Matriarch Review:
Nonpointed Fifth studio album by metalcore/deathcore/djent band Veil of Maya. This is their first with Lukas Magyar and their first album with clean vocals. I say it's a wonderful album overall. And if you don't like clean vocals you probably won't like this. Let's do a song-by-song review of this. Oh, and all of the tracks are named after female characters from otherNyu: named after an Elfen Lied character. Aims to be a brutal opener, as short as it is. Only song with a swear word in it.
Pros: Does it's job as a brutal opener well
Cons: Lyrics are bad, actually forgettable once you get to the next few tracks
Verdict: 5/10, very forgettable since many other songs eclipse it.
Leeloo: Named after the Fifth Element character. Another very powerful track.
Pros: The opening. Oh gosh the opening. Very much Born of Osiris-like. I outright love it. Very quick vocal power, and the song has the spacey feel. Very addictive song.
Cons: No clean vocals. That's not too bad though as this is the best song without cleans in it.
Verdict: 9/10
Ellie: Named after the character from The Last of Us
Pros: First track with clean vocals, alright chorus, the ending is wonderful, final lyrics are nice "Leave aside, the good that I've done, all I'll be in the end is worthless. All I'll be in the end is worthless". Also "BUT I AM ALIVE!" followed by breakdown.
Cons: Guitar is actually kinda boring
Verdict: 7/10
Lucy: Possibly named after another Elfen Lied character, although Lucy is a common name so it might be something else. Maybe the Scarlett Johansson movie?
Pros: The Spanish-sounding guitar at the bridge, transcendent lyrics
Cons: The ending ruined the whole song for me.
Verdict: 6/10
Mikasa: Named after the Attack on Titan character, lead single off the album, possibly the first Veil of Maya song you'd hear.
Pros: Very strong all the way through the whole song, chorus has the wonderful cleans, the breakdowns are outstanding.
Cons: Not much to note, ending could be a bit better.
Verdict: 9/10
Aeris: Named after the Final Fantasy character (I thought her name was Aerith?)
Pros: This was a song I really didn't enjoy the first time I heard it, but it quickly grew to my favorite soon after. A lot of emphasis on the cleans here. It opens up slowly, but gets right into the swing of things. The harsh vocals take the verses over but are well done while the cleans soar through the pre-chorus and chorus. I loved the pre-chorus better. Best part is easily the home stretch of the ending, the "have faith and you won't be left behind" part. The ascending guitar notes are outstanding, and the fade-out ending worked so well.
Cons: Chorus does come off as cookie-cutter.
Verdict: 9.5/10
Three-Fifty: Named after a character from Y: The Last Man, supposedly this character is named Agent 355 actually.
Pros: The most unique song off the album. Interesting opener, when the cleans come in, they soar again. Lots of different riffs. The guitar riffage towards the end is the best part of the song, and the lyrics harmonize well with it.
Cons: Does not come off as metal at first listen, repetitive lyrics.
Verdict: 8.5/10
Phoenix: Named after Jean Grey. You don't know who that is? X-Men people.
Pros: Another brutal song, especially with the "Evil lingers within everything" lyric. The guitar notes during that line pretty much make this an amazing song. Overall, the song has the very strong feeling to it.
Cons: No cleans. Again not really a bad thing.
Verdict: 9/10
Matriarch: Title track
Pros: Sole instrumental
Cons: Because it's the sole instrumental and the shortest track, there's really not much to talk about.
Verdict: Not gonna bother rating this.
Teleute: Named after Death, possibly from the DC Sandman comics. Actually a Greek name.
Pros: The absolute heaviest track on the album. Also a guitar solo, most likely from Jason Richardson of Chelsea Grin who participated in this track. The abrupt stops in music for this track add to the heaviness. I had this one on repeat quite often.
Cons: No clean vocals, the ending is very weak (also "I'm alone within a black hole" was sung rather weakly).
Verdict: 7/10
Daenerys: Even if you haven't seen Game of Thrones this name is pretty familiar.
Pros: The chord progression in the beginning and the simple guitar notes during the verses. Once again, Lukas's cleans soar like lightning especially in the chorus. Chorus is one of the best. The harsh vocal breakdowns are also pretty nice. Ending guitar notes are noteworthy too.
Cons: It's most likely the softest song on the album.
Verdict: 9/10
Lisbeth: Named after the character from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. May also be named after a Sword Art Online character.
Pros: Another wonderful chorus! It's probably the best on the whole album. And again, the harsh vocal breakdowns are great too. The guitar riff during the verses is nice, and the second verse is sung very cleanly. Song ends the way the album should've ended, very serenely.
Cons: Intro is surprisingly not that good. Also the "am I just simply afraid" part before the second verse wasn't all that fun to listen too. But the pros more than make up for this one.
Verdict: 9.5/10
88/110
Very user-friendly metal album. Like listening to it a lot and love the cleans.
Song ratings:
1. Aeris
2. Lisbeth
3. Leeloo
4. Daenerys
5. Phoenix
6. Mikasa
7. Three-Fifty
8. Ellie
9. Teleute
10. Lucy
11. Nyu