Veilburner – Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy Review

By Kenstrosity

Boasting one of the most consistent discographies in the world of weird modern metal, Pennsylvania’s Veilburner toy with the boundaries between the strange, the twisted, and the accessible. From my introduction to their work, A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy, to their high-water mark Lurkers in the Capsule of Skull, and through The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom, Veilburner defied Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™. Considering that they draw from the same bag of blackened death tricks—albeit seen through the reflection of a fun house mirror—that’s no small feat. The question remains, can upcoming tome Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy pull it off once more?

Veilburner have gotten away with this for as long as they have, over the course of now eight LPs, because they continually find deceptively creative ways to use the tools at their disposal. Highly affected growls and eerie wails interlock in a delightfully mangled fashion with twanging lead guitars and bass plucks, while lightly syncopated drum beats and blasty fills create a solid rhythmic backbone for unexpectedly sticky blackened death riffs full of fun details and novel embellishments. This is the core of Veilburner’s sound, but the formula is wildly adaptable and modular. This, in turn, allows for countless iterations that all feel familiar without feeling rehashed. Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy notches nicely into Veilburner’s discography as another such iteration, this time stripping and slowing down compared to the vicious Lurkers or the whimsical Duality.

Floating in spooky soundscapes—almost psychedelic in its relaxed, wobbly compositions—Longing boasts a simplified riffset and a renewed focus on effective hooks that rely less on base repetition and more on subtle variation. One of the best examples to that point is third cut “Rigor & Wraith,” which is far less violent than the title implies, but still wildly successful. It leaves me in a trance just in time for its companion piece, “That Which Crypts Howls Grandeur,” to rip me apart with thunderous, oscillating riffs and shadowy rasps. It’s a murky tune, darker and more evil-sounding than the majority of Veilburner’s compositions thus far, once again showcasing the versatility of their style. Later highlights like “Ouroboreal Whorl” reinforce the strength of Veilburner’s leads and solos to elevate entire compositions with memorable decorations, vibrant shreds, and brain-scratching burls. In between these cuts, more “predictable” fare that follows precedents established by previous works, particularly Lurkers, prove that Veilburner can carry over familiar material and still impress on the strength of their bouncy, but immersive songwriting (“Da’ath Ye Shadow Portrait,” “Matter o’ the Most Awful of Martyrs”).

Yet, I can feel the effects of the aforementioned Law™ creeping in. As Longing launches, “Longing for Triumph…” and “Pestilent Niche” could be interchanged with material from VLBRNR or Sire and find a pretty welcoming home right away. This issue introduced itself for the first time on Duality, suggesting that Veilburner draws near now to the upper limit of versatility with this sound as it currently exists. Similarly, closer “…Reeking of Tragedy” could reasonably close out any of Veilburner’s records without feeling out of place (though it does have one of the coolest riffs on this record, and directly connects to the opener with a reprisal of sharp, ghostly chants, which helps its case). At 52 minutes, consistent with the duo’s discography thus far, Longing is also the first that feels bloated. This is likely due to the prevalence of slower tempos and more relaxed pacing than previous records endeavored, which brings too much attention to Longing’s average song time of over six minutes than benefits my listening experience. As a final note, Longing’s production shifts the sound towards the flat and the muted, which robs depth and weakens impact where it matters most.

Despite my laundry list of critiques, Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy remains a thoroughly enjoyable, riff-laden, and fiercely unique record in the deep pool of blackened death options. Not as progressive as previous installments, but still effective and interesting, Longing perpetuates Veilburner’s reputation for writing weird and wonky material with meticulous attention to detail and a high standard of quality. That it isn’t the strongest example of their style is but a byproduct of the number of iterations it’s gone through. Perhaps this is a sign for Veilburner to push the envelope, to find and exploit the next stage of evolution for their sound. Even so, Longing’s worthy of a spin or three!

Rating: Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: veilburner.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/veilburner
Releases Worldwide: November 14th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #DeathMetal #LongingForTriumph #Nov25 #ProgressiveMetal #ReekingOfTragedy #Review #Reviews #TranscendingObscurityRecords #Veilburner

For @HailsandAles' #BlackMetalMonday,
cc @sariash's #SymphonicMonday:

#Hasard: Abgnose

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Misanthropy – The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance Review

By Kenstrosity

Apparently, Chicago progressive tech death quartet Misanthropy used to play thrash metal. Once I learned of this shift, it felt like I could suddenly hear a thrashy thread running through their newest release, The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance. Having no prior experience with Misanthropy’s back catalog, I walked into their third record with an open mind, ready and willing to be probed by the wild and the wacky. Sometimes, unexpected changes make for unexpected pleasures.

You’d be forgiven for mistakenly clocking Misanthropy as boilerplate tech death based solely on outward appearances. You’d nonetheless be incorrect. For the longest time, I struggled to nail down exactly what amalgamation of sounds and styles Misanthropy represented. But then I started writing this piece and it hit me. Imagine a dirtier Augury fed through an Atrae Bilis filter and finished with a proggy Atvm glaze, and you have a roughly accurate blueprint of what to expect from current Misanthropy. Twisting, gnarled compositions, motivated by Paul’s multifaceted kitwork, mesh and morph against guitarists Kevin’s and Jose Valles’ unending cavalcade of mind-shredding riffs. Mark’s burbling bass and vicious vox form both the throbbing underbelly and the piercing voice of the record, propelling The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance through its forty-five-minute tale with gusto and gravity. In totality, The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance represents a fierce and furious affair. Yet, countless stops and swaps between blistering grooves, manic freakouts, mind-melting churns, and ground-shaking stomps leave me mostly rapt throughout.

Highlighting standout moments on The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance proves a challenge, as Misanthropy penned so many killer passages into these seven songs that it’s hard to pick favorites. Even so, massive pit-opening grooves and slithering riffs elevate thrashier songs like “The All-Devouring” to the top of the pile. An eerie, waltzing dalliance with jazz rhythms allows opener “Of Sulking and the Wrathful” to shine in its back half as well, showcasing Misanthropy’s knack for oddball transitions that work deceivingly well in the context of their chosen style. At first I struggled to appreciate “Condemned to a Nameless Tomb” and “Descent” for their unorthodox combination of Veilburner stream-of-consciousness writing and Artificial Brain shimmer, but with time I grew to appreciate their place in the lineup as the next-door-neighbor monstrosities that they are. Unafraid to get down and dirty, “Sepulcher” offers just the right amount of funky Alkaloid intelligence to offset filthy Incantation tones and harmonized riffing, expertly juggling straightforward and slimy with weird and wretched.

Impressive though it is that Misanthropy managed to cover so much stylistic ground without sullying their unique new character, The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance remains a touch disjointed as a whole. Tonally, Misanthropy play fearlessly with rough-hewn textures inside a more clinical environment, but there are moments of mild uncanny valley associated with that experiment, as certain elements of Misanthropy’s flexible sound clash rather than coalesce (“A Cure for the Pestilence”). Misanthropy’s willingness and ability to throw everything but the kitchen sink at their compositions without totally destabilizing everything deserves great respect, but it sometimes comes at the cost of fluidity and cohesion (“Consumed by the Abyss”). This, therefore, makes certain sections of The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance somewhat difficult to listen to casually, as I often lose details or miss quality segments when not listening intently. Additionally, the occasional abrupt switch between unexpected change-ups make already lengthy tracks (most soar past the six minute mark) feel even lengthier.

Thankfully, listening intently is quite literally my job here, and I spend lots of time with my charges. Consequently, I can assure you that The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance represents yet another killer in Transcending Obscurity’s lineup of crazy beasts. It may not be everyone’s favorite creature, but if you aren’t careful, it’s liable to sink its teeth into your flesh and rend it from the bone regardless. Some, if not most, of you would probably love that, I’m sure. If so, Misanthropy’s third unleashment is a fine selection for your sick kicks.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: misanthropychicago.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/MisanthropyChicago
Releases Worldwide: December 13th, 2024

#2024 #35 #Alkaloid #AmericanMetal #ArtificialBrain #AtraeBilis #Atvm #Augury #DeathMetal #Dec24 #Incantation #Misanthropy #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheEverCrushingWeightOfStagnance #TranscendingObscurityRecords #Veilburner

It is #bandcampfriday so go to #bandcamp and support the bands you like!

This is one of the records I'd been listening a lot, #Veilburner #TheDualityOfDecapitationAndWisdom, so original and good.

https://veilburnerband.bandcamp.com/album/the-duality-of-decapitation-and-wisdom

Veilburner – The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom Review

By Kenstrosity

Asheville, North Carolina’s motto, for the whole time I’d lived there, is “Stay Weird.” For the most part, we Ashevillians take that to heart. So, too, it seems, do Pennsylvania’s weird blackened death duo Veilburner. A studio project well regarded for their unorthodox songwriting style, Veilburner’s discography represents a masterclass on making weird and freaky music remarkably accessible without sacrificing grit or grime. The pinnacle of that exercise, Lurkers in the Capsule of Skull, saw Veilburner at their zenith, handily securing a top spot on my Albums o’ the Year in 2021. Follow-up VLBRNR fell shy of performing the same feat, and yet it still earned high marks. Consequently, I’ve come to rely on this duo for a good time, every time. Seventh in an unbroken streak of high-caliber strangeness, The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom perpetuates Veilburner’s stalwart reliability.

No longer bound by the same thematic thread that strung A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy and Lurkers in the Capsule of Skull together, VLBRNR and Duality freely explore new concepts and concoctions. For Duality, Veilburner chose to expound on the mystical qualities and cultural significance of the number seven. Gimmicky? Arguably, but seven happens to be my favorite number, so I’m locked in like Monica Geller in “The One with Phoebe’s Uterus.” Seven songs. Seven minutes per song. DR score of seven. Numerous other compositional/lyrical nods to our whole number of the day. Veilburner committed, and it shows not just in their concrete cohesion of tones, textures, and themes. Duality contains an otherworldly, eerie, and distinctly ethereal character (even when compared to previous efforts); a laminar flow that allows forty-nine minutes of oddball blackened death to travel through a mere mortal’s nervous system like tea through a perfectly rendered clay kettle; and an infallible set of creative performances from Mephisto Deleterio (instruments) and Chrisom Infernium (vocals) that constitutes something just a bit different, but still unmistakably Veilburner.

Duality adeptly rebalances Veilburner’s two main draws, then accentuates them with subtle, but creative, adaptations to the format they’ve perfected over the course of their career. Opener “Tem Ohp Ab in Mysticum” isn’t particularly representative of those adaptations—however, listeners need not wait long before things get twisty. Standouts like “III Visions of Hex-Shaped Hiss, Behead the Howling Spirit” and “The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom Pt. II” showcase a newfound emphasis on the psychedelic. Using this as the basis to form kaleidoscopic, yet hellish, atmospheres, Veilburner conjure up wild and writhing synths, bendy guitar leads, and staggering percussive rhythms. In concert, these tweaked elements coalesce into twisted visages of an alien nature that are at once terrifyingly tangible and invitingly incorporeal. No doubt, Chrisom Infernium’s scathing, psychotic rasps placed atop a rhythm that only occasionally aligns with the surrounding instrumentation strengthens the sensory power of this effect. Meanwhile, Veilburner penned some of their strongest hooks and most aggressive tempos to ground the aforementioned psychedelics. “The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom Pt. I,” and album highlights “Shadow of a Shadow” and “Woe Ye’ Who Build These Crosses… Are Those Who Will Serve Us Death,” each embody the Hyde to Duality’s Jekyll, boasting extremely memorable riffs and motifs, grotesquely shimmering solo work, and, in the latter’s case, a downright thrashy energy that recalls old school Metallica if they hailed from the seventh circle of hell.

It’s unfortunate that Duality’s bookends are its weakest links. While the opener and closer fit extremely well within the context of the album and serve with a purpose innumerable bands struggle to capture, they lack zest on their own. “Tem Ohp…” is by-the-numbers Veilburner fare, which is a fine standard to hold as a starting point. However, Veilburner are not known for laurel-resting, and to hear, for the first time, material that could be transplanted on any of their last three records without much conflict gives me slight pause. Closer “V.I.I.,” on the other hand, veers a touch too far into experimental territory. Psychedelic and quasi-tribal in tone, but droning in nature, this closing act lives and dies by the percussive variety provided by the immensely talented Mephisto Deleterio. This alone prevents the song from falling into a repetitive pattern of admittedly sticky hooks and intriguing choral elements. Even so, “V.I.I.” prematurely saps momentum from Duality’s final moments.

These are mere quibbles, of course. Duality remains a unique, and exceedingly cool, record in the rich metallic tapestry that represents 2024. It would have to grow strongly from here—in an unrealistically short period of time—to reach the same list-topping glory as did Lurkers. Nonetheless, listeners can rest assured that Duality reinforces Veilburner’s reputation for reliability and creativity in an extremely challenging field. To those who would disagree, I say, “off with their heads!”

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: veilburner.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/veilburner
Releases Worldwide: November 15th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AmericanMetal #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #Metallica #Nov24 #ProgressiveBlackMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #Review #Reviews #TheDualityOfDecapitationAndWisdom #TranscendingObscurityRecords #Veilburner

Black/death experimentalists Veilburner conjure forth new full length

Veilburner are in a league of their own and every new album of theirs can only be rightfully compared to the other ones in their discography. On this one, they have somehow managed to take the sound further still and even aesthetically they're on a different level now. It's all just ri

https://www.moshville.co.uk/news/2024/09/black-death-experimentalists-veilburner-conjure-forth-new-full-length/

#News #Veilburner

For #BlackMetalMonday by @HailsandAles:

#1349: The God Devourer

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#TrveBlackMetal

FFO #Gorgoroth #Veilburner #Watain

For #ThursDeath:

#AssembleTheChariots: Evermurk

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