About the Artist
When Veil of Maya was recording Matriarch, the group found themselves with a lot of new ideas, but no singer. Enter Lukas Magyar. Hailing from, literally, the middle of nowhere."I'm from this small town in Wisconsin, where there's not a lot of music and nobody's really as serious about it as I am," says Magyar. "I had followed Veil for a few years, and was really impressed by them. When I heard they needed a new singer, I got in touch." Magyar, however, had never toured before. Or even been on a plane. Not a problem."We flew him out, auditioned him and hired him on the spot," reveals guitarist Marc Okubo. "He was great. He could sing, too, which is something we'd wanted to do for a while. It really opened up some possibilities."After making his live debut in front of thousands at last year's Knotfest, Magyar quickly joined producer Taylor Larson (Periphery, Darkest Hour) and his new band mates (rounded out by Okubo, drummer Sam Applebaum and bassist Dan Hauser) in the studio to record Matriarch. It's an album that finds Magyar bringing a new addition to Veil Of Maya's arsenal: a mix of harsh and clean singing. "There was controversy when we released the single, 'Mikasa'" Okubo admits. "But for every 10 kids who complained online, we gained hundreds of new fans. I think 'Mikasa' is the most popular song we've ever put out."You'll definitely hear Lukas's presence and influence on Matriarch, the band's fifth album. Yes, the band is still, as AllMusic posited, "possessed of a malevolent fury and almost mechanical precision." But there's growth here. The grinding "NYU" slides up against the more atmospheric tracks like "Phoenix" and "Leeloo." The title track gets playful, almost like a Danny Elfman tune.