Veil Of Maya, while being technically proficient musically, don't bring much to the table that hasn't already been brought. Though they don't fall directly into the oversaturated pit of deathcore (which is a very good thing), they don't add much to the tech death metal scene either.

Being technically proficient is great, but lacking innovation will bring everything to a screeching halt quick. Their "breakdowns" are more influenced by Meshuggah than Throwdown, but even that becomes stale a few songs in, as it sounds much like Meshuggah did on their disastrous release 'Nothing'......Extremely monotonous riffs played at barely varying tempos.

To the band's credit, there are some wicked melodic guitar leads thrown into the mix randomly, and that somewhat helps to offset things a bit, but they're too few and far between for a band of this caliber. Maybe their next release will see the band implement more variety, and possibly show less of their rather obvious Meshuggah influence.

The Common Man's Collapse could have been a rather amazing album, and in the eyes of some of the more extreme metalheads (who like to think everything in the death metal sub-genre is cool), it might just be a completely amazing album. But for those that are looking for something more than an attempt at Between The Buried And Me meets The Faceless, it's just not enough to truly impress on any level.

The music speaks for itself, and shows that these guys are definitely capable, top notch metal musicians. The problem lies in their inability to carve out their own path within the scene. And while it's relatively hard for just about any band to come out swinging that hard on a debut release, it's far from being impossible, and it has definitely been done many times before.

Very promising, and definitely a solid debut. Just not enough to make them stand out. Hopefully these guys will find their niche on their next go around.