Review Summary: pretty decent metal, nothing to sneeze at.
Veil of Maya is one of those bands that no matter what they do, they do not disappoint. Ever since the early 2000's, this band has been grinding in the metal scene, gradually progressing and finding out new things to incorporate into their music. The Common Man's collapse is the bands 2nd LP, released in 2008. When this album first dropped, there wasn't a lot of praise or acknowledgement received for the band, until recently since people have been waiting for the new veil material, they have been listening to older stuff.
I am going to be perfectly honest with you guys by saying this has to be my favorite album of all times for many reasons. I first heard of this album when their single "It's Not Safe To Swim Today" popped up in my playlists. This song intrigued me with the unique time signatures, composition, technicality, and of course heaviness. I think it is safe to say that a lot of what veil plays puts many bands in their genre to shame, because it is unique in it's own way, and of course there are going to be the metal vets that are going to say this band is nothing more than Meshuggah copy-cat bull***. If that is the case, then that means every metal band post 1987 is an unoriginal talent less Meshuggah clone.
Ok now on to the actual music aspect of the album. This album clocks in at around 33 minutes so if you like short albums this one will do ya good. Overall composition of the album is pretty damn good, I don't hate a single song on here. Some people complained about songs like "Wounds" or "Pillars" because they go under the conception that if the band is running out of material to produce, then they go straight towards a song that is summed up as one huge breakdown, but I strongly disagree. People have to understand that most of these songs are meant to be played in a live setting, where the atmosphere is just right. I also still haven't found a band that uses a breakdown track in one of their albums, it's a common ideal in the metal industry.
The top three songs I chose off this album are as follows:
1. It's Not Safe To Swim Today: A very fast and technical song that is also hard hitting as well, very up-beat.
2. We Bow In It's Aura: A phenomenal track by all means, the synths in the background mix in so well with the song as a whole.
3. Sever The Voices: A track that was originally on the band's first LP "All Things Set Aside", also the longest song on the album.
All in all I think Veil really went hard on this album. The whole atmosphere of this album is very relateable in some ways. What I appreciate about the vocals is that some have a blatant message, while others are left to interpenetration, you really make them your own. Veil of Maya in my opinion has to be one of the best metal bands I heard, even with their latest material, they have not failed to impress me.
