Review by Adam M on January 17, 2018.

This is my third Periphery review for the site, but it is the earliest album in the band’s discography that I’ve covered so far. The band has shifted styles a little from the self-titled and added more clean singing. It still seems the band is one step from the clean direction they’ve gone in now, but the extended use of clean singing is certainly welcome after the self-titled release. The band would go on to become one of the more interesting acts in the djent genre, but this is really a nice warm-up to the later releases.

There are the harsh parts, but the use of cleans is very welcome and adds another dimension to the band’s sound. They would further progress and add in more interesting djent rhythms on future albums, but this is the blueprint for the band. I’m not as sold on the music here as I am on later releases, but it is very intelligent and consistent progressive metal. The greater focus on the melodic tendencies of the band means they can create nicer harmonies and add a greater dichotomy between clean and harsh portions quite readily. This adds a thoughtfulness to the music as well as a nice contrast. As stated, Periphery would further expand upon these aspects in the future, but it’s nice to know where everything got started. This is the most interesting of the albums I’ve reviewed recently and it gathers momentum in the solid production values the band has achieved at this point.

The sound of the band is certainly more pleasing on this album and needs to be commended. It’s just that this style has a little less impact now that I’ve already heard the new albums in their entirety first. All of Periphery's work needs to be listened to though and Periphery II:  This Time It's Personal is no exception.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10