Veil of Maya

Veil of Maya
Veil of Maya performing in Los Angeles on In Flames' 2012 winter tour.
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois
Genres	Deathcore
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Sumerian, Corrosive
Associated acts	Insurrection, Iscariot
Members	Brandon Butler Marc Okubo Danny Hauser Sam Applebaum

Veil of Maya is an American deathcore band, formed in Chicago, Illinois by members Marc Okubo and Sam Applebaum in 2004. The group is currently signed to Sumerian Records, have released four full-length studio albums and are considered to be a contributor in the "djent" scene. The name of the band is derived from the Hindu illusion, Maya.

The band originally took use of multiple guitar players, but since 2007 Okubo has been the only guitarist the band employs.

History

Formation and demo (2004–2006)

Veil of Maya were formed in 2004 in Chicago, Illinois after melodic death metal band Insurrection broke-up, which led members Marc Okubo (lead guitar), Sam Applebaum (drums) and Kris Higler (bassist) to start up the new project.^[1]Guitarist Timothy Marshall and vocalist Adam Clemans joined shortly thereafter.

After recording a self-released demo in 2005, guitarist Scott Okarma briefly joined the group, participating in local shows and early touring. At this point, Veil of Maya were a six-piece band with three guitarists, but this only lasted for a few months before both Marshall and Okarma left the band. Bryan Ruppell replaced them both on rhythm guitar thus reverting their lineup back to five members.

All Things Set Aside and The Common Man's Collapse (2006–2009)

With this five member line-up, the band recorded, self-produced and released their debut full-length album All Things Set Aside through Corrosive Recordings in 2006. In early 2006 vocalist Clemans and guitarist Ruppell left the group leading Veil of Maya to enlist the help of then-20 year old Brandon Butler, former vocalist of the Christian metal band Iscariot. The band also decided not to search for a new rhythm guitarist, thus leaving Veil of Maya as a four piece.

In January 2008, after heightened exposure from interviews and successful tours, Veil of Maya signed with Sumerian Records ^[2] Sumerian manager Shawn Keith and founder Ash Avildsen were both reportedly very ecstatic about the partnership.^[3] Veil of Maya's second album, The Common Man's Collapse was recorded with Butler in 2008 and released the same year. Shortly after the album release, the band parted ways their original bassist Kristopher "Kris" Higler in 2009, and was replaced by Matthew Pantelis, formerly of Born of Osiris.

[id] and Eclipse (2010–2012)

After their second album's release, the following several months held extensive touring before the writing and recording for the group's third full-length, [id] began. [id] was released on April 6, 2010, and reached number 107 on the Billboard 200.^[4] The band worked again with producer Michael Keene from The Faceless for this album, who previously produced The Common Man's Collapse. The album's name was derived from the main character of the PlayStation game Xenogears;^{[citation needed]} the album itself also holds several concepts and references to other topics in popular culture, especially television shows.^[5][6]

After the release of [id], Pantelis as well left the band, which led to Danny Hauser replacing him in 2010; the band's current bassist. On January 13, 2012, Sumerian Records released a teaser for Veil of Maya's most recent album, Eclipse. On January 17, the single "Vicious Circles" was released onto the iTunes Store. Eclipse was then released on February 28, 2012^[7] and was produced and co-written by Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor.^[8]

Next upcoming release (2013-present)

Guitarist Okubo announced that fans can expect either a new EP or a new album later this year; "If not an album, fans can at least expect an EP this year and a new album next year."^[9] The stream of the new song, Subject Zero, which is the first single off their fifth studio album, was released on October 30, 2013.^[10]

Members

Current members

• Sam Applebaum - drums (2004-present)
• Marc Okubo - guitars (2004-present)
• Brandon Butler - lead vocals (2007-present)
• Danny Hauser - bass guitar (2010-present)

Former members

• Timothy Marshall - guitars (2004-2006)
• Scott Okarma - guitars (2006)
• Bryan Ruppell - guitars (2006-2007)
• Adam Clemans - lead vocals (2004-2007)
• Kristopher Higler - bass guitar (2004-2009)
• Matthew C. Pantelis - bass guitar (2009-2010)

Discography

• All Things Set Aside (2006)
• The Common Man's Collapse (2008)
• [id] (2010)
• Eclipse (2012)

Videography

References

External links

• Veil of Maya on Facebook