Album Review: Viogression – Thaumaturgic Veil (Self Released)

Milwaukee Death Metal veterans, Viogression, are set to self-release their new album, Thaumaturgic Veil, on July 11th.

Formed in 1988, Viogression swiftly forged a formidable presence in the metal underground with three searing demos, paving the way for their critically lauded debut, Expound & Exhort in 1990. This landmark release launched them onto a world tour, igniting stages alongside Death and Pestilence. The world was at their feet but problems lay on the horizon. Their second album, Passage was released incomplete in 1994 and signalled the start of a nine-year hiatus. The bad returned in 2003, dropping singles, getting back out to live performances. This eventually leading to 2014’s EP, A Pure Formality. 2022 then saw them release their most recent album, 3rd Stage of Decay. That all leads us to now, where Viogression are all set to deliver their fourth album, Thaumaturgic Veil, and write a new chapter in their storied legacy.

It’s seems odd writing that a band formed almost 40 years ago, and in the first 25 years of that existence, we had 2 albums, one of which was incomplete. I guess it makes you wonder what could have been, There’s no point in looking backwards, I guess. With Thaumaturgic Veil, its about now and the future. An album that comes with a complicated but really interesting concept. I’ll use their words to try to explain it, so I don’t butcher it.

Thaumaturgic Veil explores the interplay of consciousness, subconsciousness, and materiality, viewing existence as a binary system shaped by vibrational frequencies—the core medium molded by individual intent. These measurable waves connect the chaos of infinite potential to the order of the observable universe, reflecting ancient alchemy’s transformation of matter and awareness, akin to esoteric traditions and Thelema’s Great Work, uniting boundless Nuit and focused Hadit. Meditation and altered mental states enhance this, using frequencies to push perception and align with higher realities, as Crowley’s magick—change through intent—shapes the album’s structure.

With guest vocals by Steve Wilson and a guest guitar solo on Vulnus Sclopetarium by Chris Monroy, get those necks warmed up for Thaumaturgic Veil.

Thaumaturgic Veil also comes with really cool artwork courtesy of Diego Gedoz de Souza.

Viogression is Brian DeNeffe on vocals, Lief Larson and Johnathon Iberra on guitar, Jason Hellman on bass and Erik Schultek on drums.

Viogression show they still have plenty to say and offer in a flowing album. An album that follows a structure of having an intro/intermission song between each longer track. Enûma Elish Ilū opens the album offering 90 seconds of atmospheric introduction. That then leading into Jinx, a 4 minute harsh and heavy death metal track. Harsh primordial vocals combine with relentless drumming, growling riffs and bass bit also plenty of lead guitar magic with screaming solos and touches of melody. There is groove in spades in a song that is familiar, but in a good way. It’s just a headbanger.

Then we get the 46 second long Akhara Aakasa, offering more threads of vibrational frequency leading into the next ripper, Renumeration. Old school death metal with dissonant riffs and decaying atmosphere keep the interest and the heads banging. The concept the band are going for may not be easy to understand fully when written down, but it does come through in a really cohesive album thanks to the clever use of the intermediary tracks just gluing everything together.

Samsara Ananta keeps the atmosphere fully around you before Travesty ov darkness rams the message home with a superb track that lays the doom down hard. It’s dirty, dark and desperate moving through raw and distorted sounds, slowing down, speeding up – it’s a very forward thinking track in style, retaining the feel of old school death metal but with some clever structural work and an amazing solo.

Heqet Saeculum is our intermission before Viogression pummel us with the track, Pummeled. It’s a blast track, a track for mosh pits with intense drumming and thick bass lines delivering a blast of aggressive energy. Amaranthine Kairos then keeps showing the short interlude style threads of existence before we move into Superposition. Buki’s Dream beds in some ethereal melody leading into Vulnus Sclopetarium. Man, Thaumaturgic Veil’s track list is testing my spelling!

This back and forth between interludes that tie everything together, followed by a mix of solid and special death metal tracks, really works for me. It’s clever, it feels very cohesive and makes what could have been just an occasionally repetitive but strong death metal album feel insanely creative and clever.To really fully understand it and immerse yourself in it, you really need to go old school here and listen to the album, end to end. Turn that shuffle off.

Long term, of course you are more likely to find the full songs being what you shuffle to or repeat and in those there are so many bangers anyway that you will still have a blast. Travesty ov darkness, As the Light Fades and Summon being some of my personal favourites. In those three tracks alone, you get old school death metal, you get modern touches, you get dissonance, groove and melody. Viogression put it all out there with Thaumaturgic Veil, a very impressive release and one that will have death metal fans in raptures.

Grab your copy of Thaumaturgic Veil, from Viogression, here.

Track Listing:

1. Enûma Elish Ilū
2. Jinx
3. Akhara Aakasa
4. Renumeration
5. Samsara Ananta
6. Travesty ov darkness
7. Heqet Saeculum
8. Pummeled
9. Amaranthine Kairos
10. Superposition
11. Buki’s dream*
12. Vulnus sclopetarium
13. Ouroboros Noesis
14. Eaten by flies
15. Aeternitas Aevum
16. As the light fades
17. Adrothia Akaru
18. Summon
19. Light harvester

Viogression Links

Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music |