Misha Mansoor

Misha Mansoor (Born October 30, 1984), also known as "Bulb" (the name of his solo project) is the founder and lead guitarist of the progressive metal band Periphery.^[1][2] He is also part of the studio project Haunted Shores (featuring Periphery guitarist Mark Holcomb) and the hardcore punk project Snuggles (which features Periphery bassist Adam "Nolly" Getgood), as well as being involved in the projects Of Man, Not Of Machine (a trio consisting of him, ex-TesseracT and ex-Sky Eats Airplane singer Elliot Coleman and Mark Holcomb) and Four Seconds Ago (an electronic project with his Periphery bandmate Jake Bowen). Mansoor is seen as one of the forerunners of the djent movement and is often erroneously attributed with the invention of the word itself (he attributes its invention to Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal).

In May 2013, Mansoor announced that he would be working on his first solo album, which would be written, performed and produced entirely by himself, with the assistance of some guest performers. A projected release has not been decided upon yet by him.

He is the son of Ali Michael Mansoor,^[3] the former Financial Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in Mauritius; Misha is Mauritian by descent but was born and raised in the US.^[4] He is also Jewish.^[5]

Mansoor and Steve Vai were selected to contribute the Halo 2 Anniversary Original Soundtrack.^[6]

Production

Mansoor's career as a producer started when he produced and co-wrote the Animals as Leaders self titled album and since then he has produced bands such as Veil of Maya, Born of Osiris, Being and Stray From the Path. He also produced, mixed and mastered the first Periphery album and co-produced the second, Periphery II: This Time It's Personal. He formed a production company called Top Secret Audio in 2013 with his Periphery bandmate Adam "Nolly" Getgood.

Influences

Mansoor cites several musicians as influences from a wide range of genres. Notably, he cites John Petrucci, Allan Holdsworth, Ron Jarzombek and Fredrik Thordendal as being important to his development as a guitar player. Other notable musicians include Devin Townsend, Nevermore, Guthrie Govan, Opeth, Gojira, Porcupine Tree and Textures.^[7]

Gear

He is currently endorsed by Bare Knuckle Pickups and mainly uses his signature Juggernaut pickup set on his guitars .^[8] He is also endorsed by Neunaber Audio Effects and uses their Expanse Series Pedals.^[9] In 2015, Jackson Guitars released the Misha Mansoor signature guitar featuring Mansoor's signature pickup set. The guitar was released in 6 and 7 string models, and in 2016 a limited run of 8 strings were made.

Discography

With Periphery

• Periphery (2010)
• Icarus EP (2011)
• Periphery II: This Time It's Personal (2012)
• Clear (2014)
• Juggernaut: Alpha (2015)
• Juggernaut: Omega (2015)
• Periphery III: Select Difficulty (2016)

As a producer/songwriter

• Stray from the Path – Make Your Own History (2009)
• Animals as Leaders – Animals As Leaders (2009)
• Veil of Maya – Eclipse (2012)
• Animals as Leaders –The Joy of Motion (2014)
• Volumes -No Sleep (2014)
• "Breaking the Covenant" and "Follow in Flight" on Halo 2 Anniversary Original Soundtrack (2014)
• Haunted Shores – Viscera (2015)
• For Mankind (Credits Theme) - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Original Soundtrack) (2016)^[10][11][12]

References