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Given the popularity of djent in the modern metal music scene, it can be said that it takes a lot in the way of creativity and flavor one of these bands to stand out amongst the countless others that have exploded onto the metal scene in the last few years. Enter Periphery, who return to rightly reclaim their status as not only one of the most unique and musically comprehensive band from the djent scene, but also as one of the more innovative and talented bands in modern metal today.

Two years after the release of their second full length album Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal, Periphery offer their first concept albums, Juggernaut: Alpha & Omega, and absolutely nail it.

The previous work from Periphery boasted genre-bending musicianship and rhythm sections and heavy amounts of groove mixed with enough poppy sugarness to induce a diabetic coma. This combination didn’t work for everyone in the metal community, but regardless the band has always shown massive amounts of potential.

Juggernaut: Alpha & Omega show even more genre-jumping and emotion than their predecessors. Alpha starts off with an unexpected post-rock section in “A Black Minute,” demonstrated purely by dense guitar layers, which are performed by three guitarists. These sections reoccur later on in other tracks on both albums, along with an even more unexpected use of jazz interludes, as showcased by tracks such as “MK Ultra.”

Given that these are supposed to be metal albums, Periphery also turn everything up to 11 and throw in some of their most crushing riffs and most ferociously heavy songs to date.

“The Scourge” starts off quietly and finishes off with probably the heaviest and densest riffs the band has ever written. The single “Graveless” picks up the pace with the drummer deftly switching from blast-beats to galloping to tricky drum-fills.

Periphery have been criticized before for their use of poppy choruses, and yes, they are still being used in Juggernaut: Alpha & Omega. The key difference this time is that they’re used mainly to break up the heaviness of the two albums, and function as simply another ingredient in the pot.

The tracks “Alpha” and “Omega” are both my favorite examples of Spencer Sotelo’s vocal range. “Alpha” has one of the catchiest vocal choruses in the entire pair of albums, where he demonstrates the strongest clean singing in any of the albums in the Periphery back catalog.

“Omega,” the longest track in the two albums, serves as the point to which everything builds up to. This song has everything: guttural growling, screaming, their layered heavy riffs and vocal reprises of lines from previous tracks including “Alpha,” giving the listener a more theatrical experience, and is a benchmark for how much the band has progressed over the last few years.

Any drawbacks Juggernaut: Alpha & Omega have are simply a couple of less memorable tracks, which are by no means bad, but are outclassed by the rest of the songs that demonstrate Periphery’s talent more. Because of this, it can be said that the first disc Alpha is the stronger of the two albums. It not only functions better as a stand-alone album, but a higher ratio of memorable songs can be found here.

In reality though, both albums must be listened to in order and together to understand the grand scope of emotion and musical competence the Periphery have worked so hard to convey. Juggernaut: Alpha & Omega are easily Periphery’s crowning achievements and already a possible contender for album of the year.

(released January 27, 2015 on Sumerian Records)