Veritas en void - AKASHIC LENS

Veritas en void
AKASHIC LENS
2013/03/20

1. IRIS
2. DAMNED
3. Siren
4. Lumen
5. Ubiquitous
6. Augulatio

Veritas en void is one of those curious enigmas of the visual kei underground: a group of young musicians that managed to craft a polished and mature sound right from the start, yet they've somehow always remained relatively unknown.

I can't even recall how I stumbled upon this project but I have a strong feeling I might have gotten their CD from RarezHut as a blind buy, only relying on a short sample or description. To this day, I don't really know all that much about these guys, other than they released this debut mini album and then they dropped a few more releases which I haven't been able to dig up anywhere... In any case, it seems like I struck gold with this mini, so I was immensely glad I got it when I had the chance.

Just by looking at the cover art, design and song titles, you might think of the elegantly mystical vibes of 9GOATS BLACK OUT, and you're not far off the mark! Veritas en void play a sort of sleek-sounding, slightly gothic and very much artistic type of VK, heavily incorporating the more melancholic tones of classic Nagoya kei. The production and mastering gives the material a bright glow and crystal clarity that lets the tunes flow freely like a temperamental river, perfectly suited to their style of music.

The band presents quite a variety on this short record. We begin with some comparatively heavier guitars in the opener "IRIS" followed by "DAMNED". Even here, the focus isn't on the chugging as you would expect, but more on achieving a balanced mix of aggression and fragility. From here we switch it up a bit with two of my favorite tracks. "Siren" gives all the VK bands who thought they could do that jazzy swingy rhythm a run for their money, bopping along with effortless grace, while "Lumen" takes us to groovy but hectic territories with its versatile guitarplay and ever-changing vocal delivery. These are the highlights for me, but the rest of the songs do a fine job as well.

It's really unfortunate how Veritas en void (known only as VERITAS from 2017 onwards apparently) has never garnered much admiration or popularity within the scene because they could easily beat any random flavor-of-the-moment band on any given day with their songwriting chops, tight playing and vocal skills. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be able to reach wider audiences in due time, without compromising their artistic vision, to get the recognition that they deserve.