We were very surprised to learn that Veil Of Maya vocalist Brandon Butler quit the band recently, packed up and moved to the Pacific Northwest. The band have been hard at work on the follow-up to 2012's Eclipse and just completed a successful stint on the Mayhem Fest. Turns out things weren't all peachy in the Veil of Maya camp.
Butler posted the following on his social media pages over the weekend:
As most of you know by now I am no longer in Veil of Maya. This decision was one of the toughest ones I have ever made in my life. The journey I have had traveling the world and playing for people who want to hear music I helped create is impossible to describe in words. The last 7 years of my life have been one wild ride and there is nothing I would take back about it. It was a dream of mine to make an impact with my words, even if in just a few lives.
I will NEVER stop being passionate for music and writing as it is a massive part of my life. I feel as if I was on the verge of writing some of my best lyrics yet with the VOM guys and wish I could have showed you all. Marc, Sam, and Danny are currently working extremely hard on some amazing stuff that I know you guys will enjoy.
They have a strong vision for how this album should sound and personally and creatively I had a different view from theirs which caused a wedge between us in this last year.
I spent 7 years of my life hanging out with those guys grinding it out on the road and will always love them like brothers regardless of how it ended. It was an adventure with tons of ups and downs. Thank you so much to everyone who was a part of my time with veil. You changed my life for the better! The biggest thing I will miss is sharing experiences and stories with my friends around the world. Thank you for everything you have given me. VOM has the best fans ever! It was an absolute honor sharing the stage with you all and I'll miss it. Stay fucking metal \m/
The emphasis added was ours. I'm curious what this creative wedge was? Was the band looking to do more clean vocals and Brandon wanted to do more screams? Perhaps it was the opposite? I guess the answer may be a little clearer once we hear more than a few seconds of new material from the band.
Veil of Maya's only scheduled show is next month at Knotfest. Will they have their vocalist situation sorted by then?
