To help boost the already extremely high anticipation of their new album, Veil of Maya went on a headlining tour with Animals as Leaders, Circle of Contempt, and Periphery.  I sat down with half of the four-piece, and here is what they had to say:

Tanner Fisher: Alright, I’m here with some of the dudes from Veil of Maya. Could you say your name and what you play?

MO: Hi, I’m Marc [Okubo], and I play guitar.

SA: My name is Sam [Applebaum], and I play the drums.

TF: So this is your guys’ first headlining tour right? How’s it going so far?

MO: This tour is awesome.  We got to pick all of the bands on it, so we picked our friends, which all happen to be really talented. It’s an honor to headline this tour.

TF: Marc, I was wondering, considering your music is really technical and you have to loop some of your parts live, did you guys ever think about adding a second guitarist?

MO: Initially, right after we recorded our first album, we were going to look for a guitarist, but our tour schedule didn’t let that happen.  We just continuously think of new ways to make up for it with the use of effect pedals and whatnot.  Now we’re totally comfortable being a four piece.  On our new album, we kept the four-piece thing in mind…we’re not doing things that are impossible to re-create live anymore.  I mean, I’m going to use all of the effects, now it just makes more sense to us, it’s more of a natural thing. 

TF: I was just talking with guys from Stray from the Path, and they said that you’ve influenced them to stay as a four-piece, so props to you guys. 

MO: Oh sweet. Those are some good guys.

TF: So let’s talk about the new album.  How would you compare it to your older material?

MO: Well it sounds like we’ve matured as a band, together.  We’ve all grown as musicians.  We now know what we’re good at, and we know what we are capable of.  We’re creating a more focused sound. 

SA: I think it still sounds like Veil of Maya.  We haven’t made any drastic sound changes, it’s just more focused, and the sound is less all over the place. 

TF: So you guys are going to play two new songs tonight, right? How’s the reaction so far?

MO: The reactions on this tour have been really good.  It’s only going to get better when everyone has heard the song before, so they know what’s going to happen next.  Everyone’s been saying that the new songs are awesome, and their stoked for the new album, so it makes me excited.  I still haven’t even heard the album yet, so I can’t wait to hear it too.

TF: You guys for the second time, went to Michael Keene [guitarist of The Faceless] to produce your album.  Why did you go back to him?

MO: Well, he knows the sound we’re going for, and he’s very detail specific.  He’s a good friend of the band, and he expressed interest in doing it.  The last one went over very well, so we figured, why not? It makes sense. 

TF: Well that’s it guys. Rip it up tonight, and keep on going strong.