Doom/Sludge Metallers VEILCASTE Announce New Album HELLWARD And Release New Single EMBEDDED

VEILCASTE: a doomed and sludgy metal institution from the center of the American Midwaste; a rusted-out ashtray of post-industrial rot known as Indianapolis.

With a long-standing reputation for heavy hook-laden riffs, cathartic vocal eruptions, and spacey, psychedelic undertones, Veilcaste have embarked on a new chapter that doesn’t so much trudge as groove- with cranium-cracking force. As they approach the release of their fourth album, “Hellward”, they humbly submit the first single “Embedded”:

“Embedded is about embracing what makes us human as an act of defiance. We are not luddites by any stretch, but we are actively reckoning with the insidious presence of technology in practically every aspect of our lives. The song presents sex as transcendence and a rejection of both the false connections of social media and the race-to-the-bottom of AI.”

Youtube: https://youtu.be/RaVSgmUKmnA?si=xSugQUJmN8xlhn4e
Bandcamp: https://veilcaste.bandcamp.com/track/embedded-2

Early listeners have said it pairs well with Crowbar, Chat Pile, or Old Man Gloom, but VEILCASTE were 90s alterna-teens before they found Neurosis, and still worship Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and White Zombie so you might catch a whiff of those in there as well.

Members of the band founded and served time in such bands as Demiricous (Metal Blade) and Coffinworm (Profound Lore).

“Hellward” will be dropping on vinyl/CD/cassette in August via Third House Communications.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Veilcaste - Precipice (Album Review)

Release Date: February 10th 2023. Record Label: Wise Blood Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Precipice: Tracklisting

Asunder Skies

Dust & Bone

Drag Me Down

For Us

Relapse In Reason

A Grasp Of Air

Empty Hell

Members

Gabe Whitcomb - Bass

Chris Cruz - Drums

Brian Wyrick - Guitars

John Rau - Guitars/Vocals

Dustin Mendel - Vocals

Review

Precipice is the new album from Doom/Sludge Heavy Hitters Veilcaste. The band used to be known as Conjurer and I've reviewed their albums in the past. The band changed their name perhaps to avoid being mistaken for the UK Doom/Sludge Metal band with the same name. Anyway, we're here with Veilcaste and this album marks a darker and heavier transition for the band into "GLOOM & DOOM'' riff merchants that sees the band follow the same creative path as bands such as YOB, CONAN, Neurosis and Mastodon.

The album is very progressive which you can hear from the excellent opening track Asunder Skies. With Veilcaste playing heavy down-tuned Sludge/Doom Metal with YOB-esque grooves moving into areas of distorted Psychedelia and other sludgy compounds. The vocals are aggressive with an almost hardcore feel to them but it's the music that remains Veilcaste greatest strength with an abundance of different styles that can be quite melodic in places despite the gloomy nature of the whole album. I can also detect a slight Alice In Chains vibe with how the lyrics are written and certain parts of the song does have that early AIC vibe but I could be looking far too much into things again.

Second song Dust & Bone opens with a solid progressive rock/metal instrumental work that moves quickly into heavier areas of Doom/Sludge Metal with frantic guitar work leading the way. Veilcaste bring a darker and distorted sense of GLOOMY FUZZ into their music. The instrumental work has a wicked "chainsaw" effect with the sublime vocals from Dustin switching to a more cleaner and emotionally charged vocal delivery allowing this song to be one of the standout tracks on the album. The grooves are slightly extended in places but Veilcaste do play some of the best riffs on the album. There's a few subtle Psychedelic sounds being added towards the end of the song which shows you the full creative force of the band.

Third song Drag Me Down opens with Mastodon-esque guitars for a cool extended instrumental passage before harsh vocals appear to change the narrative and tone of the song. This is Veilcaste in full DOOM METAL mode with a Post-Metal sound appearing that also brings a darker style of Psychedelic Rock/Metal for Veilcaste to play with. Elements of Psych Rock and Spaced Out Rock appear for another one of the standout tracks. The lyrics are bleak yet again with the harsh Sludge grooves being quite forceful in places that move Veilcaste further into the AMPLIFIER WORSHIP field with some mighty fine DOWN-TUNED moments appearing along the way.

Fourth song For Us is another track where Veilcaste uses the LOW & SLOW approach with a deliberate slow pace leading the way. Dustin's vocals are bang on point yet again with superb lyrics that have a menacing quality to them. The music is more Sludge based than Doom but Veilcaste do switch between both areas within this track. Harsh grooves have that distorted sound to them with Veilcaste playing one of the riffiest tracks on the album.

The final three songs Relapse In Reason, A Grasp Of Air and Empty Hell sees Veilcaste enhance and improve  their Doom/Sludge grooves compared to the first half. The music is perhaps more SONIC based with the band bringing the heaviest riffs and vocals on this part of the album especially on Relapse In Reason and Empty Hell.  A Grasp Of Air is no slouch in that department either.

Precipice is an exciting and thrilling release from Veilcaste. Backed by superb production values, this album also benefits by excellent songwriting that impressed me greatly. This all helps Precipice to be an essential album to own and hopefully showcases another exciting chapter for Veilcaste to fully explore and perhaps reap the rewards for their hard work.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Sure Shot Worx and Wise Blood Records for the promo. 

Precipice will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Wise Blood Records USA Store and Wise Blood Records EU Store from February 10th 2023.

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Exclusive Premiere Of VEILCASTE / TUSK Split Album. Released via Wise Blood Records.

Wise Blood Records are releasing the outstanding heavy as hell split release from Doom/Post-Metallers TUSK and Doom/Sludge Metallers VEILCASTE.

Both bands offer two original tracks of their own with a cover of classic tracks from Cannibal Corpse and The Misfits. bands. TUSK cover Cannibal Corpse classic Festering In The Crypt and VEILCASTE cover The Misfits classic Return Of The Fly.

Jesse Curtis (vocalist/guitarist of Tusk) says this about the split release:

“It had been awhile since we had released any music, so when the opportunity came up to release a couple of tracks with our friends in Veilcaste the decision was a no-brainer! They told us they were doing a cover and wanted us to do one as well. After a long deliberation we decided on one of our favorite Cannibal Corpse songs, and took advantage of being friends with one of the best death metal vocalists in Brandon Howe (Mother of Graves) to lay down a guest spot on our half of the split.”

Jon Rau of Veilcaste says this about the split release:

“We are so excited to release this split with our friends in Tusk. It’s a fun way to release some new songs and give everyone a taste of our new full length coming out this fall. We chose to cover “Return of the Fly” by Misfits, because it’s one of the few Misfits songs that hasn’t been covered to death, it’s a little more obscure, and we felt we could really make it our own.”

Both bands offer DOOM based levels of PURE Heaviness and you can hear the full release with this premiere courtesy of Wise Blood Records.

Tracklist

1.VEILCASTE - Dust & Bone

2.VEILCASTE - Mirrors

3.VEILCASTE - Return Of The Fly

4.TUSK - Disquiet

5.TUSK - Entering The Flesh Again

6.TUSK - Festering In The Crypt

TUSK Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Veilcaste Links

Facebook | BandCamp

Veilcaste | Tusk split release will be released on CD/DD/Cassette via Wise Blood Records on July 1st 2022.

Thanks to Sean at Wise Blood Records for all of the info.