Why has Periphery had more commercial success than Monuments/Tesseract/Etc?
- Thread starter Taylord
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
This site may earn a commission from merchant links like Ebay, Amazon, and others.
Kobalt
Well-Known Member
Surprisingly enough, Periphery has always managed to pull a different flavor with each album. Yeah, the core sound has remained more or less the same, but it's hard to say they all sound exactly the same. It's a massive difference going from self-titled to Hail Stan.
I guess that's contributed to them never losing much momentum.
fantom
Misses his 6 strings
Still missing the forest for the trees. 200k vs 400k Spotify numbers mean pretty much nothing when commercially successful musicians have tens of millions. It's like asking if someone is a millionaire and arguing about of they have 1000 dollars or 2000 dollars. Again, I respect Periphery's run. I just don't see the difference here.
bulb
Well-Known Member
man i have no idea why periphery has seen any success at all, i think we just had fun with it, and then got really lucky?
anyways, this is why i will always have massive imposter syndrome haha
anyways, this is why i will always have massive imposter syndrome haha
AwakenTheSkies
Life is like a box of chocolates
I don't know why because I don't know how any of this "commercially succesful" thing works. If I had to point out a difference from the other bands that I've heard, I think Bulb does have a really good ear like he says. He can make music that will catch your attention while others who are more skilled, talented or knowledgeable might not get the same results. It's a subjective thing too I guess. They seem like personable people too and they uploaded their own videos on the internet which made them more accessible maybe? They posted many gear demos. For example I discovered Bulb and eventually Periphery entirely because I saw a video of Misha demoing a PRS Archon and playing Breeze (the video is gone now I think). I found those chords very interesting and started listening to the old demos and after getting used to the vocals Periphery.
bracky
Contributor
I became hooked on Periphery before I knew anything about the members of the band except that one of them got started as a member here. It was juggernaut alpha that did it. It’s like I had finally found that perfect band that blended everything I like about music. They just had THE sound at the right time for me.
Wildebeest
Well-Known Member
I think you are going to move goal posts to suit your needs.
A millionaire caring about 1k vs 2k has nothing to do with the monthly listeners of a band.
So, Periphery has,
The Grammy nomination(s?)
More than twice the monthly listeners on the world's biggest streaming platform
Signature gear for every member by some of the biggest corporations
but they are apparently the same size and scale of band to you.
Looks like your head is intentionally in the sand instead of me missing the forest.
Last edited:
Does last.fm scrub/"scrobble" from ALL users of apps like Spotify and Pandora and Apple Music, or just from their users who sign up for last.fm?
Because like seriously who uses last.fm in 2021, I don't know a single person, including my musician friends, who even knows what last.fm is.
Though I will say, I was surprised to see the Periphery monthly listeners on Spotify being only 400k. I expected more like 700k minimum.
fantom
Misses his 6 strings
Does the word "metaphor" mean anything to you? If you think I was talking about money, you completely missed the point... Again...
Let's try a different one. If a successful movie has to be 2 hrs long, you are arguing about a 30 seconds vs 1 minute commercial. The scale of what is commercially successfully is much higher than most heavy music.
Last edited:
Kwert
Well-Known Member
I think the point is that the comparison is between bands in the same genre. Not comparing Periphery to Metallica or whatever.
Compared to the other popular bands in the Djent/modern prog metal scene, Periphery is clearly a more successful band. If you’re comparing them to bands that are getting millions of streams etc. then yes, as the other poster said you are missing the forest for the trees.
gunshow86de
Beef Jerky Time
Really I think they're just much better song writers than the other bands mentioned. I don't listen to djent/modern prog bands, but I do like Periphery. I listened to the first two albums a couple of months ago after not hearing them for years, and it was crazy how I still knew all the riffs, arrangements and even most of the lyrics.
nickgray
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2008
- Messages
- 1,793
- Reaction score
- 2,978
Depends on your standards though. If you're a major label - yeah, not exactly a big fish. Just the band itself though, compared to other similar bands, and taking into account that metal as a whole is a relatively niche genre, and that Periphery is in a niche subgenre, and that they're "only" 10 years old, and that music industry and media changed dramatically and rapidly in recent years? Not a small band by any stretch.
Isn’t the point of this thread though about the commercial success of Band A relative to Band B?
Bands C, D and E aren’t part of the topic title and that’s why folks are continuing to argue in different directions.
If Band A sell 10 CDs and 2 T-shirts, then they are LITERALLY twice as successful as Band B who only sell 5 CDs and 1 T-shirt.
Bands C, D and E aren’t part of the topic title and that’s why folks are continuing to argue in different directions.
If Band A sell 10 CDs and 2 T-shirts, then they are LITERALLY twice as successful as Band B who only sell 5 CDs and 1 T-shirt.
fantom
Misses his 6 strings
Being twice as successful at selling merch doesn't mean a band is *commercially* successful. I've never seen anyone wearing a Periphery shirt, including at concerts before the pandemic. I've seen tons of Iron Maiden shirts.
It is exactly about the standards. My entire point is that metal as a whole, not even talking about niche subgenres, has not been commercially viable since the late 1980s. Maybe early 1990s when considering Metallica or even Pantera or Slipknot. Coming back and trying to compare bands that no one heard of at the same scale only reinforces the point. If Periphery is going to be commercially successful, they need to pull in 100-1000x more fans, which I don't see happening. They would be playing arenas and stadiums, not medium sized venues. Everyone is so fixated on 400 vs 200. I'm questioning if that difference is even relevant.
Maybe I am overthinking the "commerical" part of this conversation and really the original discussion was meant to be about relative success selling merch or online video lessons. In which case, I'll say sorry, let's move on.
It is exactly about the standards. My entire point is that metal as a whole, not even talking about niche subgenres, has not been commercially viable since the late 1980s. Maybe early 1990s when considering Metallica or even Pantera or Slipknot. Coming back and trying to compare bands that no one heard of at the same scale only reinforces the point. If Periphery is going to be commercially successful, they need to pull in 100-1000x more fans, which I don't see happening. They would be playing arenas and stadiums, not medium sized venues. Everyone is so fixated on 400 vs 200. I'm questioning if that difference is even relevant.
Maybe I am overthinking the "commerical" part of this conversation and really the original discussion was meant to be about relative success selling merch or online video lessons. In which case, I'll say sorry, let's move on.
GunpointMetal
Well-Known Member
Yes
sakeido
Contributor
Slipknot is pretty fuckin huge and they got their start in the early 2000s, not 1990s. I'm pretty sure Slipknot's self title debut sold more than Periphery is ever gonna sell in their entire career.
but dude is comparing Periphery to the other djent guys.. I mean, I don't like Periphery even a little bit but at least they keep their stuff somewhat fresh. Tesseract found their sound early on and its a pretty narrow box they're playing in. Two months of Bulb demos from back in the day cover more tonal territory than Tesseract has managed to explore in almost 20 fkin years.
Bulb said himself they turned over their whole fanbase to the point they don't even play P1 stuff live anymore, not even Icarus Lives. They were always finding more listeners and new fans with each album. I seriously doubt the same can be said for Tesseract.
KnightBrolaire
Pickup Connoisseur
As Devin Townsend likes to say, "prog metal doesn't pay".
lewstherin006
Well-Known Member
Easy, Periphery has the biggest Peens.
