Periphery side-project Haunted Shores drop metal riff masterclass, OnlyFangs

Haunted Shores – the instrumental side project of Periphery guitarists Misha Mansoor and Mark Holcomb – have dropped OnlyFangs, the third single from their forthcoming album, Void.

Following previously released singles, the thrash-y and hectic Hellfire and the expansive, Opeth-inspired Nocturnal Hours, OnlyFangs is a near-six-minute barrage of frantic drop-tuned riffage and complex instrumental arrangements.

You can see its guitar parts in action below, as Mansoor and Holcomb have filmed a mind-bending playthrough, featuring their signature Jackson So-Cal 2PT and PRS models, respectively.

“OnlyFangs was one of the earlier ideas I demoed during the writing process for Void,” Holcomb says. “It was pretty different in its initial stage as a full-on, blast beat riff-fest, front to back – just non-stop. But when I brought the song to Misha he really steered it into this area where it actually breathed – it had dynamics and it took you on more of a journey, namely that big middle section that anchors the song, and that down-tuned grimy mess of an ending. 

“That kind of synergy between Misha and I actually highlights why it’s [been] so much fun for us to write together in Haunted Shores and Periphery over the years.”

On creating their upcoming album, Void – which arrives March 11 via 3DOT Recordings – Holcomb says that Haunted Shores is an “escape ladder from Periphery in every way”.

“Creatively, politically – Periphery takes a lot of time to get things done because we all have an equal say – and that's a wonderful thing,” he says. “But in Haunted Shores, when Misha and I push for something, it's instantly there... We don't have rules or restraints. The music flows freely.”

Void, the duo say, was formed around this concept, with Holcomb and Mansoor co-writing, recording, and co-producing the entire album, including the drum programming. Misha Mansoor also mixed the record, though mastering duties were assumed by Ermin Hamidovic, who has worked with Plini and Protest the Hero.

“We went into the writing sessions with no expectations,” Mansoor says. “It’s easy to get carried away by all that – especially the mechanics of making music. We often remind ourselves that Haunted Shores needs to be fun. It’s not supposed to feel like work. If it does, then it doesn’t work.”

Void arrives March 11, and is available to preorder now via the 3DOT webstore.