ECLIPSE: VEIL OF MAYA’S NEW ALBUM WILL FALL INTO ORBIT ON FEBRUARY 28TH

[UPDATE, 1:50pm EST: Low res version of the cover artwork for Eclipse is posted below (Thanks: Jeffrey F.) – Ed.]

Seems like Rob at Metal Injection has caught the entire Metalnets napping by reporting the already two day-old news that Veil of Maya’s third album, Eclipse, will be released on February 28th. How did we all miss the news that one of Sumerian’s biggest non-sucky bands (read: non-Asking Alexandria) is releasing a new album only 6 weeks from now? I’m not sure, but, welp, there it is! The news was announced on Monday via a press release that focused more on VoM’s upcoming tour with In Flames than the new album — hence having glossed over it — which strikes me as a little odd… as does the 6-week release window, which is very short compared to most album marketing plans. But again, there it is. New Veil of Maya on February 28th!

Veil of Maya have never been a band that’s bowled me over, but I did enjoy their last album, 2010’s [id], and the band continues to impress me live every time I see them (I especially love watching guitarist Marc Okubo’s pedalboard tapdance extravaganza). Veil of Maya are the type of band who I feel have the potential to step out of their sub-genre and surprise people with something completely different and progressive — and that would be amazing to see — but if they simply keep moving forward incrementally and refining their sound the way did between The Common Man’s Collapse and [id], that’d be ok with me too.

February 28th is gonna be a great day for fans of techy, proggy, wonky metal. The long anticipated fusion-metal debut by T.R.A.M. — featuring members of Animals as Leaders, The Mars Volta and Suicidal Tendencies — comes out that day on Sumerian too, after delays stretching all the way back to June of last year.

Catch Veil of Maya on tour with In Flames and Trivium in North America starting tomorrow; get dates here.

-VN