Underneath a maelstrom of polyrhythmic guitars, sweeping vocals, and shuddering beats, Veil of Maya encode a ponderous narrative at the core of their sixth full-length album, False Idol [Sumerian Records]. This time around, a captivating concept drives the quartet—Marc Okubo [guitar], Sam Applebaum [drums], Danny Hauser [bass], and Lukas Magyar [vocals].

“The whole album is told from a first-person perspective,” Lukas explains. “You’re following this character who’s not the nicest man. He rises to power though. You’ll have to listen in order to find out how it ends. The storyline is very dark.”

“It felt more like we were making a movie or a TV series,” adds Marc. “Lukas actually had a storyboard idea that we talked about before even starting. It’s almost like we were providing the soundtrack in Veil of Maya’s template.”

“We wanted to create something refreshing,” Lukas leaves off. “We didn’t recycle the same old thing. It’s a new beginning.”

“I hope the record is something people want to go back to and study again,” concludes Marc. “It’s worth more than one listen.”