Periphery and Veil of Maya Storm The Skyway

September 18, 2019 - Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States - Periphery live in concert at the Skyway Theatre along with Veil Of Maya and Covet as the openers. (Photo by Seth Steffenhagen/Steffenhagen Photography)
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Wednesday night, the sleepy city of Minneapolis was abruptly awakened by the thundering noise of djenty metalcore pulsing out of the walls of the Skyway Theater. When I arrived at the Skyway, I was instantly greeted by heat coming out of the sweltering main room. The inside of the venue felt like the hot and humid tropical plant enclosure at the Como Zoo. It felt like it had to be at least 90 degrees in the venue, with sweat dripping off every body in attendance. Usually a hot venue indicates heavy moshing and crowd participation, so I was excited to see what I was in store for.

The first band of the night was California based math rock band Covet. Covet came out with few words spoken and let their music do all the talking. They jammed one song straight into the next, wasting no time in their short 30 minute set for story telling or pausing. Right before the band left the stage, the bassist broke the silence by saying “Minneapolis. Why don’t they call it Micro-apolis or Teenie-apolis?” The crowd groaned at the attempted dad joke. Covet’s sound was interesting and complex, creating a hypnotic atmosphere.

Next up was Veil Of Maya. Veil Of Maya are a band that I feel have really come into their own the last couple of years. Starting out in 2004, they have transitioned into one of the biggest and most predominant bands in the scene right now. I feel like I vaguely remembering seeing Veil Of Maya at Warped Tour one year, so I was looking forward to seeing them again with my full attention. 

They came out swinging right out of the gate and delivered hard, heavy punches which got the crowd moving around and moshing. Lead singer Lukas Magyar ran around the stage, screaming and offering an impressive vocal range. The heat radiating throughout the venue seemed to be no problem for the band or the fans, as Veil Of Maya tore through a packed setlist. I loved their energy and wished they could have played longer.

After a quick set changeover, it was time for Periphery to take the stage. The lights went dim and the audience let out a bellowing cheer in anticipation. Purple, green, and blue lights danced around the stage as the band walked out and started to play. What Periphery delivered was sheer, heavy, djenty goodness. Their sound  fluctuated between melodic riffs, clean vocals, chugging guitars, and dense rhythm. Each breakdown they played seemed to have a different light color combination that would correspond with the music. It was heavy, electric, and sensational. 

Before heading into this show, I only vaguely knew of Periphery but decided to check them out based on the recommendation of a friend. After seeing them preform live, I am definitely glad I did. Their energy and precision was infectious, and had people singing and crowd surfing all night long. As my friend commented after the performance, “Spencer Sotelo performs like he’s twelve feet tall.” I look forward to checking them out again sometime in the hopefully near future. 

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