Bulb, the solo project of Periphery's Misha Mansoor, will be releasing a new album called “Moderately Fast, Adequately Furious” on July 16.
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During a recent interview with Rick Beato, Periphery’s Misha Mansoor opened up about how hard it is for musicians to make a living in modern times.
Haunted Shores, the progressive metal project featuring Periphery's Mark Holcomb and Misha Mansoor have put on a new song with Devy on vocals. Okay, so it's basically Norway Jose with a different name and vocals but it still kicks ass. Listen to it below!
The guitarists from Periphery recently did a Rig Rundown with Premier Guitar. Watch it below
2012 has came and disappeared as fast it entered and there were great albums to go along with it. We’ve compiled several lists below; enjoy!
Top 10 Albums
Awakening - As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying went what they know for this record and that’s creating straight up metalcore. Circle pit riffs, crushing double bass, powerful vocals and a live experience to back it up. It’s worth noting there’s much clean vocals on this record than previous releases.
Listen to: A Greater Foundation
Get What You Give - The Ghost Inside
One of my favorite hardcore bands (despite Scott Vogel’s irrelevant opinion) in recent years, The Ghost Inside decided to change it up on Get What You Give with clean vocal choruses and some group shouts but still retaining their melodic/breakdown driven song structures
Listen to: Engine 45
The Royal Thousand - Glass Cloud
When I heard two of the members graduated from Berklee College of Music; I immediately became hooked after hearing the first single, “White Flag”. You may know the talented guitarist, Joshua Travis from his old band, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. His 8 string antics really add dynamics to a genre plagued by Hot Topic kids with swoop haircuts and V-necks. It must really suck to be Of Mice & Men right now.
Listen to: Ivy & Wine
Parkway Drive - Atlas
Australia has some of the best bands (Hands Like Houses, The Amity Affliction, I Killed The Prom Queen) and Parkway Drive are no exception. I’m truly convinced Winston McCall gargles some really fine Australian sand before he does a show because his vocals are some of the best I’ve heard.
Listen to: Old Ghost/New Regrets
Veil of Maya - Eclipse
A lot of people didn’t like this record cause they thought it was basically Periphery with Brandon Butler on vocals since Misha Mansoor co-wrote/produced this album. It’s some of their best work yet with lone guitarist Marc Okubo ripping up the fretboard. Sumeriancore at it’s best, at least until the new After The Burial comes out.
Listen to: Punisher
Whitechapel - Whitechapel
Lamb of God - Resolution
The Chariot - One Wing
Every Time I Die - Ex Lives
Periphery - Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal
Best New Band
Glass Cloud; they put out of the most impressive debuts for their respective genre.
Best Record Label
Sumerian Records; they have some of the most talented (and not so talented..) bands on their diverse roster.
Best PR/Publicist
George Vallee - Sumerian Records
PR people don’t get the recognition they deserve. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to cover shows and interview bands
Most Anticipated of 2013
Animals As Leaders
Austrian Death Machine
Born of Osiris
A Day to Remember
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Brand New
My Chemical Romance
Slipknot
___________________
The following list is from fellow contributor, Emily Bunn
Best Album: Deftones “Koi No Yokan”
The guys of Deftones did not disappoint with their follow up to 2010’s “Diamond Eyes”. “Koi No Yokan” fits right in with the sound that the Deftones made their own with “White Pony” and their self-titled. This album embodies everything I love about Deftones and I couldn’t be more happy with the album.
Best Tour: Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends 10 Year Anniversary Tour
I was only 11 years old when I first heard “You’re So Last Summer” From Tell All your Friends. This was the first album I ever bought with my own money and the first album I ever obsessed over. It’s still one of my favorite albums. To see the band perform it live from beginning to end was indescribable. The 11-year-old in me was beyond ecstatic.
Best New Band: Dead Sara
Dead Sara have had a huge year with the release of their first full length, acting as tour support for some big names, and taking part in the Vans Warped Tour over the summer. Their sound is not what you have come to expect with a female-fronted band, but it’s pure rock’n’roll.
Best Record Label: Sumerian Records
The people at Sumerian handled the Falling in Reverse/I See Stars debacle really well. They stood up for I See Stars and supported them throughout the situation and were quick to support the band’s statements on the whole issue. It’s always great when a label thoroughly supports their artists in tough situations like this.
Most Anticipated of 2013: Bring Me the Horizon
If “Shadow Moses” is anything to go by, the new BMTH album is going to be one of the best albums of 2013. Their last release leaves big shoes to fill, but from the little information the band has released about the new album it’s sure to live up to the expectations.
Song of the Year: Enter Shikari “Arguing with Thermometers"
Enter Shikari’s latest album is amazing from beginning to end, but “Arguing with Thermometers” has to be my favorite track. Not only is it a banger of a song, but the lyrics send a strong message about how corrupt our society has become and the effect we are having on our environment. The world needs more songs like this.
Artist of the Year: Pierce the Veil
Pierce the Veil played the main stage at the Vans Warped Tour, released their newest album “Collide With The Sky”, and sold out almost all of the dates on their headlining tour of the same name in 2012. They’ve proved that they are a forced to be reckoned with and they’re not going anywhere. I can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store for the quartet.
We’ll be interviewing Periphery and Veil of Maya next week; does anyone have any questions for them?
According to the above magazine ad; Periphery’s new album comes out July 3rd and will feature a guest solo from Dream Theater’s John Petrucci.
This doesn’t bode well with Spencer Sotelo though; from his Formspring:
“Bad planning on somebody’s end. We were just as surprised as anyone else when we saw that revolver had put the release date out there when no official announcement has been made.”
I’ll be honest; I used to hate Periphey because of Spencer’s vocals on their debut self-titled. After their 2011 release of the Icarus EP, I quickly changed my stance. Having a chance to catch them on their headline tour with The Human Abstract, I was blown away by Spencer’s ability to hit high notes live. The band is currently in Europe in a support slot for Dream Theater and took time to answer some questions.
Spencer:
How do you go about writing vocal melodies and hooks over such intricate progressions, timings, etc. I can imagine approaching instrumentals with lyrics to fit into them can be quite daunting. Is it just yourself writing them or do the rest of the band have a say?
For the new album, I wrote all of the vocal melodies and lyrics. ive just gotten used to the band’s sound over the past 2 years and have adapted to writing over the complexity of the music.
How do you ensure that your influences simply “influence” the writing on your albums and not affect the uniqueness of your sound? With that said, do you feel that you’ve stayed true to your own unique sound as much as possible on the last album?
Since I didn’t have much of a hand in writing the vocals for the last album due to time constraints, you can expect to hear a different approach to all the singing and screaming on this next record.
In your live performances, as soon as your start screaming or growling, you have a much harder time singing more demanding vocal parts. Eventually by the end of the set it sounds like you find it almost impossible to sing higher notes. What impact has this had on how you arrange your set list, and how you take care of your voice outside of your performance?
You may be watching videos where my voice is suffering from not having enough rest or I may have been sick. Screaming has never hindered me being able to hit higher notes.
What made you decide that you would do two records in one year as most bands would simply ride the tide on the one album?
We are starting on the next record after completing this one we are currently working on. We are not making any promises about when the second one will be out. If it is finished this year then we will release it, but we are definitely not rushing it by any means.
Misha:
State your name and profession please.
Misha Mansoor, Dark Mage
What’s your view on the whole “djent” label/genre? It’s doing really well as it has spawned a lot of bands. (even though it’s just a guitar sound)
I think that people aren’t entirely sure what it is, and neither am I. I write music the same way I always have, and if people want to call it that, then that’s fine by me. It has grouped us with a lot of really cool upcoming bands, so that’s definitely a perk, but our approach has always been progressive: do whatever you want, so long as it sounds good.
How do you build the songs for what finally makes the album? Do you come up with a story that allows you to imagine a soundtrack to it or does something you play just inspire you?
It’s just ideas that come out of nowhere, sometimes they become songs, sometimes they dont. I dont really have much control over the creative process, when it happens, it happens!
How has it been with the label for you guys? A lot of bands have been saying very positive things about the label, but some bands have also spoken negatively of it. Ash himself is very outspoken. How has it been working with Sumerian for you guys?
We work great with them. Ash and Shawn are excellent and innovative businessmen and i think Sumerian are one of the few labels who are looking at ways to work with the current music industry and getting creative with it.
Have there ever been any incidents in the studio where you felt you couldn’t work with the band? (ex. fighting over every little detail?
We all actually get along quite well in the studio, if there are issues we discuss things and find a compromise where everyone is happy.
What are your thoughts on the continual volume increases in the industry, where music has just gotten louder, or more crushed, at the expense of dynamic range?
I think that there should be no general rule about anything when it comes to music. If people want to make louder music, they should be allowed to do so, if they want to keep it soft, they can do that too. I think it’s silly to force opinions on things that are so subjective.
How was it working with Veil of Maya on their upcoming release?
They are good friends of mine and it was just like hanging out, watching movies, having a good time while making an album. The vibe was awesome and the whole thing went by so fast somehow even though we pretty much wrote the album at my place, really proud of that album!
Last question; Will we ever see a full band version of my favorite Bulb track, Heliovice? How many Bulb tracks have turned into Periphery songs?
Perhaps, the best Bulb tracks become Periphery tracks, it just has to fit the vibe and make the cut.
Protest the Hero will be touring North American with Periphery, Jeff Loomis, and The Safety Fire this March/April. The month-long run kicks off in Chicago, Iliinois on March 25 and wraps in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 22.
The dates are as follows:
Mar. 25 - Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge
Mar. 26 - Lawrence, KS - Granada
Mar. 27 - Dallas, TX - Trees
Mar. 28 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
Mar. 30 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine
Mar. 31 - Phoenix, AZ - Club Red
Apr. 01 – West Hollywood, CA - Key Club
Apr. 02 - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s
Apr. 03 - Portland, OR - The Branx
Apr. 04 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
Apr. 06 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
Apr. 07 - Denver, CO - Summit
Apr. 09 - St. Louis, MO - Pops
Apr. 10 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave II
Apr. 11 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
Apr. 12 - Columbus, OH - The Outland Ballroom
Apr. 13 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
Apr. 14 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
Apr. 16 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade
Apr. 17 - Orlando, FL - The Social
Apr. 18 - Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theater
Apr. 20 - New York, NY - Gramercy
Apr. 22 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero