Album Rating: 3.5

Record is a mess without any real highlights in my opinion. It does indeed sounds a bit like a 'stripped back' Periphery, but for me that means they do away with the fun riffs, over-the-top choruses or interesting atmospheres they can build. It's annoying how they do not build on the relatively simple songs they try to write, but always need to put in out of place chuggy heaviness. Title track is probably the best thing on here...



Unlocking sounds like a Leprous cover, or at least, it would sound good as a Leprous song.

Album Rating: 4.5

Don't get some of the hate Blackwall gets, I think its a phenomenal track lmao

after three listens... talk, mr god, everyone dies alone are the only real keepers. additionally, t/t is a nice closer and blackwall is easily their best attempt at these pop tracks. malevolent would be money if not for the kinda awful hook.

the rest is kinda ranging from boring to unlistenable to me. some of those songs have cool individual parts but don't come together all that well. feeling a lot of forced-heaviness here, even on the tracks i like. heaven on high is prob the clearest example, the breakdown is way over the top for what the rest of that song is.

in terms of their regular full length songs, idk what my answer would've been before this album but unlocking is pretty definitively their worst song to me now. i respect spencer for trying a lot of new things on this album, but these vocals were a huge miss for me... and hate saying that after p5 where everyone finally decided to give spencer his flowers.

Album Rating: 3.5

"some of those songs have cool individual parts but don't come together all that well."



this was p5 to me lol

Album Rating: 3.5

inb4 Tundra changes his rating to a 5

I think this album is very divisive which is understandable. I’ve found it to be quite the grower. It went from a 3.5 to a 4 for me (so far) which felt like a huge disappointment initially after PV, which is my favorite Periphery album personally and the band at their most maximalist. So I kinda naturally recoiled imagining them trying to cut the fat but I think it’s been done rather tastefully here. That said, I think a compromise could be found to slip one or two 6+ songs on the next one and hit somewhere in the 50 minute mark to please everyone.

Album Rating: 1.5 | Sound Off

This is what happens when they decide to tour with Spiritbox, we get a Spiritbox jr. Thanks Matt.

Album Rating: 3.5

I was pretty indifferent on this first listen, but its definitely growing on me.



Talk is one of their best songs period

Album Rating: 2.5

First listen was very boring but band is doing nothing to me since PII so I'm not surprised

Album Rating: 1.0 | Sound Off

"inb4 Tundra changes his rating to a 5"

totally

Album Rating: 3.7

Awesome review Futures bro!!!

Trash band. Rare Tundra W

Album Rating: 3.0

Halfway through and the biggest change to my ears is Spencer. That lower register, slightly crooning voice, it feels like listening to Spandau Ballet at times. I don't mind it at all but I almost thought they had hired a guest singer at first

Album Rating: 1.5 | Sound Off

They keep saying this is a stripped back, cutting the fat, straight to the point Periphery album… I just don’t see it. When I hear that, I think of tracks like Passenger, Frak The Gods, Captain On or Icarus Lives. Those are straight to the point Periphery tracks. No orchestra bs, no bloated run times, etc.

"this was p5 to me lol"

been comparing/contrasting and besides wildfire and nobou which are very obv stitched together (the former still a banger nonetheless), i don't really feel this at all on the rest of p5. even those lesser middle third tracks have pretty coherent (if boring) songwriting.

the songs on this album have way more of a stop/start quality to them, way more overly heavy parts in otherwise not heavy songs, glossy electropop verses in otherwise regular periphery songs. these songs somehow feel even messier despite the track lengths being cut in half. in these ways i guess it does kinda harken back to the p2 days a bit but those songs felt so much greater in scope and ambition compared to this.

Album Rating: 3.5

I think PV reminds me most of PII... Agreed that they have a big stop/start quality to them.

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

Band is forever doomed to be compared to P1 and II lol

Album Rating: 3.5

I mean, this record is probably their most incomparable in my opinion.

Honest, fair, and well put review. You have to approach this album with an open mind and if you're expecting more of the old stuff, you'll be disappointed. They've clearly opted for a new creative direction, and while it's different, I think the end result is strong enough that it will only get better with time. *knocks on wood*
In my opinion, their classic signature progressive metal is still there, it's just blended with streamlined metalcore and a more melodic, synths, ambient leaning touch that, honestly, it works well and is still catchy. It grew on me by the second listen, and I'm grateful they didn't take the usual "evolution" route that so many bands have fallen into to appease casual listeners, becoming creatively stagnant, lazy and formulaic.
Speaking of Stagnant, I wish August Burns Red would be a little more daring and step outside their comfort zone. Their formula works really well up through Rescue & Restore, but at this point I think they've leaned on it too much and are starting to feel they're stuck. Their stuff still hits hard, and I feel that I enjoy their live shows more than their albums and lately, I genuinely can't tell which album a song is from anymore.

damn i liked Silhouette