via their Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page that they will be releasing two full length albums. They will contain a mixture of reworked "Bulb" demos as well as completely new material written by the full band (in contrast to their debut album, where Misha had most of the creative input). The upcoming releases will also be the first to feature more prominent backing vocals from bassist Tom Murphy as well as the use of string arrangements and orchestral elements. The album will be produced by Misha and Adam "Nolly" Getgood (of British progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Red Seas Fire) and will be engineered and mixed by Taylor Larson (Sky Eats Airplane
Sky Eats Airplane
Sky Eats Airplane was an American electronic post-hardcore band, formed in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2005. The band was signed to indie label Equal Vision Records and most recently released their self-titled full-length album through the label in July 2008....
, Of Legends, Life on Repeat). The first of the two which will be entitled "Juggernaut" will be a concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, and is planned to be released around May 2012. The title of the second album has yet to be revealed, but unlike the first release, it will not follow a conceptual theme.
On July 6, 2011, Periphery announced via a MySpace blog post that the band had parted ways with guitarist Alex Bois. However, they will not be changing touring schedules, stating that they are hiring Mark Holcomb and Adam "Nolly" Getgood, to play Alex's parts during live shows until they can find a permanent replacement.
During their set at the Sonisphere festival in Knebworth, UK, the band played a brand new song. This song, entitled "Face Palm Mute", is set to appear on their next album. When Tom Murphy and Matt Halpern were interviewed before Periphery's set they stated that the band have enough material to write 3 new albums.
In July 2011, Mansoor elaborated on the forthcoming albums in Australian magazine Mixdown. He confirmed that there would be two albums recorded, and that one would be a concept album. Mansoor has had interest in a concept album for quite some time, stating that "[he] wanted to to get this concept album out there. It's been an idea for years and years." Mansoor also revealed that the band would release the albums separately, saying "[they]'ll probably do a staggered release, three to six months apart" and that "[he] really want[s] them to be these separate bodies of work, because they will sound different, and be completely different approaches, too."
On 7 September 2011, they were announced as the opening act for Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
on their European Leg of A Dramatic Turn of Events Tour
A Dramatic Turn of Events Tour
A Dramatic Turn of Events Tour, also colloquially referred to as A Dramatic Tour Of Events, is a current tour by the progressive metal band Dream Theater promoting their 11th studio album of the same name. It's their first tour with new drummer Mike Mangini, who replaced Mike Portnoy after his...
starting in January 2012.
On October 18, 2011, the band announced that Mark Holcomb (of Haunted Shores) is officially in the band as 3rd guitar player.
On November 16, 2011, bassist Tom Murphy decided to leave the band. The band released this official statement:
"We have some sad news to announce, unfortunately Tom Murphy has decided to leave the band:
'I'm sorry to announce that as of today I will no longer be playing bass for Periphery. I have had so many unforgettable experiences and have met so many wonderful people while playing with the band and just want to say thank you to all the fans for making that possible. I am leaving to pursue something new. If you are interested following up with me, feel free to add my personal page at facebook.com/tom.h.murphy.
-Tom'
We're very saddened by this but wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. Fortunately this will not effect our upcoming touring plans as Nolly [Getgood from Red Seas Fire] from will be filling in on bass and Mark Holcomb will take up his position as full-time guitarist."
Equipment
In an interview with Mixdown magazine, Misha Mansoor discussed the band's live sound; "I think the tone quest ended for us with the Axe-FX. We now go direct. We don't use amps any more, we don't use cabs, we don't use pedals. We just have an Axe-FX and a Fractal MFC foot controller...and we just go directly into the board with that," says Mansoor. In terms of guitars, Mansoor uses a variety, despite having a number of endorsements. Mansoor plays Bernie Rico Jr, Mayones guitars, Blackmachine, Jackson, Ernie Ball, Ibanez, Decibel and Daemoness guitars.Studio albums
- PeripheryPeriphery (album)Periphery is the debut studio album by American djent band Periphery, signed by Sumerian Records and released on April 20, 2010. Many songs on the track list had been written long before the release date but due to vocalist complications the debut album had been postponed on several occasions...
(2010) - Periphery II: This Time It's Personal (2012)
- Juggernaut (2012)
Band members
Current- Misha "Bulb" Mansoor — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
(since 2005) - Jake Bowen — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s (since 2007) - Matt Halpern — drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion (since 2009) - Spencer Sotelo — lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
(since 2010) - Mark Holcomb — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s (since 2011)
Session
- Adam "Nolly" Getgood (Red Seas Fire) - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, productionProductionProduction may be:In Economics:* Production * Outline of industrial organization, the act of making products * Production, the act of manufacturing goods* Production as statistic, gross domestic product...
(since 2005) - John Browne (Monuments) - live guitars (UK tour 2011)
Former
- Jake Veredika — lead vocals (2005–2007)
- Casey Sabol — lead vocals (2007–2008)
- Chris Barretto — lead vocals (2008–2010)
- Travis OrbinSky Eats AirplaneSky Eats Airplane was an American electronic post-hardcore band, formed in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2005. The band was signed to indie label Equal Vision Records and most recently released their self-titled full-length album through the label in July 2008....
— drums (2005–2009) - Alex Bois — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, backing vocals (2005–2011) - Tom Murphy — bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals (2005-2011)