By Jack Rafferty
While I am currently fine-tuning the daunting task of writing a love letter to my favorite metal album of all time, which will be finished in the good time it takes to do it justice, I thought I’d take the opportunity to write a shorter love letter to another metal album that is dear to my heart, Veil of Maya’s The Common Man’s Collapse.
No other album sounds like this. Veil of Maya crafted such a wonderful niche for themselves during the height of deathcore. While many other bands of the same genre at the time were trending in the direction of “who can down-tune their seven-string lower and chug riffs slower,” Veil of Maya took the refreshing approach of using a standard-tuned six-string guitar, with the odd twist of a seven-string bass. In addition to this, Veil of Maya leaned more heavily toward melody in their riffs, driven by a highly rhythmic, percussive sound. They keep brutality in the vocals, which establishes a satisfying contrast to the central melody, and steers Veil of Maya away from the tediousness of an overtly heavy genre becoming oversaturated with elements that negate its identity.
Perhaps Veil of Maya’s greatest strength is the tightness of the execution of their playing, coupled with the sharpness of the production. Every sound is brilliantly distinct and fresh in the mix, which is a feat when considering they still manage to be heavy as fuck. Another very important factor to note is the magnificent talent of guitarist Marc Okubo. Apart from mere technical proficiency, some of the reaches in chords and note progression that Marc is able to accomplish is reminiscent of Hendrix at times in the seeming impossibility of it.
All of this would be for nothing if the songwriting was shit. Luckily for us this is not the case. I’ve always found the pacing of Veil of Maya songs in particular to be excellent. You always felt carried along in a very unpredictable, yet simultaneously logical sequence of shifts throughout each song. Never knowing where you’re going, but fully knowing that it will be a place you like.
Another important aspect is their ability to cultivate character in each track. I never have trouble with mixing up Veil of Maya songs, because each song breathes its own life, while never straying too far from a central sound enveloping the album in its entirety.
Most importantly, though, Veil of Maya is just fucking fun. Their music is fun. It is high-energy, heavy, melodic, groovy, and always makes me want to either throw down or dance. I struggle to even pick three, let alone one, track to highlight, as all of them truly maintain an exceptional level of quality. All of this with the neat bow of a thirty-three-minute run time on top. So many bands these days that play at this speed overwhelm the shit out of their audience by being ignorant to, or willfully neglecting the fact, that less is more. You never want to give too much of a good thing that overstays its welcome. Bell Witch can pull off a song that is an hour and a half because the style and atmosphere of their music allows for it. But bands that don’t have sonic styles justifying such length need to be smarter about how they convey their work. Understand the medium through which you express art, damn it; Veil of Maya does.
All right, enough rambling. I would do Veil of Maya a disservice to end this love letter on such a note. So, in conclusion, The Common Man’s Collapse is an extremely well done, mature, blood-pumping album, made all the more impressive that it was the band’s debut. I have spent many hours of my life moving my spindly anatomy to it, and will continue to do so for many more.
