Song Review
Lyrics - Hear the Song @ Progarchives
Genre classifications are useful for conveying a large amount of musical information in a short space. If you say "This is a polka song," everyone has a fair idea of what it will sound like. However, they can lead to shortcuts and myopia when dealing with new or unfamiliar music. Many listeners avoid certain genres completely out of misguided assumptions or exposure only to the most mainstream (and usually weakest) examples of that genre. Country music is dismissed as bland, middle-of-the-road singer-songwriter wannabes; hip-hop and rap are dismissed as black men flaunting their riches and misogynist sensibilities; entire genres become unfairly stereotyped and dismissed.[1]
Veil of Maya is classified as a death metal song. Any reader who isn't a metal fan will base their opinion off of that single term and move on. I say "classified", because it certainly wasn't the genre I associated the song with, and while there are a few characteristics of "death metal", I believe this music deserves to be heard by more than just death metal fans.
Sure, Veil of Maya has heavy distorted guitarwork, and death growls. These can be offputting, but distorted guitar is no unknown quantity to anyone exposed to rock music, and while I'm no fan of the death growl, it's only marginally worse than vocals employed by MCR. The band has two vocalists, the other a digitally processed "robot-voice"[2] which contribute to the uniqueness of the music.
The song has been equally described as "jazzy"[3][4], most notable when the metal intro to the song segues effortlessly into an atmospheric, calm and relaxing interlude that conjures images of the ocean.
The lyrics are philosophical and somewhat spiritual, discussing duality and Mayan mythology (as the title suggests). Not exactly what comes to mind when you think of "death metal".
The musicians are all highly proficient, and though it may take a few listens to get past prejudices and appreciate the song, most music demands active listening and multiple hearings. In a decade that propagated passive listeners too afraid to go beyond their familiar ground, unusual and vital music that pushed boundaries is a welcome change.
[1] Matt Brennan "The rough guide to critics: musicians discuss the role of the music press" Popular Music, Volume 25, Issue 02, May 2006, pp 221-234
I have never heard of this song, or the band beyond vague amounts. This makes sense if they're a death metal band because the ill-advisedly streamlined genre classification would never have made me look into this band.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they named the album after the Dutch band of the same name? This wouldn't be entirely inappropriate as Focus are similarly misleading as a half heavy metal, half silly parodist band because of Hocus Pocus. If they did then they're awesome :)