Veil of Maya - [id] - Review

If metal was categorized by creativity and the talent required to play it, then Veil of Maya would occupy a small subsection of progressive, technical death metal with the very few others that do it well. It could be better described however, as a rampage of furious vocal extremes and mind bending breakdowns. Having risen up from the Chicago metal scene, VoM has taken up residence at Sumerian records with Born of Osiris and After the Burial (two of the only other bands who play a similar style.) Now after showing off their sophomore album ‘The Common Man’s Collapse’ on the Atticus Metal Tour II, they have put together a brand new full length surprise, uniquely entitled ‘[id]’.

If you were familiar with VoM before, the opening title track should be a familiar welcome. At under a minute, it serves as a gateway track representing the band’s breakdown prowess. An immediate overall change to the band’s sound is audible, despite there being no lineup change since their previous release. ‘Unbreakable’ delivers a flurry of ugly chords and bent guitar notes bridled by truly superior drumming on the part of Sam Applebaum. Extremely intricate double kick patterns, and lightning fast rolls and transitions are accompanied by a singular, amazing guitarist, Marc Okubo. As the bass drop lead breakdown at the end of the track swings the momentum into ‘Dark Passenger’, keep in mind that VoM boasts only one guitarist. The speed at which his hands move from chugging chords to high, metallic finger notes boggles the mind, demonstrating a true mastery of the strings.

The pace of fret board caressing is picked up along with the energy of the drums as ‘The Higler’ opens fire on your ear drums. If each track had a theme, this one’s would be blast beats! What adds an interesting mix to all this yet is the relaxed speed of the vocals and the void between the pitches at which Brandon Butler screams. His voice really only has two speeds, as ‘Resistance’ shows appropriately: gut-wrenching death growls and predatory high screams. The only problem here is that many of the vocals, as well as the guitars are heavily overlaid, which sounds great on recordings, but will cause a lot of grief in live performances. Compromises galore! This is where a second guitarist would have been a practical addition.

‘Mowgli’ and ‘Namaste’ finally allow the album to sound more like old VoM, but with noticeable improvements. Melodic guitars now fill up much of the dead air that once pervaded the chugging and machine gun riffs. As well, a big improvement, the bassist, Matt Pantelis is actually put to work, playing away on his very own harmonizing melodies, often completely separate from the general way that bassists just “follow along”. I love it when bassists are used for more than added noise that no one notices until it’s gone. The entire mood of the album is much fuller and more alive this way.

Take note of the transition between ‘Mowgli’ and ‘Namaste’ as well. It is clean and jests no switch to a new track at all. An inobservant listener may not even know they are separate tracks. These are probably the most diverse and appetizing tracks on the album. Fast track straight to them if you want a quick taste of what ‘[id]’ is all about. However, secondary to these, I recommend lending an ear to the final track, ‘Codex’, as well. With a stellar breakdown and a confident tone, it puts a stable end to ‘[id]’.

‘Martyrs’ and ‘Circle’ offer up one minute instrumental breakdowns that unfortunately drag down the album’s full length significantly. Combined with the intro track, they bring the CD’s total playing time to just under 30 minutes. Hardly in the standing to be called a “full length” album at all. While this is disappointing, VoM only began recording the album in December and ask a mere $10 for purchase. Fair enough, but I’m sure fans will expect new music sooner than usual in light of this. And while it does not contain as many unforgettable moments as ‘The Common Man’s Collapse’, the ultimate factor is that this album is quite different than their last, while still retaining VoM’s essence. This is likely due to the unique guitar style and crushing vocals, but there is also a lot of structure added to the foundations of the band. Their next album should be interesting. In the mean time, fans of Born of Osiris, After the Burial, and Meshuggah should definitely take a listen to ‘[id]’. Veil of Maya will be receiving, for this new album, 3.5 out of 5 napkins, with my blessing.

Artist: Veil of Maya
Album: [id]
Release: April 6, 2010
Label: Sumerian Records
Length: 29:10
Rating: 3.5/5