Why has Periphery had more commercial success than Monuments/Tesseract/Etc?

[Ordacleaphobia]

We've heard it straight from the horse's mouth, though. Misha himself has said that the music-making side of it doesn't pay his bills. Just about everybody in a metal band has a side gig or dayjob or comes from money or a combination of those. The exceptions are almost entirely from bands that were established before the bottom started falling out of the economy.

Yeah, which is why stuff like artist endorsements are so commonplace. That's just another step on the career path, along with merch, shows, etc. Misha's the perfect example of all of this. I agree if you're looking to just release music and make your living, you're in for a rough time.

 

[fantom]

Yeah, which is why stuff like artist endorsements are so commonplace. That's just another step on the career path, along with merch, shows, etc. Misha's the perfect example of all of this. I agree if you're looking to just release music and make your living, you're in for a rough time.

Artist endorsements aren't a form of payment unless you are a top 50 athlete. They mostly give equipment at reduced cost in exchange for exposure. The opportunity cost could be considered income (or, don't have to spend as much on strings because get them cheaper).


This is pretty much saying that being a server in a restaurant is a career if you work for tips. And they probably make more on tips than most of the bands listed on this thread make from music or other opportunities.

1) what you define as a "career"

What is a career? Most people consider a practical definition of a career as a salaried job to provide steady income, benefits, and growth (such as additional responsibilities over time).

Most musicians are not working for consistent pay and receive no benefits. I would say it is a subcontracting job at best. You could say musicians are "running their own businesses", but if people aren't receiving enough money to meet day to day costs and consider things like insurance and retirement accounts, it isn't a career, it is a hobby or underpaid job at best.

Look at things like Wintersun. They are asking people for money to build a house and such because they aren't making the cash.

 

[Ordacleaphobia]

That's just one example, man. There are plenty of other things you can do as a musician to supplement the income from your album sales. 'But that isn't from the music' is a copout, because none of it would be possible without the music. I wouldn't spend $60 on a stem pack if they never made the music. I wouldn't spend $30 on a tab book for my favorite album if they never made the music. I wouldn't shell out for a lesson from one of my favorite guitarists if they had never become one of my favorite guitarists, and I'd never buy a T-shirt from the band if they were never a band. There are so many options out there, you just have to put the work in to get there and leverage them. If you chalk that up to 'side hustle' or 'day job' territory, fine.

The difference between this and your restaurant server example is that every day the server clocks in, they're essentially starting from scratch. Sure you may have a couple of regulars that are familiar and cordial with you- but for the most part, it's just another day at work. As a signed, touring band trying to make it a career, everything you do is laying a foundation for whatever you do next.

I never said it was easy or realistic, and I'd argue that it never has been. I'm just saying it's possible and you don't need to look very far to find the proof.

 

[bulb]

guys guys, no need to fight, i asked someone (my mom) if Periphery was the biggest and bestest band ever with the most handsomest members

she still hasn't heard of Periphery

 

[jaxadam]

she still hasn't heard of Periphery

So weird... this whole time I thought it was a spelled Perifery.

 

[wankerness]

All this talking about billboard charts is amusing - what is this, 2000? Bands like Opeth show up on these charts now cause so few people are buying albums that when an album comes out by a band with several thousand ultra-nerds that listen to them it will sell vastly more relative copies than it would have back in the day when regular people paid for music. It's still not nearly enough to pay the bills with album sales. I mean, back in the 90s/early 00s, even C-list alt-rock bands like Fuel or 3 Doors Down managed to sell more than 2 million copies of an album. In 2019 exactly one album sold a million copies, and that was Taylor Swift. Billie Eilish, who would be the closest equivalent to something like a Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera back in pre-Napster days, sold less than 600k albums.

This is just to say that it's a hell of a lot easier for some obscure band to spike up the charts for a day if they have a bunch of weird nerds that are dedicated to buying albums as fans than it was back when the top-selling acts were selling millions of albums a year, since the bar for entering the charts is so low. I would compare it to what's happened to the DVD market, where 15 years ago everyone was buying tons of DVDs and thus we have entire landfills filled with things like the DVD of Bad Boys, and now the top sales charts are a combination of Disney movies and then weird horror movies since the latter genre has the nerds like us that will go out and buy the disc.

 

[Xaios]

So weird... this whole time I thought it was a spelled Perifery.

Perifurry.

 

[bulb]

i like cars and i feel like we should talk about them more

 

[Ataraxia2320]

i like cars and i feel like we should talk about them more

What's your favourite Irish made car and why is it the DMC Delorean?

 

[jaxadam]

Perifurry.

 

[soul_lip_mike]

TBH I keep coming back to this thread just to read the pissing match.

 

[Taylord]

Yeah this was fun

 

[Fenriswolf]

I mean, I hate djent, but Periphery can write a catchy enough song that I've tried to learn Icarus Lives before.

i like cars and i feel like we should talk about them more

The fact that (if I remember right) you're a BMW guy, and I think the 426 Hemi is God's gift to mankind, sums up my view on your music. It's not my thing, but for what it is, you nailed it.

 

[nightlight]

I don't usually listen to djent, but when I do it's Peri-Peri-flavoured and Marigold-laced hoice cuts of Hindoo-prohibited Blood Eagle meat and Meshuggah.

 

[Hoss632]

Better songwriting and adapting so well to the modern music world. The first album carved them a niche in the music scene but it was the second album where they exploded and developed a big audience which they’ve kept. IMO the majority of Djent/prog really lacks in songwriting, more so than almost any other metal sub genre which doesn’t pull audiences back to check out newer albums. With 3 songwriters pooling their ideas together with the intent of writing vocal driven songs rather than solely guitar driven compositions it’s no wonder Periphery are way ahead of all their peers.

it doesn’t help that the genre became oversaturated quickly with so many Periphery clones and went from being a fresh sound to a fatigued and repetitive one quickly. That happens with every genre but because of the internet it was accelerated.

I would disagree somewhat. Periphery have even said a lot of times that the first few albums the writing was guitar music driven and Spencer had to figure out how to fit vocals in. Periphery 3 and definitely 4 they did more to include Spencer in the writing process.

 

[nightlight]

I don't usually listen to djent, but when I do it's Peri-Peri-flavoured and Marigold-laced hoice cuts of Hindoo-prohibited Blood Eagle meat and Meshuggah.

*choice cuts of Hindoo-prohibited meat. Remember, I got dibs on the band name Flesh Eating Hindoos.

 

[Veldar]

Surprised no one named checked Ash at summerian. Regardless of their split Ash was channeling profits from their bigger bands toward periphery to help with their momentum.

 

[bulb]

Surprised no one named checked Ash at summerian. Regardless of their split Ash was channeling profits from their bigger bands toward periphery to help with their momentum.

Really? How so?

 

[guitaardvark]

i like cars and i feel like we should talk about them more

What are your thoughts on the shift towards electric in the performance car realm? Do you see more companies beyond Tesla and Jaguar going electric only anytime soon?

I personally used to be a gearhead, but since taking steps toward a more sustainable lifestyle, I can't say I've ever looked back after getting an EV.

 

[bulb]

What are your thoughts on the shift towards electric in the performance car realm? Do you see more companies beyond Tesla and Jaguar going electric only anytime soon?

I personally used to be a gearhead, but since taking steps toward a more sustainable lifestyle, I can't say I've ever looked back after getting an EV.

I think EVs are very cool, but we are still in the early days, the infrastructure isn't quite there yet, and the limitations of the batteries (weight, capacity, charge time) still are holding the full potential of them back. Also there seems to be some discussion around the mining of materials for the batteries as well as the disposal, to where I don't know if currently it's a net benefit. However I can see that getting addressed over time as well. It's definitely the last days of the ICE, and as such I plan on enjoying those (especially the atmospheric ones) while I still can.

EVs will likely be the way forward, there are alternate fuels being explored, but EVs seem to be firmly in the lead as it stands, and they make for some very quick cars. Unfortunately, they aren't generally exciting cars to drive aside from the insane acceleration party trick which a lot of them share. Even with the low center of gravity, they tend to be very heavy, and that always compromises the sportiness and handling in the corners. Porsche has had a good attempt at them with the Taycan (which I have yet to drive) but it seems like the praise is always in the relative box of being an EV.

Anyways those are my thoughts on the matter. Do you guys agree/disagree?