Lunatic – In Veil Ft. Sam Asteroth (Interview + New Music Video)
In Veil recently released a wonderfully spooky new video for their single “Lunatic” and you’re definitely going to want to add this one to your Halloween playlist! In Veil didn’t let the pandemic stop them from shooting this horror themed piece, heading to a grave yard because “you don’t have to socially distance from the dead.” In Veil teamed up with Sam Astaroth of Astaroth Incarnate and Iomair to bring this project to life and it’s a match made in heaven (or maybe hell?). Lead singer Haysi Veil’s voice mixed with Asteroth’s creates a perfect blend of dark and catchy and the pumping industrial rock happening behind their voices lends to a great listen. “Lunatic” has been out for under a month and it’s already amassed overr 80,000 views, so I know I’m not the only one enamoured by this new video, click below to give it a watch and keep scrolling for an interview with In Veil!
Interview with In Veil
In Veil recently released a new music video for “Lunatic” and it’s already amassed over 80,000 views! How has it felt seeing people’s reaction to your new video?
We were pleasantly and unexpectedly surprised. We always hope that a song will do well but this was beyond our expectations. We can only hope that future releases will do as well and hopefully better.
What is the meaning behind “Lunatic”s lyrics?
Lunatic was a song we wrote in regards to everything happening in the world. We started writing the song just after lockdown. We had people on our social media who were anti-maskers, anti-vaccine, conspiracy theorist types. We were really annoyed by this sentiment. Music has always been really cathartic for us so we decided to take our frustration out in the music. At first the song was primarily about Covid-19 but after the George Floyd murder it also became about racism and racist sentiments here in North America. Haysi (the lead singer, lyricist and co-songwriter) is indegenous, afro-cuban and has seen racism first-hand. We felt that this was an important message in these times.
Can you tell us about the visuals for the music video? Where did you find that creepy mausoleum and what are the vintage horror video’s playing in the background?
In order to maintain social distancing for the music video we knew that a cemetery would be great for certain scenes; you don’t have to social distance from the dead ;). The cemetery we used was St. James cemetery. It’s a perfect place to shoot because it has amazing crypts and mausoleums. The main mausoleum is actually the resting place of James Austin who was the founder of TD bank! Pretty cool stuff in our opinion. As for the vintage horror movies, we had to choose scenes that came from films in the public domain. We chose, “The Man Who Laughs” as well as “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. We chose them because they’re both old films who talk about social ills and civil unrest which we felt was perfect for the aesthetic we were trying to achieve. Also both films are a little funny. That’s a combo we love, funny + spooky.
Do you have any good behind the scenes stories from the video shoot?
Filming in the cemetery was a little unnerving because we were decked out in full goth regalia. There were still pedestrians in the cemetery and they were watching us like we were nuts. I guess in their head they just deduced it to a couple of weird goths just being weird (laughs). Also we realized that our best on screen quality is walking and squatting because both of us are less than stellar actors but we made the best of what we could. You have to remember we are doing all of the production, camera shooting and direction ourselves at this point. We plan to have a bigger budget in the future but we’re really happy with the results of a video that cost next to no money to make.
For the track you teamed up with Sam Astaroth of Astaroth Incarnate and Iomair as well as Michael Falcore of The Birthday Massacre. How was working with them to bring this to life?
We were really lucky to have such talented musicians wanting to work with us. Sam has been a public figure in the Toronto music scene for many years, and Michael is the guitarist of the one of the most successful Goth rock bands in this millenia. Both of these guys are extremely professional, fun and easy to work with and brought a lot of talent to this project. They seemed to really like working with us too, which we are very grateful for. It’s so rewarding to see musicians supporting each other. It’s how it should be.
After months of not jamming as a full band due to the pandemic, you guys recently all got together. For any musician, they know your band is like your family, so how was that feeling?
We really missed having the whole group together because pre- pandemic we rehearsed regularly. One week before lockdown we had our first and final show which was pretty successful. Then Covid hit and it felt like a step back for the band because live performances were no longer happening. However, we (Ady and Haysi) decided to focus on our online presence more and make music videos. We managed to release 2 in quarantine. Now we feel like we’re returning to a project that’s been growing rather than staying stagnant and that is a rewarding feeling for us as well as our band members.
What genre would you consider In Veil?
That’s a tough question because we don’t really fall into any particular category. However we have been referred to as Industrial, Goth Rock and Nu Metal. We’re sure puritans out there would disagree with these monikers but we have tried our best to develop our own sound. All we truly know is that if you like spooky, heavy and fun music,there’s a good chance you will like IN Veil.
What are your main inspirations, be it musical or otherwise?
Haysi: For me I really love Horror Films, especially when they’re comically spooky. Music wise I’m really inspired by Mike Patton from Mr. Bungle and Faith No More. Also I’m obviously inspired by Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. For Ady and I as writers our number one inspiration is Rammtein. They play a huge influence on how we write. I also love American Hip Hop so I try to add a little bit of that flavour in the songs.
Ady: For me my riffs are really inspired by Rammstein and Gojira. This is because they fit our intention to make every part of the song pumpy and catchy. Haysi’s melodies and lyrics are pretty pumpy from start to finish and these heavy, in your face riffs are a perfect match for that in my opinion.
Who are some of your favourite local artists?
Toronto is so full of talent. There is so much good music coming out of this city. As far as specific artists we love our friends at Astaroth Incarnate, Queens and Kings, Carmen North, Johnny NoCash as well as Lindsay Schoolcraft formally in Cradle of Filth and The Birthday Massacre (those guys are internationally renowned. They’re both based out of Toronto though).
Your first live show was in March at Toronto’s Hard Luck, put on by The Reverend Radio Show. Since we’re all missing live music right now, do you have any good stories from the show to help us remember how awesome live music was?
We are really proud to say that we as well as 5 other acts managed to raise 2100 dollars for cancer research. It’s nice to rock out but it’s also great to give back to the community. We were also in extraordinary company and it was a packed show. We can’t wait to hit the stage again.
The Toronto music scene is certainly going to look very different by the end of this pandemic. What are your thoughts on what it will look like when this all said and done?
We feel like anyone who wants to be successful right now needs to put most of their focus on their online presence. It was like that even before Covid. When you play live local shows you might be able to reach 500 people. Online it’s completely different. You can reach people all over the world. It’s amazing. Although Covid has definitely been a horrible ordeal on so many people we did find that it made us more creative in our approach. It forced us to think out side the box and challenge ourselves.
What is In Veil working on next?
We will be releasing another music video in the next coming months. The single is still in the pre production phase but this one will definitely be a banger. It’s even dancier, even pumpier and more anthamic than Lunatic. The track is titled “Salome” and we are working hard on making it as good as we can.
Do you have any last words for our readers during these crazy times?
It’s easy to lose hope when the world feels so overwhelmingly negative. Both of us (Ady and Haysi) have had our own ordeals that we have had to overcome a lot. The best lesson we learned is to never give up, believe in yourself, stay mindful and self aware. Every setback in life can teach you something new about yourself and the more you learn the more powerful and more resilient you become. Self awareness is an incredible tool and there is a silver lining in your pain, always.
