Periphery III: Select Difficulty explained

Periphery III: Select Difficulty
Type:	Studio
Artist:	Periphery
Cover:	Periphery_III_Select_Difficulty_cover.jpg
Released:	July 22, 2016
Prev Year:	2015
Next Year:	2019

Periphery III: Select Difficulty is the fifth studio album by American progressive metal band Periphery. The album was released July 22, 2016 through Sumerian Records, and was produced by Misha Mansoor and Adam Getgood.^[1] The opening track, "The Price Is Wrong", was nominated for Best Metal Performance in the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.^[2] It is the last album the band released on this label. It is also the last album to feature bassist Adam "Nolly" Getgood as an official member of Periphery before he left the band in 2017, though he still returned on to produce, engineer, and mix the album, in addition to contributing final bass parts.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 70 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Calum Slingerland of Exclaim! praised the band's "drive to keep exploring out of their stylistic box". Prog Sphere's Stefan Andonov stated that "Select Difficulty is by far their most diverse album, they have grown and have found a way to combine complex sounding vibe with the popular one."^[3]

Personnel

Periphery

• Spencer Sotelo – lead vocals
• Misha "Bulb" Mansoor – guitar, synths
• Jake Bowen – guitar, synths
• Mark Holcomb – guitar
• Adam "Nolly" Getgood – bass, guitar
• Matt Halpern – drums, percussion

Production

• Misha "Bulb" Mansoor – production
• Adam "Nolly" Getgood – mixing, engineering
• Ermin Hamidovic – mastering
• Taylor Larson – vocal production
• Spencer Sotelo – vocal production
• Jason Richardson – additional vocal tracking
• Pete Adams – additional vocal tracking
• Randy Slaugh – live orchestra, choir production, engineering
• Ken Dudley – orchestral sessions mixing

Additional personnel

• Emily Rust – violin
• Cymrie Van Drew – violin
• Megumi Terry – violin
• Caryn Bradley – viola
• Kelsey Clegg – viola
• Clayton Wieben – viola
• Chris Morgan – cello
• Robert Willes – cello
• Adam Heyen – French horn
• Tyler Arndt – trumpet
• Tom Francis – bass trombone
• Austin Bentley – choir
• Tiffany Yeates – choir
• Jonathan Allred – choir
• Randy Slaugh – choir
• Eric Slaugh – choir
• Jeffrey Slaugh – choir
• Hayley Malesich – choir
• Kelsey Clegg – choir
• Clayton Wieben – choir
• Taylor Larson – choir
• Emily Piriz – choir
• Nick Day – choir
• Jake Bowen – choir

Notes and References

1. Web site: Periphery Announces 'Select Difficulty' Album, 'Sonic Unrest' U.S. Tour . Blabbermouth.net . April 26, 2016 . July 16, 2016.
2. Web site: 2017 Grammy Awards: Complete list of nominees . latimes.com . December 6, 2016 . December 6, 2016.
3. Web site: Periphery – Periphery III: Select Difficulty. Andonov. Stefan. August 1, 2016. Prog Sphere. December 14, 2016.
4. Web site: NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart. Recorded Music NZ. August 1, 2016. July 29, 2016.