It’s a sunny early-evening in Montreal and spring feels like it’s finally on the way. So what better way to celebrate than with some tech-metal!?
Washington DC’s Periphery have been at the forefront of the progressive metal scene for a while now and have steadily been building an enthusiastic fanbase. They’re here in support of their critically acclaimed fifth album, Periphery III: Select Difficulty, and they’ve brought a solid cast of support acts with them to get things warmed up.
First up, Infinity Shred ease into proceedings with a moody but quite hypnotic blend of post rock and electronic soundscapes. There’s little movement on stage and the lighting remains suitably subdued, but the majority of the crowd listens attentively as the intensity of the music ebbs and flows. The New Yorkers definitely won themselves a few new fans here this evening.
Atlanta, Georgia’s Norma Jean have been doing their thing for two decades now and seem somewhat misplaced on this bill. Their driving brand of groove-ridden metalcore takes things up several notches as they open with I. The Planet and its foreboding refrain of “What you’re feeling is the loneliness of God”. They blast out the riffs and rhythms and have the crowd moving more than almost any other band tonight. Even with one band member stuck the wrong side of the Canadian border, their all-too-short 25 minute set is easily the best 25 minutes of tonight’s show.
The Contortionist are greeted like returning heroes and are well placed to set the tone for the headliners tonight, having supported them multiple times in recent years. The opening harmonies of Language I: Intuition result in a huge cheer from tonight’s crowd and their impressively complex songs never become too showy.
Frontman Michael Lessard looks lost in his band’s music as he comfortably shifts from blissed-out harmonies to all out raging screams. The musicianship displayed on stage is truly mesmerising and never gets in the way of the songs. There’s minimal interaction with the crowd and, after a while, things feel a touch samey but The Parable brings things to a fitting climax and there’s a tangible excitement in the room as we wait for Periphery.
Following a slightly long interlude the headliners finally appear and swiftly launch into the opening refrain of A Black Minute from 2015’s Juggernaut album. But it’s Stranger Things that really lifts the room to the next level as bodies begin to fly around the pit. On stage the whole band seem fully committed to the performance and, unlike some of the opening acts, use the full stage as well as raised platforms to add to the spectacle.
Occasionally the posturing can get a little cheesy, with the duelling guitars and vocalist Spencer Sotelo’s extended tongue looking too much like rock cliches, but the fans love every minute and the whole of the Corona Theatre is a sea of raised arms and banging heads. Again the band is full of extremely gifted musicians and the technicality behind the music is often jaw-dropping.
The lighting doesn’t quite match up to the dynamics of the music though. Too much back lighting seems to detract from the fullness of the songs and Sotelo is almost silhouetted at the front of the stage. A cover of Haunted Shores’ Momento brings the intensity all the way down for a couple of minutes before the crowd goes suitably nuts as the Meshuggah-like opening riffs of Psychosphere gets heads banging and voices screaming once more.
The 8-minute long Lune makes for a great encore as it slowly builds into a soaring barrage of riffs and unites the crowd in a big singalong to end an impressive night of metal that’s never less than intriguing.
Periphery setlist:
A Black Minute
Stranger Things
The Way the News Goes…
Marigold
Remain Indoors
Prayer Position
The Bad Thing
Flatline
Memento
(Haunted Shores cover)
Psychosphere
The Price Is Wrong
Masamune
Encore:
Lune
Review & photos – Steve Gerrard
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