Periphery

Considered one of the precursors of the djent movement, a subgenre characterized by heavily distorted palm-muted guitars and complex rhythm patterns, the American progressive metal group Periphery was formed in Washington D.C. in 2005 by multi-instrumentalist Misha Mansoor. Since its creation, Misha Mansoor's project has undergone multiple incarnations, finally consolidating its lineup in 2010 with Jake Bowen on guitar and programming, Matt Halpern on drums, and Spencer Sotelo on lead vocals. That year, Periphery's eponymous first studio album reached number 128 on the Billboard 200 and number 2 on the Heatseekers chart, garnering significant attention in the metal community. Following a promotional tour that took them throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia, the band recruited guitarist Mark Holcomb and bassist Adam "Nolly" Getgood, who shared producing credits with Misha Mansoor on the group's sophomore effort, Periphery II: This Time It's Personal (2012). The album was even more successful than its predecessor, peaking at number 44 on the Billboard 200 and further solidifying Periphery's status as a leading force in the progressive metal scene. Over the next few years, the group continued to receive critical acclaim for releases such as Clear (2014), Juggernaut: Alpha (2015), Juggernaut: Omega (2015), and Periphery III: Select Difficulty (2016), whose opening track "The Price Is Wrong" was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. Periphery IV: Hail Stan, their first album after parting ways with Sumerian Records, was released in 2019 and found Misha Mansoor and company honing in on their trademark sound while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of the genre. It was followed by the the ironically-titled Djent Is Not a Genre, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 198 in 2023. In 2026, the band returned with A Pale White Dot, their first album not to feature the three-dots logo, featuring lead single "Mr. God" and guest vocals from Will Ramos on "Subhuman."