This EP could best be described as a little bonus treat for the fans, to hold the over until the next album. On this EP is mostly a few songs rerecorded, a few remixes, and only one 'new' track, but still a great addition to a fan's library.
The biggest difference between the songs rerecorded (Jetpacks Was Yes, Icarus Lives, Captain On, and Eureka if you're curious) is the new vocals added. Spencer Sotelo has really progressed as a vocalist, and it shows through his improved screaming and singing. A lot of people didn't like the self titled due to Spencer not being the best at screaming, because he learned how to scream right before making the album, so not a lot of experience, meaning he couldn't scream as long or viciously as the other vocalists the band has had. Now he sounds like an absolute monster who's been screaming for years, and his old screams just don't even compare. Also of note is his improved singing, before now, he sounded like he strained to hit certain notes in old songs, now he hits them effortlessly.
These new vocals provide quite a punch to the new version of 'Icarus Lives', but the real shocker is in 'Jetpacks Was Yes! 2.0' where his vocals become absolutely breathtaking, making the original impossible to listen to after this. Even the music video is pretty great, and I absolutely love the lyrics.
The remixes are all of 'Icarus Lives', and they're actually pretty tolerable. One's a pretty generic remix, sadly done by the great Misha 'Bulb' Mansoor, guitarist of this very band, but Zedd shows up and does a great dance remix of it, and finally PeteyG does a great, dark dubstep version of the track.
The problem is, we've heard most of these tracks before, and the only track we can really call new is 'Frak the Gods', which most fans have heard for years on Bulb's soundclick account, just with added vocals.
The EP has surprisingly long lasting value for what it is, and it's succeeded in making me excited for the two new Periphery albums to come! If Spencer's vocals turned you off from the band before, they're definitely worth checking out now.
Seriously, these guys are going to make one of the best metal albums of 2012, I can tell already.7/10
Recommended tracks: Jetpacks Was Yes! V2.0, Icarus Lives!
