ALBUM REVIEW: The Veil – Black Passage

One of the reasons that heavy and alternative music is so appealing to it’s followers is the fact that it steps away from the norm and offers a plethora of diverse sound. BLACK PASSAGE are set to unveil their own offering, in the form of their upcoming full length The Veil, a record that perspires creativity and unexpected minutiae. In a desperate attempt to describe this auditory assault, the album’s accompanying press release settles on the term ‘Progressive Death Metal’, but the truth is that BLACK PASSAGE are a band that flip a middle finger in the face of genre constraints and instead simply wander down their own path. They may be well rooted in extreme metal soil, but there is a certain air of melody about this album that screams something more than just pummelling heaviness. It’s more intelligent than that.

The Veil is staggeringly heavy, there is no doubt about that. But read between the lines and you’ll find a musical landscape that teeters somewhere in the middle of alternative rock and brutal death metal. It’s FIGHTSTAR meets FALLUJAH, and the spirit of both is encapsulated perfectly. Lost is a delicate introductory track that glistens with emotive edge, drifting trance like into Left To Waste where a metalcore riff punches through and ups the ante. Amidst blast beats and melodic clean vocals, BLACK PASSAGE begin to stamp their authority, most notably when a tech death segway adds dimension early on. The guitar work of Kevin Wilson and Robby Perry combines to build a soundscape that is equal parts eerie and beguiling, bleeding a kind of emotion from their respective fretboards that enables the track to take on an impassioned edge.

When the band first got together to commence the writing of The Veil, they explained that they wanted to “provide an intersection between all things dark, melodic and heavy.” As we progress into Lamenting Ghost, this vision begins to make sense. A whole raft of playing styles are effectuated, all accompanied by a churning vocal growl. It’s another riff oriented track, whereas as it’s successor Tables Turn feels much more nu-metal. The chorus could be from a SLIPKNOT track, and panic chords are splattered generously throughout the verses. 

This scattergun approach is replicated through much of the album. The title track offers a moment of reflective calm, and The Broken Hand even goes as far as channelling black metal influence, with the tracks in between wavering between crunchy breakdowns and lush melody. Although a lot of praise is warranted for such ambidextrous musicianship, it is perhaps taken slightly too far at times. The skill required to write in such a complex manner is beyond dispute, but the only drawback is that The Veil can feel a little lacking in theme. It never truly stands still, which although ensuring that the record remains compelling throughout, also makes it difficult to grasp a handle on exactly what it is that BLACK PASSAGE want us to hear and feel.

By the time we reach the closing track Bleed For You, we have been thrown in every which direction. The band’s goal of constructing a musical crossroads has been well and truly fulfilled, and although it might be a little hard to get a feel for exactly who and what BLACK PASSAGE are, they have certainly provided us with a mouth watering listening experience.

Rating: 8/10

The Veil is set for release July 26th via self release. 

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