It’s no secret that the djent scene is getting a huge amount of attention from metal fans and press alike, our site included. And it’s no surprise that a lot of people consider Periphery one of the major leaders of the popularization of the melodic, rhythmic, and ambient styling of the genre. No hesitance is made by anyone when citing Meshuggah as an absolutely huge influence on Periphery and the rest of the growing number of djent bands. But Meshuggah is mostly responsible for the crushing rhythmic brutality of its scores of influenced bands.
If one band were to be cited for influencing the fast, chaotic, melodic and ambient sounds of Periphery and the rest of the growing genre, it would be Sikth. Turn on the first track, “Scent of the Obscene,” off of their 2003 debut album “The Trees Are Dead & Dried Out Wait for Something Wild” to hear every aspect of the modern djent scene. Atonal runs, check. Rhythmic chugging, check. Ambient clean guitar, check. Harsh screaming, yup. Soothing singing, definitely. Single note rhythmic riffs, without a doubt. There you have it, all the ingredients of modern djent.
Sikth currently are broken up but have promised via facebook a third album to follow up “Death of a Dead Day.” It’s unfortunate that more people aren’t talking about the importance of Sikth: if not for the influence then the foresight to play the music they did back when standard metalcore hadn’t even hit it’s stride yet. Look below for links to some sweet, sweet, Sikth.
– Trisolino
