Welcome to the show. And thanks so much for joining
us for another deep dive. Today, we're looking
at a story that is going to completely change
how you think about building a brand from the
ground up. It really is. And we're pulling all
our insights today from a single, very extensive
source, which is a deep dive Wikipedia article
chronicling the American progressive metal band
Periphery. Right. And here is the mission for
our deep dive today. Even if you have never listened
to a single heavy metal song in your entire life,
Periphery's story is an absolute masterclass
in DIY entrepreneurship. Oh, 100%. We're going
to explore how they leveraged the early internet
to literally help create a brand new musical
subgenre and how they managed to diversify a
modern creative business in ways that, frankly,
most traditional companies... only ever dream
of. Yeah, you really do not need to be a metalhead
to appreciate the sheer business acumen and creative
problem -solving this group has demonstrated
over the past two decades. If you look past the
distorted guitars, they are a literal case study
in modern media and audience building. Okay,
let's unpack this. We have to start at the very
beginning, which takes us back to Washington,
D .C. in the year 2005. Right, right. The founder
of the band is a guitarist named Misha Mansour.
And according to the source, he was initially
operating under a solo project named called Bulb.
What immediately stands out about Misha's origin
story is that he didn't wait for a record label
to discover him. No, not at all. He didn't wait
for some industry executive to hand him a contract.
He just started building an audience entirely
on his own. He bypassed the traditional gatekeepers
completely. And he did it using the tools that
were just starting to become widely available
to the average consumer. I mean, for decades,
if you wanted to release an album that sounded
professional, you needed hundreds of thousands
of dollars to book a commercial recording studio.
Exactly. But Mansoor essentially democratized
audio production for this highly complex style
of music. He used a home computer and a piece
of gear called a Pod XT. Which is basically an
amp modeler for guitarists, right? Yeah, exactly.
It allows you to plug straight into a computer
and emulate massive speaker cabinets without
actually needing them. So he started creating
music in his bedroom and uploading it directly
to early internet forums. The source mentions
places like 7string .org, the John Petrucci message
boards, and a platform called SoundClick. He
was just a guy on the internet regularly updating
his profile with new audio files. But the sound
he was making wasn't just standard heavy metal,
was it? Far from it. This home -brewed approach
actually helped pioneer an entirely new offshoot
of progressive metal. It was a style heavily
influenced by earlier bands like Meshuggah, meaning
it was mathematically complex, highly rhythmic,
and full of jarring, unexpected time signatures.
And this specific sound Misha was developing
online became known as djent. Right? Yes, djent.
That is spelled D -J -E -N -T, though the D is
silent. It's actually an onomatopoeia. Like the
sound it makes. Right. If you take a heavily
distorted guitar, tune the strings down incredibly
low and strike them while muting them with your
palm, the resulting percussive metallic crunch
sounds like the word djent. Periphery is widely
considered one of the founding fathers of that
entire musical movement. So Misha is building
this new sound and cultivating this dedicated
following on the end. But to take it live and
turn this, you know, bedroom project into a real
touring band, he needed members. Right. He couldn't
do it all alone on stage. Exactly. And reading
through the source material, the early days of
Periphery sound exactly like a messy, volatile
tech startup trying to find its core co -founders.
It was a total revolving door of personnel. Misha
was originally playing both drums and guitar
for the project before he finally scoped out
local talent and switched permanently to guitar.
Finding the right people for music that requires
this level of athletic precision is incredibly
difficult. It has to be. The source lists a dizzying
array of early members between 2005 and 2009.
They found a local drummer named Jason S. Berlin,
but he quickly left for Los Angeles and was replaced
by Travis Orban. And the vocalists were constantly
cycling out, too. Yeah, they went through Jake
Verdeca, Casey Sable, and Chris Barreto in a
very short span of time. That amount of turnover
would kill most standard businesses, let alone
a creative project. Yeah. How did they survive
that constant instability? Well, they used that
period as a sort of intense public beta testing
phase. They were gradually shifting their sound
during this time, moving from that very aggressive
early style to something that incorporated more
ambient melodic elements with a massive focus
on innovative digital production. So they were
finding their identity through trial and error.
Exactly. It wasn't until 2010 that the puzzle
pieces really started to snap together. They
scouted a drummer. named Matt Halpern, who Misha
amazingly found playing in a local pop band to
replace Travis Orban. Wow, from a pop band to
progressive metal. I know. And then they uploaded
an album sampler to the internet featuring vocals
by a San Diego native named Spencer Sotelo, who
officially replaced Chris Barretto as their lead
singer. The transition from Chris Barretto to
Spencer Sotelo is one of those highly relatable
human moments in the source material. It wasn't
just a quiet resignation. Chris Barretto was
actually fired from the band due to personal
differences. And Misha Mansoor openly referred
to him as a diva. Oh, yeah. That sparked a minor
public feud between them that lasted for years.
It's a classic band drama that usually tears
groups apart and leaves a permanent bitter taste.
True. But the source notes a brilliant moment
of closure. They completely buried the hatchet.
They really did. Fast forward to November 2013.
Periphery is playing a headlining show at the
Gramercy Theater. They come out for the encore
to play their big breakthrough song, Icarus Lives.
And who makes a surprise guest appearance on
stage? Chris Barretto. Chris Barretto. They completely
reconciled, ending the longstanding feud right
here in front of the fans. What's fascinating
here is how this volatile early period, the revolving
door of members, the clashing egos, the trial
and error, ultimately forged an incredibly stable
and powerhouse lineup. They really built their
foundation. Right. When you look at the core
group that emerged from that chaos, Misha Mansoor,
Spencer Sotelo, Matt Halpern, along with guitarist
Jake Bowen and Mark Holcomb and bassist Adam
Nolley Get Good, you have a team where every
single member is essentially a virtuoso. They
needed that early friction to figure out exactly
what kind of dynamic would survive the long haul
of the music industry. And the music this powerhouse
lineup creates is just... wild to think about
from a technical perspective. The source material
breaks down their guitar tunings and gear, and
it is honestly mind bending. Very complex. They
don't just use standard six string guitars like
a typical rock band. I'm seeing mentions of seven
and eight string guitars with bizarre alternate
tunings. Why do they need all that extra hardware
just to play metal? That is the secret to their
signature sound. To get that massive, aggressive
rumble, the physical instrument has to change
to accommodate the sonic frequencies they're
trying to hit. They use tunings like drop C or
on the seven string guitar is drop G sharp. That
sounds intense. To put that in layman's terms,
they are tuning their guitar strings so incredibly
low that the strings are practically flapping.
It gives the music an aggressive, percussive
quality that you just cannot get on a standard
guitar. The source also mentions a song called
Scarlet that uses an open cad nine tuning and
another track called Wax Wings that uses a specific
math rock tuning dropped a step and a half down.
It's treating the guitar more like a piano. When
they break out the 8 -string guitars for songs
like G or Stranger Things, they are playing in
standard 8 -string tuning, which gives them a
frequency range that spans from rumbling bass
notes all the way up to screaming highs. It creates
a massive wall of sound. It does. But what is
crucial to understand is that they don't just
rely on technical complexity for the sake of
showing off. They are also masters of using creative
constraints to drive innovation. Which brings
us to the Clear EP, released in 2014. Such a
cool concept. The band insists that Clear is
actually neither an EP, which is an extended
play record usually shorter than an album, nor
a full studio album. It's a unique format for
them. Yeah, it's about 30 minutes long, but they
specifically did not want it classified as part
of their main product line. It was a deliberate
branding exercise to manage audience expectations.
They wanted to test a new research and development
framework without risking the main numbered albums
that their fan base expects. So what was the
framework? The concept for Clear was that every
track on the release is linked by a shared musical
theme, introduced in a short opening track called
Overture. But the genius part is how they managed
the team for it. For every subsequent song on
that release, a different member of the band
acted as the singular creative director for that
specific track. If you are listening to this
right now and you work in management or design
or any collaborative field, think about that
structure. The clear release is a perfect real
-world example of how assigning singular creative
ownership within a broader collaborative team
can yield incredibly diverse and innovative results.
Instead of everyone compromising and watering
down every single detail of every song. Exactly.
They gave each member the absolute final say
on one specific piece of the puzzle. The whole
project was kept unified by that shared opening
theme, but the individual execution was purely
dictated by one person. It is a brilliant way
to prevent creative burnout, avoid groupthink,
and let individual strength shine. I absolutely
love that as a way to run a creative team. And
that level of ambition just kept growing. If
we map out their discography, they have this
really clear evolution through their numbered
albums, Purfrey first, Purfrey the second, and
so on. The main product line, as they call it.
Right. But in 2015, they took a massive swing
and released a double concept album. Juggernaut.
Alpha and Juggernaut. Omega. Misha had actually
been developing the Juggernaut concept for years,
originally writing demos for it on those early
internet forums. But surely releasing a sprawling,
complex double album is commercial suicide in
the modern streaming era where attention spans
are notoriously short. You would think so. In
an era dominated by Spotify playlists and TikTok
algorithms, asking an audience to sit through
two interconnected, highly technical metal albums
is a massive ask. It really is. But because they
had spent years... cultivating such a deeply
loyal niche internet fan base it worked perfectly
both albums charted incredibly well they understood
that their specific audience didn't want bite
-sized content they wanted deep immersive experiences
and shortly after that they hit what many would
consider a critical peak from their 2016 album
periphery the third select difficulty they released
a blistering heavy track called the price is
wrong And that song earned them a Grammy nomination
for Best Metal Performance at the 59th Annual
Grammy Awards. That's a huge milestone. They
literally went from posting audio files on early
2000s message boards to walking the red carpet
at the Grammys. It validates that entire DIY
approach. It proves that a grassroots Internet
first strategy can culminate in the highest levels
of traditional industry recognition. It totally
does. But wait, here's where it gets really interesting.
Because you would assume a Grammy nominated rock
band would just... lock into the traditional
rock star routine at that point. But Periphery
does not do things normally. Let's talk about
the highly unusual arrangement they made with
their bassist, Adam Nolly Get Good. This is perhaps
one of the most unconventional business decisions
a touring rock band could possibly make, especially
in a genre that values live authenticity as much
as heavy metal does. In 2017, Nolly announced
that he was stepping away from touring. He stated
very clearly that he wanted to spend more time
with his wife, and he wanted to focus heavily
on his own production work and his audio software
company. A very understandable life change. Totally.
Now, normally, when a core member of a metal
band leaves the touring circuit, the band holds
auditions and hires a replacement bassist to
play live. But Periphery didn't do that. Instead
of replacing him on stage, they decided to just
use Nolly's pre -recorded backing tracks for
their live performances. Wait, so if I go to
a live show, there's no bass player on stage?
No bass player on stage. You just press play
on a laptop. I feel like traditional rock and
metal fans who are notorious purists would absolutely
hate that. If we connect this to the bigger picture,
this arrangement proves a massive point for anyone
running a business today, and it highlights just
how well Periphery understood their own specific
audience. You are right. Playing to a backing
track completely breaks the unwritten rules of
traditional rock music. It's taboo. But Periphery's
fan base is largely made up of musicians, producers,
and tech enthusiasts. They care more about the
audio mix sounding utterly flawless than they
do about seeing a physical body holding a bass
on stage. And Nolly didn't actually leave the
band in the traditional sense either. No, he
remained their official studio bassist. He tracked
the bass and was heavily involved in mixing,
producing, and engineering. engineering their
2019 album, Periphery the Fourth Hailstand. That's
amazing. You do not have to follow the traditional
rules of your industry just because that's how
it's always been done. Modern bands and modern
companies can restructure their roles to fit
their members' actual lives and strengths. It's
a great lesson in retention. Exactly. Nolly's
highest value to the band was his unparalleled
ear for production and his studio -based tone.
Touring was burning him out and keeping him from
his family. So they stripped away the part that
didn't work for his life, kept the part that
brought massive value to the final product, and
used technology to bridge the gap on the road.
It is a stunningly pragmatic and mature way to
handle human resources and retain a key asset.
They just completely reinvented their own rulebook
to protect their team. And they took that same
renegade energy and applied it to their record
label situation. Up until 2018, they were signed
to Sumerian Records. But in April of that year,
they made the ultimate entrepreneurial move.
The big leap. They split from the label entirely
and announced they would be releasing all future
music on their own completely independent label
called 3DOT Recordings. Taking full ownership
of their master recordings and their distribution
pipeline, by that point they had the infrastructure
and the audience to cut out the middleman entirely.
They took full control of the business. And you
can tell they were having fun with that freedom,
too. They have a very self -aware sense of humor
about their place in the music scene. Remember
how we talked about them being the pioneers of
djent? Yeah, the onomatopoeia. Well, they titled
their 2023 independently released album Periphery
v. Djent. is not a genre. Such a great wink at
the audience. They created the sound, watched
the internet argue endlessly about whether it
was a real genre for over a decade, and then
slapped that incredibly cheeky title on their
record. And that album debuted beautifully. It
featured some incredible sprawling tracks like
Wildfire and Zagreus, continuing their streak
of critical success, but this time entirely on
their own terms, keeping the lion's share of
the revenue. Speaking of the tracks at Greas,
that brings us to maybe the most mind -blowing
part of this entire deep dive. Periphery isn't
just a band that plays concerts and sells t -shirts.
They have built a massive crossover into the
video game industry and multimedia business.
It is a total empire. Why do you think a progressive
metal band has such deep ties to the video game
world? It is a brilliant strategy of synergistic
cross -pollination. The overlap between progressive
metal fans, internet culture, and the hardcore
gaming community is massive. That makes a lot
of sense. Both subcultures value high technical
skill. deep lore and intense digital experiences.
Periphery recognized that Venn diagram incredibly
early on and completely capitalized on it. It
wasn't just a side gig. It was a deliberate strategy
to embed their musical DNA into other massive
entertainment spheres. And it is everywhere.
Yeah. Looking at the deep dive here, Misha Mansour
didn't just write metal riffs for the band. He
composed and produced songs for the Halo 2 anniversary
soundtrack. He also wrote the ending credits
theme for the massive cyberpunk game Deus Ex
Mankind Divided. The guy's busy. Very. Plus,
he owns his own highly successful guitar pedal
company called Horizon Devices. And recently,
he wrote a track called The Beast for the second
season of the massive Netflix animated series
Arcane. And this diversification extends to the
rest of the members as well, turning the band
into a hub of various media talents. Absolutely.
Nolly, the studio bassist and producer we just
talked about, mixed Burry the Light. which is
the incredibly popular theme song for the character
Virgil in the video game Devil May Cry 5. And
the source notes that song was actually directly
inspired by the periphery track Reptile. It all
connects back to the band. It does. Then you
have guitarist Mark Holcomb, who actually doubles
as a professional video game voice actor. He
lent his voice to two main characters in the
critically acclaimed narrative -heavy RPG Disco
Elysium. That game is a masterpiece. And recently,
Marking guitarist Jake Bowen announced they were
creating custom music and sounds for the massive
online multiplayer game Warframe. Even their
own periphery songs are bleeding into the gaming
world. That song Zagreus we just mentioned? Misha
confirmed it was directly inspired by the award
-winning indie video game Hades. The song is
named after the game's protagonist and even features
a musical reference to the game's Deathlight
motif. It is a totally integrated brand at this
point. So what does this all mean? We've covered
everything from early message boards and drop
-tuned 8 -string guitars to independent record
labels and video game voice acting. How do we
pull all of these wildly different threads together?
I think the core takeaway here is that Periphery
is no longer just a heavy metal band. They operate
as a highly sophisticated multimedia enterprise.
When you look at the entire scope of their operation,
through side projects like Haunted Shores and
the Electronic Duo four seconds ago, through
software ventures like Get Good Drums, which
Naysha, Matt Halpern, and Nolly co -own, and
through their extensive video game industry work,
they show exactly how modern creatives can successfully
diversify their portfolios. They aren't just
banking on one thing. No, they aren't relying
on a single fragile revenue stream from Spotify
payouts or concept ticket sales. They have monetized
their expertise in audio production, their technical
instrumental skills, and their cultural footprint
across multiple different industries. That is
such a powerful lesson for anyone listening.
Whether you are prepping for a boardroom meeting,
trying to start your own freelance business,
or just trying to figure out how to be more resilient
in your own career, Periphery's DIY ethos is
a blueprint for modern success. It really is
a blueprint. They took a brand from a single
guy experimenting with amp modeling software
on a bedroom computer, connected with like -minded
people on niche internet forums, weathered the
storm of finding the right team, and built an
independent Grammy -nominated empire. They proved
that if you master your craft, understand your
specific audience, and utilize the digital tools
available to everyone, you don't need anyone's
permission to build something massive. This raises
an important question. We've just spent this
time dissecting how an entire global musical
movement and a sprawling business empire were
forged by a single person experimenting with
software in their bedroom on early internet forums.
It makes you wonder what other highly specialized,
intensely passionate digital subcultures are
currently being built in the underground corners
of the Internet today, completely out of sight
of the traditional gatekeepers just waiting for
their moment to completely disrupt the mainstream.
Wow. That is a fascinating thought to leave on.
There's probably someone in the bedroom right
now inventing the next big thing we won't even
see coming for another five years. Thank you
all so much for joining us on this deep dive.
Go tackle your next big project, and we will
see you next time.