After Veil of Maya’s crushingly brilliant 2010 release entitled, [ID], the world though it was impossible for the band to better this astounding piece of musical aggression. Now in 2012, Veil of Maya is back with their 4th full length album, Eclipse – and yes; you guessed it, they have done the impossible, completely blowing their previous effort out of the water making [ID] sound like a mouse squeaking in comparison to their new record! With djent like guitar lines, driving, heavy rhythm sections and technical deathcore styled vocals, Veil of Maya have proved to the world that they are a band who get better and better with release, and hopefully with the release of Eclipse, a band who will finally get the recognition they deserve to a freaking awesome metal band!
The tracks are extremely short on Eclipse and this is what makes this album so good. There’s no messing around, Veil of Maya show what they have to show off within the two and a half minutes each of these tracks are on for – not only showing off their talent as musicians as song writers, but also showing the metal world that they have the metal factor, going all out aggressive on tracks like ‘Divide Path’, ‘Winter is Coming Soon’ and ‘Enter My Dreams’, why still maintaining some level of decorum and maturity in their songwriter, keeping intact the technicality needed when playing djent music.
There are so many awesome moments on Eclipse that will make you want to throw down when the kick ass beat downs kick in. The fact that the guitars have been down tuned so low, that it sounds like a bus knocking down a man, adds to the heaviness and aggression to the beat downs making them all the more affective and groove laden when they come in out of nowhere, especially during the moments of ‘Punisher’, ‘With Passion and Power’ and the jaw dropping, mechanical sounding opening track ‘20/200’.
Every band needs at least one mellow song in their repertoire, and it comes with a relief to see that Veil of Maya has added not one slower moment, but two moments on Eclipse. Title track ‘Eclipse’ and the opening of ‘The Glass Slide’, are like the eye of the storm in this record. A point in the middle of this brutal and destructive album, where the tone and melody becomes almost surreal – changing the mood of this album for a few minutes until the next fist pump fest kicks in, and you are once again taken off guard by its ever increasing brutality. These two songs alone really make this album what it is, containing some of the most special moments on the album.
This is a must have album for anybody who calls themselves a metal head and loves a good old head bang. With enough groove to give Disco Stu a run for his money and more aggression than a crazy wife beater, Veil of Maya have succeeded in making the greatest album of their career, going all out brutal to ensure they wow the current metal scene! [8/10]