Are they prog? Are they metal? Are they part of the now popular-to-namedrop subgenre, djent? All are fitting descriptions for Periphery, a band that appears to be set to score a commercial breakthrough with their third full-length studio effort, the double disc Juggernaut (whose discs go by the subtitles of Alpha and Omega, respectively) - released today (January 27th) via Sumerian Records. The band's bassist, Adam "Nolly" Getgood, spoke with BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato just days before the release of Juggernaut, and was up for discussing the album's storyline, favorite tracks, and his thoughts on the djent tag.

 

 

 

 

BraveWords: Was Juggernaut planned to be a double disc album from the get-to?

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "The double disc thing came about while we were in the midst of the process, really. We knew we wanted to put out a very long album - both because the concept was long and because we really wanted to approach different musical styles throughout. The further we got into the process, the more we realized it would be quite difficult to kind of digest it all in one go. But at the same time, we didn't want to split it up into two releases a few months apart, because we felt like it really required both halves to complete the narratives and to make sense as a piece of work. A double album seemed like a good way of doing that. And thankfully, our label and management were into that idea, as well. When it came around to the release, it seemed like the logical way to do it, and the side effect as well, that allowed us to expand more upon the artwork and give the fans a more complete package to go with the whole story, and really delve into the storyline behind the concept."

BraveWords: As far as the storyline, would you mind giving some hints as to what it's about?

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "We're trying to keep from giving people too complete of an idea of what the storyline is, because it's not too much up to interpretation I feel, if fans were to listen through the albums and follow the lyrics, they'd have a pretty good grasp of what's going on. In fact, online already I've seen a few people get pretty close. But essentially, it's a very dark story based around a concept of the occult, and it's very much based on the writing and TV and film that we're into as a band - thinks like Stephen King, and even the recent series, True Detective, which I know everyone in the band was a huge fan of. All of those have very dark undertones that deal with occult things and supernatural things, and we were all very intrigued by that. It gave us the opportunity to delve deep into a dark musical style. So that was the kind the direction we decided to go in."

BraveWords: Were there any albums or bands that may have inspired Periphery to go the concept/double album route?

 Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "A little bit. I know that every member of the band is massively influenced by prog bands like Dream Theater, for example, who have put out some incredible double albums - one in particular, the Metropolis series - which I know that everyone in the band was hugely influenced by and very into. But basically, any progressive band where there's the opportunity to really get into a storyline and immerse yourself in that, I think probably served as an inspiration for the band."

BraveWords: What are some of your favorite tracks?

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "I'd say the two albums have kind of different sounds to them - a little bit, it still sounds like Periphery throughout. But from the first one, I'm really a fan of some of the more upbeat songs, like 'Heavy Heart,' which has really quite a poppy almost chorus, that gets stuck in my head. It seems to go through a lot of progressions - starting out with a proggy, odd time signature thing, and then there's the really sugary chorus, that goes off into 'prog wonderland' after that. Also, from the first disc, '22 Faces' hits really hard - that's one of the older songs, as far as our writing process. It took a lot of time to nail down how we wanted it to sound. We went through countless iterations which we were unhappy with. I was just happy when we were able to find an arrangement and a sound that suited the song, because it would have been a waste if that one hadn't have ended up on the album. And then from the second album, 'The Bad Thing,' is one of my personal favorites. Funny enough, it's actually taken playing it live on this current tour that we're on, to really come to appreciate that song - for me at least, I know the rest of the band really likes that song. It took me a little while longer to warm up to it. But now that we're playing it live, and seeing the audience's reaction, that one is really speaking to me at the moment. And I thought it was really fun to go off the deep end with songs like 'Hell Below,' which is extremely low-tuned heaviness. And just looking at the fans' reactions to that song, it seems to be a favorite. And of course, the really long song on the second disc, which is 'Omega,' the title track - because that just allows us to flex our wings a little bit and really get stuck into some technical playing, and not worrying so much about the confines of traditional arrangements."

BraveWords: How has the new material been going over live?

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "I think it's been going down really well, to be honest. There's always a slightly strange period at the beginning of an album cycle, where the fans aren't necessarily too familiar with the songs, so they tend to sit back and watch a little bit more. But as I mentioned, 'The Bad Thing,' straight away, everyone seems to go really nuts about - I just think it's that jumpy tempo for audiences. But it's really cool to see them get into songs like 'The Scourge' and 'Psychosphere,' both form Alpha, which are much more 'slow burning' songs. And it's fun to play those live, as well - it's a very different king of energy coming from the stage than we've had really ever before. That's been a real fun one, and particularly really enjoyed sitting back into the groove a little bit more on those songs, and the audiences have been reacting well to it. And hopefully, they continue to do so."

BraveWords: The last album, Periphery II, peaked at #44 on the Billboard 200. Would you say you and the band have high hopes that the Juggernaut discs will serve as the band's commercial breakthrough?

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "I mean, that would be amazing if it did. But honestly, as a band, all we've ever tried to do is write music that really satisfies us musically and is what we'd like to hear. Just being able to put it out there and have some positive feedback has been really awesome. I think some of the songs have potential to maybe cross over into a more popular market, but ultimately, it's quite a dense, progressive piece of work as a whole, and I would be surprised if that puts off more 'casual listeners.' But yeah, it would be great. The band has had a very linear progress throughout its time, and if we can just maintain that kind of growth, that would be amazing, really. I don't think anyone in the band can ask for anymore more."

BraveWords: Is 'djent' a fitting description for Perphery's music, or does it rub you the wrong way.

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "It doesn't rub me the wrong way. I think as with any genre, there's good stuff and there's not-so-good stuff. Any genre, really. So there's some amazing bands that are being label djent, and it's certainly an honor to be put alongside those ones. But I would like to distance ourselves past a little bit from the more generic guys out there, just tuning really low and playing repetitive - 'chug' bands. Which seems to really be out there, and that music seems to serve its purpose - I know a lot of people are really into that. But I think if you listen to Juggernaut, it's obvious that we're going a slightly more melodically, challenging sound, than that. I'm sure that tag will continue to pervade with us, but hopefully, the fans that listen to us will hear something deeper than that."

BraveWords: What are the band's touring plans for 2015?

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "As far as I can see, I think it's going to be a very busy year for us touring. We're probably a third of a way through our current tour, which is going really well, with some interesting bands - we've got Nothing More, who put on an incredible stageshow with all sorts of contraptions that they're actually welding backstage everyday. Extremely good rock music, that seems to go down well with the audience. And we have Wovenwar, who are absolutely killing it every night, and a lot of us know those guys as having been in the band As I Lay Dying, and it's a real honor to be on tour with those guys. And then we have just a phenomenally musically talented band, called Thank You Scientist, out on the road opening for us. They're all kind of jazz musicians, and they're without a doubt the best musicians on the tour, I'd say. So that's where we're at, at the moment. Then I think there's just going to be a brief period after this tour, because we're going to go over to Europe - we're going to do a run I'm really looking forward to, with Devin Townsend, and that's also got an amazing band called Shining opening, which I've been following for quite some time now. I’m very much looking forward to that. Beyond that, I think we're going to be hitting up some US festivals in the early summer period, but there's a whole load of other plans that have not been announced, so I'd better keep it quiet before I spill the beans on something I shouldn't!"

BraveWords: Lastly, what's in store for Periphery in the future?

Adam "Nolly" Getgood: "We're always discussing little things, little ideas that we have. It's been our tradition to put out little EP's in between albums, and while we haven't gotten too far into discussing that, I know people in the band have ideas of where that might be. But to be honest, that's probably a long way off. This year I'm sure is going to go very quickly for us - with all the touring we've got. It might well be another year or so before we're getting into the writing mode again. Beyond that, we're just going to hit the road as hard as we can, and hit the music as best we can, and hopefully, it's going to go somewhere."