Periphery channel the Norse gods on new single, 'Blood Eagle'

Periphery are coming for all out war on 'Blood Eagle'.

The members of Periphery sure are some funny, trolling bastards. Despite guitarist Misha Mansoor and vocalist Spencer Sotelo previously telling fans online that new material for their upcoming album would be lighter than past works, new song 'Blood Eagle' comes out of nowhere. Because holy Meshuggah Batman, this thing is fucking HEAVY! (Well, heavy for Periphery, at least). It's armed to the damn teeth with tight riffs, Nolly's always immense mix and killer production, and some hulking musical biceps. I actually love this method, though: lower everyone's expectations prior to release, than decimate the field all of a sudden with a new deathcore-tinged single. Genius little trick, really.

One of the most aggro tracks Periphery have written in god knows how long, 'Blood Eagle' beats its Norse-influenced chest loud and hard. Set on a destructive war-path to tear down every stone and brick of Valhalla itself, this might just be one of my favourite Periphery tracks to date. With fearsome screams, crunchy riffs, pounding rhythms, panicked chords, Spencer's solid inflections, well-done phrasing and soaring vocals along a well-shaped guitar solo run from Misha, this is a finely balanced cut. There's really not much I dislike about it, to be honest.

[caption id="attachment_1105876" align="aligncenter" width="638"] 'Periphery IV: Hail Stan'. No, that's not a typo: Stan, not Satan. [/caption]

It's the Periphery that we all know and love, but it feels so much more invigorated and ballsier than usual. So much so that it makes me totally forget that Shokran are even putting out a whole new album tomorrow on Friday, February 8th. (I actually got an advance copy of it this week; it's a mess and you should probably give it a miss). I was a little worried when I saw the near six-minute song-length at first, wondering if 'Blood Eagle' would flow well throughout, but after numerous listens, there's undoubtedly still plenty of gas left in the tank for these prog-metal titans.

'Periphery IV: Hail Stan' arrives April 5th, 2019 through the band's own label, 3Dot Recordings. Bit of a missed opportunity to call it "Periphery: Fourever After", but whatever. Let's hope the momentum of 'Blood Eagle' carries onto this new record. Spread your blood-stained Valkyrie wings: