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Veil Of Maya - Biography


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Biography

The Chicago based VEIL OF MAYA encompasses the good old American blue collar work ethic and have definitely taken the hard road to success grinding it out on the road through countless tours over the years, but now that backbreaking schedule is paying off tenfold. This quartet are one of the very few bands that can authentically mix elements of progressive metal, melodic death metal, thrash and hardcore brutality together effectively, all while keeping the listener constantly interested with baited breath wondering just what is coming next. This is exactly why they will have a career for years to come.

VEIL OF MAYA were formed in 2004 in Chicago, Illinois after melodic death metal band Insurrection broke-up, which led to members Marc Okubo (lead guitar) and Sam Applebaum (drums) to begin a new project. Okubo and Applebaum were joined by bassist Kris Hilger, guitarist Timothy Marshall and vocalist Adam Clemans; who all decided on naming the band VEIL OF MAYA.

After recording a demo in 2005, the band inducted guitarist Scott Okarma into the group in 2006 while they played and booked shows in their local area. With Okarma's inception, VEIL OF MAYA at this point were a six piece that employed three guitarists, however, both Marshall and Okarma shortly thereafter left the band, and the members found Bryan Ruppell to replace them both.

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. After this debut, vocalist Clemans and guitarist Ruppell would both leave the group, which then had VEIL OF MAYA in search for a new vocalist which led to them discovering 20-year old Brandon Butler, who was formerly part of a Christian metal band named Iscariot. Butler joined in 2007, however, the band decided not to search for a new rhythm guitarist, thus leaving VEIL OF MAYA as a four piece.

After Butler's inception and after gaining exposure through tours and interviews, VEIL OF MAYA signed with Sumerian Records in January 2008. Sumerian manager Shawn Keith and founder Ash Avildsen were both reportedly very ecstatic and interested in signing the band. VEIL OF MAYA's second album, The Common Man's Collapse was recorded with Butler in 2008 and released the same year. Being VEIL OF MAYA's first album through the much larger label that Sumerian is, it was produced in better quality than their debut. After this release, the band parted ways their original bassist Kristopher "Kris" Higler in 2009, he was replaced by Matthew Pantelis, formerly of Born Of Osiris.

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. 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"; the album itself also holds several concepts and references to other topics in popular culture, especially television shows.

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 and was produced and co-written by Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor.