365 Days of Metal: Our Hearts Beat Not Within Thy Heart

I do usually have somewhat random titles, but today's is an excerpt from Russell's The Veils of Maya for people who may be confused to hell.

Day 109

Veil of Maya - Eclipse

Band Origin:  Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genre: Death Metal / Metalcore
Label: Sumerian Records
Running Time: 28 minutes 
Release Date: February 28, 2012

Best Part: All they have is just Bra-now bra-da-der-dow we-na-ner-na-ner-deedle!

Favorite Tracks: Punisher, The Glass Slide, Numerical Scheme, Vicious Circles, and With Passion and Power

Grade: 4.5

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Eclipse in way more than 20 words or less: 

Veil of Maya's fourth full-length album continues the tradition of trippy time-signatures, technicality and breakdowns but adds a secondary level of experimentation and musical expansion which is clearly a byproduct of their time spent with producer Misha Mansoor of Periphery.

The Band: 

Veil of Maya is a four piece death metal band from Chicago that blends together elements of death metal and metalcore into a tight, groovy and technical crushing sound. One of the bands signature elements is their focus on technicality and dynamic use of complex time signatures and polyrhythms in order to create intricate compositions. Head-manned primarily by guitarist Marc Okubo and drummer Sam Applebaum, as well as bassist Dan Hauser, Veil of Maya is responsible for some of the coolest breakdowns I've ever had the pleasure to mosh to - and are easily one of my favorite live bands. The bands name is taken from the George William Russell poem entitled The Veils of Maya and is also a track title from one of their musical influences, the band Cynic.

Jay's Take on Eclipse: 

When I first heard that Veil of Maya was going to have their newest record produced by Misha Mansoor, I got a bit excited and intrigued as to what kind of effects it would ultimately have on the sound they've cultivated over years - but ultimately I wanted to know how it would compared to [id]. Veil of Maya's albums have always been something easy to get into, considering their consistently short overall length - the music itself is not as easy to get into, depending on how you enjoy your metal. If technical riffing and the dynamic shifting of sometimes ridiculous time signatures is something you enjoy, you'll be at home here. My first listen through of Eclipse confirmed what I expected as far as production quality is concerned - which is that it is very high, as is standard with most records produced by Misha. My one 'fear' was that the higher production quality would strip away some of the power present on the bands earlier records. I've spoken before about how I feel about leaps forward in production quality by some bands, and how mainly in sludge metal it's a non-factor because that grimy, raw sound is something that is a staple of the genre. Eclipse does see some of the darker, more raw sound that was omni-present on [id] disappear, which is probably my one only gripe with Eclipse as the raw heaviness of their earlier works was something that really drew me into their music. There are definitely areas on the record where that sound is present and you can really feel the low crush from Okubo's riffing and Sam's drumming. You can definitely feel some of Misha's influence rubbed off on the band as they sat around bouncing ideas for riffs off each other. And Okubo's performance on Eclipse is once again phenomenal - he continues to improve his technical abilities with each record and is quickly becoming one of my favorite guitarists. Eclipse sees a wider sense of experimentation with the interjection of various small interludes, and also draws slightly away from the breakdown heavy format of their earlier records - even though the off-the wall technical beatdowns are still very much a presence throughout the album.  

Sample of the Day: 

Punisher contains one of the best rebuttals you can get in musical form. What happens when someone rips on your music? Take a soundbite from his rant where he talks about what you sound like and turn it into an actual riff. Instant Victory after the 2:00 mark.






- J