Album Review: Black Passage – The Veil (Self Released)

Many like to pretend that life is all sunshine and rainbows, but it doesn’t take much to dispel this falsehood. Bay Area’s Black Passage know that all too well, and their music resultantly relates to those going through the darkest points in their lives. Their first release, The Veil, may showcase a number of familiar faces, from the atmospheric heft of Fallujah through the punishing hardcore of Wolf King to the brutal technicality of Behold the Desecration and Anisoptera, but this band is quite unlike anything you’ve heard from the above-mentioned names.

Drawing in a bewildering range of styles – influences range from alternative rock to slamming brutal death metal – and molding them to a recognisable blueprint is a feat in and of itself. Yet The Veil demonstrates this balance throughout.

The Veil will be released on July 26th 2019.

A sombre melody (Lost) welcomes us into The Veil, short but effective before Black Passage removes its covering to reveal a melodic but hard hitting style of metal on Left to Waste. Alternating between crushing riffs, savage vocals and cleaner passages, it works wonderfully.

Effortlessly sliding into Lamenting Ghost, the same intensity is in place with a more broken rhythm approach before Tables Turn blazes with fiery heat coming from the drums.

Having decimated all so far, the title track surprises by being incredibly emotive and light. It’s soft melody tinged with sadness up until the halfway point when it erupts in visceral style. The perfect setup for the latter half of the album that pushes the intensity to an even higher level.

Beginning with the force exuded by In Place of Us and extending all the way through to Bleed for You. Each track pushes both the brutalising heaviness and the moodier lows of Black Passage to the front. There’s a lot to take in and being 12 tracks long, the band aren’t shy about showing off everything they are capable of. Which is a hell of lot. Chances are by the end, with the scope of metal showcased on the likes of The Broken Hand and Bringer of Light, your brain might be beginning to feel a little gooey.

Black Passage – The Veil Full Track Listing:

1. Lost
2. Left to Waste
3. Lamenting Ghost
4. Tables Turn
5. The Veil
6. In Place of Us
7. Silent Home
8. Trapped
9. The Broken Hand
10. Depiction of Anguish
11. Bringer of Light
12. Bleed For You

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