Reviews

I was somewhat anticipating this album being released, ever since I heard a few songs before the record actually hit shelves. The best way to describe this band is to use two label mates - Veil of Maya sounds like what would transpire if The Faceless and Born of Osiris had a baby. Their death metal sounds like and fits the style of The Faceless and their deathcore breakdowns and melodies are very reminiscent to Born of Osiris.

Brandon Butler brings great death metal lows to the table and really fits the sound of the band. Sammy Applebaum speeds through the blast beats and keeps the band moving, while Marc Okubo shreds like a death metal axeman should and Kris Hilger keeps things grounded on bass. Songs like "Crawl Back" and "We Bow in Its Aura" are definitely worth checking out.

The whole album has similarities. It's not so much repeating or copying themselves, but there is definitely a set plan or structure for their music. Close to 10 breakdowns on the record sound the same; they essentially have the same rhythm and tempo on drums and just slight variations on guitar. It creates this "sound" if you will, for Veil of Maya. This is a good thing if you like that style, because you will get what you want, but it can verge on boring and really just uncreative. In a genre like death metal, where variation between bands is very uncommon, being creative is important. Veil of Maya defiantly has a creative sound, but they never break away from that and experiment.

The production for the record is done by Michael Keene - guitarist for The Faceless - at his studio. He definitely proves that he is a force to be reckoned with behind the boards. The fact is, I actually enjoy Veil of Maya the most out of all bands on the Sumerian because their style really takes the best parts of The Faceless and Born of Osiris and puts them together. Though they are a death metal band, the simplicity is what I like best. Now that they have a niche, I think they need to try new stuff and push themselves. Hopefully they will continue to grow and write better material; I'd ultimately like to see more experimentation and variation in their songs.