To promote their new album, False Idol, Metal quartet Veil of Maya set out on the No Sun/No Moon Tour in support of The Devil Wears Prada.
Veil of Maya is comprised of vocalist Lukas Magyar, guitarist Marc Okubo, drummer Sam Applebaum, and bassist Danny Hauser. False Idol is the band’s second studio album since the departure of former vocalist Brandon Butler. False Idol was released on October 20 via Sumerian Records. The band has released a music video for their single “Overthrow”.
In a press release, guitarist and original band member Marc Okubo said, “False Idol is our most dynamic release as of yet. This is the largest amount of material we have ever packed into one album and we are so proud to share it with everyone. We feel that there is something for fans of all the various genres of metal, while still continuing to build on the classic Veil of Maya sound.”
Veil of Maya played a wonderful set, but there were spots where the band, and the genre as a whole could be doing more.
Before Veil of Maya began playing, people in the crowd were discussing how excited they were. This played into the performance. Veil of Maya has no shortage of charisma, and the audience fed off of it. The performance was fast-paced and high energy from start to finish. Since Veil of Maya was more popular with the older crowd, crowd surfing had died down, but the head banging never ceased.
Magyar has a melodic clean voice similar to that of Tyler Carter of Issues, which was a refreshing surprise. No one else on the tour had a sound quite like that in their music. Magyar is talented at both clean and unclean vocals. Okubo, Applebaum, and Hauser were also great. The music was thoughtful, and it pairs nicely with the vocals. Instrumentally, however, it sounded like a Metal band is supposed to sound. It was expected.
The performance lacked a bit of personality musically. It was as though all members of the band could be replaced by other people and it could still sound the same. Metal and a lot of its subgenres tend to sound extremely similar, so it is not just Veil of Maya doing it. It would have been nice to see and hear something more different or experimental. Veil of Maya is on the edge of uniqueness and they could definitely push the envelope more.
Veil of Maya has survived this long as a band because they are obviously doing something right. Although the band faced scrutiny with the addition of clean vocals a few years ago, Veil of Maya is still capturing quite a large audience. There is always room for growth and improvement when it comes to music. Veil of Maya could be a driving force of musical change if they are willing to do so.
Veil of Maya wraps up their tour this week. Check below to see if they are coming to a city near you.
Setlist: Nyu, Leeloo, Ellie, Punisher, Overthrow, Lisbeth, Three-Fifty, Unbreakable, It’s Not Safe to Swim Today, Subject Zero, Lucy, Mikasa
Social Media:
Facebook – @veilofmaya
Twitter – @veilofmayaband
Instagram – @veilofmayaofficial