Six years is no small amount of time to wait for a band’s next record. You’d think that would edge Veil of Maya fans and leave them dying for the follow-up to 2017’s False Idol. Luckily, this Chicago metal act has stayed busy releasing singles and touring extensively whilst the pandemic shook the music industry. While there’s an argument to be made about artists experiencing success going the singles route instead of albums, I breathed a sigh of relief when [m]other was announced. For a band that’s mingled with deathcore, djent, mathcore, etc., I find it hard to pin Veil of Maya down to any one genre – you’ll never know what to expect when you hit play on a new song from them, aside from knowing it’ll be a complex, nuanced listen that’s hard to keep up with. So, was the six-year wait worthwhile?
[m]other starts out with two non-singles in “Tokyo Chainsaw” and “Artificial Dose”. Within the first five seconds of the former, you’ll know Veil of Maya is delivering a no-nonsense, fast-as-hell record as the first breakdown kicks things off. Any doubters that think Veil of Maya is “soft” after the addition of clean vocals can rest assured that [m]other contains some of the group’s heaviest tracks to date. With guitars, bass, and bass pedal in perfect symmetry, the chugging riffs that have made the band so memorable are positively relentless in the opener and prove to be an instant earworm on-pace with previous singles. “Artificial Dose” continues in a massive way, as vocalist Lukas Maygar injects melody into this piece’s chorus, whereas the switch flips to a brutal verse seamlessly, something Veil has gotten so strong with over the years.
“Godhead” is a lyrically-spearheaded affront on religious delusion and features a climactic low unclean that still manages to give me goosebumps; this is heavy Veil of Maya at its peak and borders on the chaos seen within acts like Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza and Dillinger Escape Plan. “[re]connect” provides the most melodic riffage heard in [m]other, as longtime guitarist Marc Okubo hasn’t missed a step since 2004. Other original member, drummer Sam Applebaum, is far from a standard four-on-the-floor performer on [m]other, too; this is evident in “Red Fur”, as the off-beat snare hits, inventive fills, and ability to sync with the other instrumentals are an auditory delight.
Avoiding the “same-sounding-song” issue handily, [m]other‘s next track, “Disco Kill Party” swoops in with bouncy synth and a sing-along chorus that stuck in my head more than any other song on Veil of Maya’s new album. Talk about a breakdown, too – this unhinged, virtuosic run only makes the song that much better, an easy highlight placed square in the middle of the album to quell any long-listen fatigue. You’ll soon feel like you’re in Stranger Things through the intro of “Mother Pt. 4”, as this five-minute journey has so much going on that it surely won’t feel like it’s the longest on the record by a full minute. This is furthered with grand-scale lyrics such as “What are we soon to face? / Deep space, pressurized intake / Deprive me of oxygen / No, not again / Grab ahold / And brace for impact / Deep into oblivion”.
“Synthwave Vegan”, notwithstanding being the weirdest song title in a while, is [m]other‘s leading single – with authority. “Bury them out in the valley” is the first thing uttered and the mindset one should take in the shortest track’s unrelenting, breakneck pace. Fans of early Veil of Maya are going to revel in “Lost Creator” which sounds like it’s straight off of id or even The Common Man’s Collapse, while still corroborating the new sound’s formula here and there. It’s hard to call a non-single a favorite seeing as I haven’t had nearly as much time with it, but “Lost Creator” is an instantaneous, unabashed favorite. Album closer “Death Runner” isn’t a power ballad, or thematic closure – it’s just more groovy, barnstormer guitar riffs, layered within divine drums and vocal prowess, the winning formula that Veil of Maya proves “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” after two decades of fine-tuning a premier metal sound.
It’s so rare to see an album without filler, an album where non-singles meet and even exceed singles, and captivate the listener from front to back – but Veil of Maya has managed to do just this in [m]other. After watching five separate album cycles as a fan, this is Veil of Maya’s best work to date; from songwriting to production to lyricism, the six years since False Idol have proven to be a worthy wait and [m]other will be exactly what I perceive most Veil of Maya fans to have been craving and impatiently waiting for.
Rating: 5/5
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