Review Summary: A new vocalist and refocused sound nets mixed results for Veil of Maya on "Matriarch"
Illinois-based deathcore act Veil of Maya had its first member change in nearly four years when vocalist Brandon Butler-who had been with the band since the release of their 2008 breakout album The Common Man's Collapse- left the band in the fall of 2014 due to creative and personal differences. The creative differences that forced Butler out of the band are apparent when listening to the band's new LP, Matriarch, which for better or worse, sees Veil of Maya putting a more accessible, melodic twist on their established sound.
To its credit, Matriarch starts off on a pretty strong note. It definitely deviates from the progressive deathcore style they're known for while also still utilizing a lot of the strengths that have defined their music since day one. "Leeloo" is driven by one of guitarist Marc Okubo's trademark distorted, skip-heavy groove riffs and features some pretty excellent high screams from new vocalist Lukas Magyar while "Lucy" is a blisteringly technical track with bursts of well-constructed melody that wouldn't sound out of place on Eclipse or (id). Even though the band is trying to establish a new voice on Matriarch, it's nice to see that they haven't completely abandoned their roots. While "Leeloo" and "Lucy" beckon back to the Veil of Maya of old, "Ellie" and "Mikasa" serve as a representation of what the newest incarnation sounds like. These tracks are sure to catch longtime listeners of the band off-guard with their inclusion of clean vocals and super melodic guitars, but if you can get over the shock of hearing singing and non-distorted guitars in a Veil of Maya song, they are pretty effective tracks. Magyar makes his presence felt on these tracks by displaying his knack for writing memorable vocals melodies (the hook on "Mikasa" hasn't left my head since I listened to this album) and a pretty impressive voice that is reminiscent of Periphery frontman Spencer Sotelo. Clean vocals proved to be a pretty solid addition to their musical cannon and Magyar's solid performance in the early portion of the record disproves the myth that clean vocals had no place in Veil of Maya's music.
After the first half of Matriarch any fears about Veil of Maya losing their edge with their new vocalist appeared to be put the rest. The second half drastically changes that. Aside from the heavy-as-all-hell "Phoenix", the second half of Matriarch consists of nothing but middling filler tracks. The successful balance of their newfound melody with vintage grooves suddenly vanishes and is replaced by a series of songs loaded with limp djent riffs and practically no vocal variation.
The failure of the second half album can be equally attributed to Okubo's flat songwriting and Mygar's vocal deficiencies. Okubo's attempts to make the band more accessible has taken away from a lot of the magic from their music. Okubo has made a name for himself over the years by using a playing style that made heavy use of effects pedals, odd-meter melodies and grooves that were equal parts Meshuggah-worship and traditional death metal. In other words, you knew who was playing it the minute you heard it. On Matriarch, that style is put to the side in favor of a barrage of second-tier djent riffs and repetitive clean melodies that are used by dozens of bands in the scene. Okubo is still a very gifted guitar player who lays down his fair share of quality riffage on this record, he's just no where near as exciting to listen to when he abandons his singular identity.
As for Magyar, the further the album goes along, the more clear it becomes that the band is not tailored to his strengths as a vocalist. The mid-range scream he resorts to a majority of the time is average at best and becomes extremely monotonous when he rarely deviates it from on tracks like "Danerys", "Lisbeth" and "Three-Fifty". Even the clean vocals that worked so well earlier in the album start to become uninspired in the latter stages of the record due to sheer repetition and awkward placement within songs. If Magyar had simply thrown in some of the great high screams or catchy clean vocal lines he used earlier in the album, these songs would've been noticeably better. Magyar's mostly underwhelming screams are especially disappointing considering he's replacing a man in Butler who had one of the most unique and impressive range of screams. The distinct vocals of Butler paired with the relentlessly crushing and uniquely layered guitarwork from Okubo made Veil of Maya one of the premiere acts in the genre. With both of those assets now out of the picture, Veil of Maya has become just another pedestrian act in a seemingly eternal sea of -core bands.
While Matriarch isn't without its redeeming qualities, it's still far and away the weakest record in Veil of Maya's discography. I'm not at all opposed to bands changing their sound, but when a band chooses to sacrifice a lot of what made them standout to become more generic, it's really frustrating. Veil of Maya has far too strong of a track record for Matriarch to be a death sentence to their career, but they're going to need to bring the back the grit and complexity to their music if they want their next chapter as a band to be a successful one.
