MaYaN for tech/extreme metal

MaYaN is a side project from Mark Jansen of Epica. The project takes the symphonic, "epic" sound of Epica, but combines it with a death metal foundation, as opposed to Epica's power metal. In this regard, MaYaN has been referred to as "symphonic death metal," similar to Septicflesh and Aeternam. MaYaN does lean more towards the theatrical and symphonic side of the spectrum, which separates them from bands such as Fleshgod Apocalypse and The Monolith Deathcult, which moreso lean towards the brutal/technical side of death metal.

The project started in 2010, and is based in Jansen's home country of the Netherlands. There are eight members of the band, with current and former members from around the world. MaYaN claims to have evolved into a full fledged band from a small project. In 2011, they released the album Quarterpast, their debut and in 2014, released their second album Antagonize, a concept album about governmental surveillance and our lack of privacy. Dhyana, their third album, was released in 2018 and is an introspective concept album about exploring our own thoughts. MaYaN hired "The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra" for Dhyana, and was their first album to use a real orchestra.

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Dhyana album on Youtube
The album does take a little while to get started imo, I recommend starting with "The Illusory Self" and "Maya - Veil of Delusion" to get an idea their progressive leanings... it took me a while to really recognize them as being prog-adjacent.




Edited by bardberic - March 20 2023 at 11:47

added