GENRE-NEUTRAL

MISHA MANSOOR, MARK HOLCOMB, and JAKE BOWEN take you deep inside their latest slice of trademark Periphery riffery, Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre

- JOE BOSSO

THE MEMBERS OF Periphery want to get something straight once and for all: Djent that onomatopoeia used to describe the guitar sound of their band, along with groups such as Meshuggah, Animals As Leaders and Polyphia, among others is not a genre. They're serious about this, and just in case nobody's paying attention, they've even gone so far as to title their latest album Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre.

"Djent is not a genre," Misha Mansoor states emphatically during a Zoom interview that includes his multi-stringed cohorts, Mark Holcomb and Jake Bowen. "It's a lifestyle."

Which prompts Bowen to add his two cents: "We've been labeled as djent for such a long time that we've actually adopted it as our genre. I was the last guy in the band to be OK with it. It's nothing that we chose, but here we are - people call us a djent band. So the album title is our way of messing with everybody. It's not a grand statement in any way. It's just for funzies."

Mansoor cracks up at that one. "Just for funzies"?" he says, nearly doubling over. "Oh, man, I can't wait to see that in print!"

It's been four years since the band (which also includes singer Spencer Sotelo and drummer Matt Halpern) released the colossal Periphery IV: Hail Stan, during which time its three guitarists have busied themselves with various solo and side projects that encompassed raging metal and chillaxed electronic music. For Mansoor, the prime mover of the band who also functions as their de facto producer and engineer, the agenda for album number seven (despite its Roman numeral, it's their seventh studio record) was the same as always. "I just want to get together and write music with my best friends," he says. "It's a fun process, and in the end we try to make things really simple: 'Is what we're doing cool?'"