When Veil of Maya released the press release for its latest album 'False Idol', the description suggested the new studio effort will be a "marked sonic revolution; heavier and hits harder than ever before." The statement also revelead the larger use of "polyrhythmic guitars, sweeping vocals and shuddering beats", and while the latter part of the statement turned out to be entirely true for the band's followers, not everyone agreed with the former narrative. Well, at least, not initially. 

Fans quickly jumped to the band's social media pages and metal music publications' reviews section to voice the opinions on an evolved cohesive set-up, and similar to the bands that have dared to flirt with sub-genres and techniques to experiment, Veil of Maya faced quite some wrath for the feat. "We experienced that to an extent, however we didn't let it hinder our progression and we continued to do what we as artists wanted," replies vocalist Lukas Magyar upon asked how the band responded to these reviews since the release of the album in October 2017. "I think with a new generation of listeners, metal has yet to evolve into something that they can truly enjoy and appreciate. I believe the genre itself will always be widely prevalent, but it has to adapt," adds Magyar, while highlighting that unlike 2000s, the current decade has been a bigger testing time for metal music and its community. 

Citing Linkin Park as an example, the band believes it's only a matter of time before the fans understand and acknowledge the constant effort to evolve as musicians, and soon, their appreciation for the new sound will grow too.

Whatever little reservations some fans may have towards the essence of 'False Idol' did not really quite show up at the band's India tour, as the three cities covered so far ended up being massive success with the turnout. But the post-hardcoare clean vocals and the djent elements aren't the only areas where the band turned it up a notch, the new album - released only two years after 'Matriarch' - is, surely, its most politically based album so far. And one does not even have to go beyond the titles of the tracks to understand the same. Magyar, who only joined the band in 2014, would not like to compare the recently released album to Matriarch - his first studio effort with Veil of Maya - simply for the reason: 'we had to evolve'. 

The release of False Idol surely has taken the band to unfamiliar lands, and as professional musicians, Veil of Maya prefer to have an escort and a translator by their sides, always. Not a bad demand to have, considering lately some of the shoddy management executed by the desi promoters. Bohemian Live, however, did not only manage to provide Veil of Maya its top priorites but also pulled some strings to find the replacement for the tour's last venue. The venue for the Mumbai gig has now been shifted from antiSocial Khar to Todi Mill Social. 

Ask him how the band intends to encounter 2018 once the tour comes to an end, the vocalist replies, "We will create our own music and video content that we are extremely excited to release. We have also begun a new venture called 'New Industry', a hybrid entertainment company, that incorporates everything from audio/video production to band management and artist development. Apart from that, I personally want to enjoy life more than I have. 

Click on this link to buy your tickets for tonight's gig at Todi Mill Social.