I've been revisiting Veil of Imagination a lot lately and yeah, this was unquestionably the finest album of 2019 for me... and I'd argue it's probably a stronger album than Sleep at the Edge of the Earth to boot.
Moreover, upon revisiting some older posts in the thread from when the album first came out, I had a realization about one of the bigger contrasts between Veil and Sleep. I think it's less that Wilderun toned down the folk metal and turned up the death metal elements (as we all initially thought) and more that the band seems to be transitioning a bit more towards symphonic metal over folk.
After really letting the album sink in, to me, Veil of Imagination sounds like an evolution from the templates laid out by Opeth, Kamelot, Nightwish, Blind Guardian, Devin Townsend and even goddamn Savatage... All molded into one sound. While I think the Opeth influences and vibes are easily the most prominent and obvious comparison, pay attention to the arrangements going on in the songs- all the orchestral accentuations and choirs accompanying the music. Heck, take a closer listen to Evan Berry's clean singing voice- he's starting to sound more and more like The Black Halo-era Roy Khan than Mikael Akerfeldt to me.
There's something special about Wilderun and what they achieved on Veil. I'm mighty curious to see where these guys go next.
Topic: The Official Wilderun Thread v. Epigone (January 7, 2022) (Read 4703 times)
