Periphery - Periphery IV: Hail Stan (2019)

As a prog lover, Periphery should be right at my wheel house, but it is something with their complicated djenty style that just does not sit well with me. The guys are talented and all, but the connection between them and me have never fully clicked, probably because they have been so odd in their behaviour. Just look at this album title for example, despite it being called "Periphery IV: Hail Stan", this is actually album number 6 for the band, so they are not that great at counting. Also, who the hell is this Stan they are hailing? Is it the late Stan Lee? The even later Stanley Kubrick? Or perhaps it is that weird little puff ball hat wearing kid from Colorado, Stan Marsh? Who knows, who cares.

Anyway, the band starts off with a real knockout punch in "Reptile", as in half of the people who listen to this record are gonna fall off because Periphery starts with a close to 17 minute monster. It is a bold start that sort of acts as a microcosm of what the band is, putting in everything from heavy breakdowns, melodic singing, technical passages, and U-turn tempo switches. It is a tough barrier to get through with tons of information to take in, but it is one worth busting your head over and over for.

The rest of the tracks (except the final one "Satellites") range between a more comfortable 4-6 minutes, but be sure that you brain and ears will not get much rest for that. "Blood Eagle" has this great Gojira vibe to it, chugging along like a melodic jackhammer, while "CHVRCH BVRNER" (a pretty metal song title if I say so myself) is a bundle of chaos, much like the kind that The Dillinger Escape Plan used to cook up when they were active. We also got the more leaner side of the band in a bunch of other songs, making "...Hail Stan" a fairly versatile record with both salt and sweet tastes in it.

The album does lose some momentum somewhere in the middle though, where the song writing is not coming to fruition. "It's Only Smiles" has that ominous feeling of being a cheesy teenage ballad, which is not exactly a good sign for a metal band. Even singer Spencer Sotelo (who is otherwise excellent in this record) seems juvenile here. Then we have "Crush" that uses a lot of electronical sounds, and it takes away all of the focus from the track. To put it lightly, it is an experiment that just fizzled out. The down period ends with "Sentient Glow", who tries to pick up some speed again, but does so with some really questionable vocal lines, thereby ending up half stalling.

The end of the record is saved though with "Satellites", a nice, soothing ending that ultimately leaves me with mostly the same feelings as I usually have with a Periphery record. "...Hail Stan" obviously has a lot of technical qualities, and some of the music in here is great and imaginative, but the consistency is still not there, having tracks that fumbles when the band is seemingly charging down the field. I still highly enjoy "... Hail Stan" as a fun brain exercise, the band surely knows how to keep the interest of the listener while showing their skills without shoving it to your face. I would give this album a higher rating, but I will not, because each time the record reaches its end, it tells me to suck its balls. So rude.

Songs worthy of recognition: Reptile, CHVRCH BVRNER, Satellites

Rating: 7,5/10 Sentient Glows

http://www.periphery.net/
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Periphery III: Select Difficulty