Allan Holdsworth: the god father of Djent?!

Djent reaching the big time... a new musical movement driven by the maverick spirit of Allan Holdsworth... no simple songs... explorations in soundscapes and super legato playing.

"That's a first," TesseracT's vocalist Dan Tompkins informs us as he looks on at the three men excitedly comparing their guitars on the couch - Misha Mansoor of US band Periphery, plus Brits Acle Kahney from TesseracT and Monuments man John Browne. He's right. TG has brought about the first ever djent guitarist summit in Bristol today. In person, anyway…
"We've known about each other and talked online for six years," says Misha. "We've always talked about this, but now it's finally happening!" 
This is the first date of the UK League Of Extraordinary Djentlemen tour (djenius pun) that's carrying with it a sense that something very special is happening in metal.These three progressive bands that make up the bill represent a new wave that's not just exciting for metal guitar playing, but also the way that it's reaching out to fans around the world from such humble beginnings.
As with most 'new' waves or sub-genres in music, there are actually a few years of hard work and experimentation behind djent. But it started with just a chord and a band: all roads lead back to Meshuggah. Whether the Swedish band like it or not, they are the (shuggah) daddies of djent. 
"The word 'djent' is onomatopeia for that really hard metallic picking sound of four notes" Periphery's Misha Mansoor 
"It's pronounced 'gent' and it's a word that I found on the Meshuggah forum," explains Periphery's affable Misha. "Fredrik [Thordendal, Meshuggah guitarist] was the one who started [using the word]. It was just onomatopoeia for the really hard metallic picking of four notes [a powerchord with an added 5th]. You know the song Soul Burn by Meshuggah? That's the sound." more

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