Veilburner – A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy

I remember being a teenager and listening to the very first Extreme Metal bands that a friend insisted on showing us. That time my thing was the NWOBHM, or with some effort, the first Thrash Metal bands. But if memory serves right, I loved the breaks inside songs Extreme Metal bands used to have. That time bands slowed down almost completely the carnage and played some very heavy and tasty instrumental sequences. A long time went by and here I am reviewing bands and I have the pleasure to get Veilburner “A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy” with their self-labeled Experimental Black Metal. And you know what? I agree with their labeling. Mostly, they are one of the best bands I’ve heard recently. Veilburner rule!

First of all, “A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy” is a very long album. There are eight tracks in a average of six, seven minutes. There are moments, if you don’t pay enough attention, you’ll think it’s another band. “A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy” is an album of details. There are lots of them hidden inside the tracks. You have to dig in the layers of sounds to discover and have a feast with them. Surprises begin early on first track “Introvertovoid” with a cool short intro to then come a clean guitar with some 1970s chorus. In a sudden it turns out into a violent raw Black Metal with a high-velocity drumming. It’s shocking – in the good sense, of course. But, as I said, inside and hidden into it there are interesting guitars riffs which embellishes the track giving it an ethereal vibe. By the third minute there is another plot twist and “Introvertovoid” gets almost an art rock track with elements of space rock as a bridge to a cool, and slow, guitar solo which goes in a crescendo to end up with a very faster sequence that finishes the track. Great track. Worth every minute of it.

Ok, the details. “Panoramic Phantoms” has some space rock elements hidden in the layer of Black Metal sounds. Some keyboard sequences inside it which make a lot of difference giving Veilburner personality. Also, there are some out-of-tune guitar phrases to call the eyes and other guitar sequences. In short, my child of the night, you’ll have to listen to “A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy” to get all the details. They are so much to address here. “A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy” is a masterpiece! Believe me!

Veilburner “A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy” was released on December 28th via Transcending Obscurity Records.

Track Listing:

  1. Introvertovoid
  2. Panoramic Phantoms
  3. Agony on Repeat
  4. Abattoir Noir
  5. A Sire to the Ghouls of Lunacy
  6. Glory Glory Grotesque
  7. Upstream and Parallel
  8. Where Torment Has Danced Before

Watch “Glory Glory Grotesque” video here: