The 666MrDoom YouTube channel is streaming HAGEL's The Veil of Shadows in its entirety. The full stream arrived on November 5, ahead of Personal Records' international CD release on November 6. Preorder information is available through the label.
The five-song mini-album is HAGEL's second release and follows a change in vocal duties. Iveth Herrera joined as lead vocalist in 2024, allowing Iván Saldaña to concentrate exclusively on guitars. That renewed lineup completed production of The Veil of Shadows following Luis Galindo's final departure in 2023.
The announcement describes the approximately 21-minute release through images of ancient mysticism, dreamlike visions, ritual landscapes and obsidian mirrors. Its musical background combines atmospheric and melodic darkness with a ritualistic, melancholic approach to black-doom metal. The cited influences include early Moonspell, Rotting Christ, Ophthalamia, Mortuary Drape, Katatonia, Empyrium, Samael and Tiamat.
HAGEL formed in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1995, emerging from northern Mexico's underground scene. The founding members were Carlos Velázquez on guitar, Luis Galindo on keyboards and vocals, Fernando Galindo on bass, and David Benavides on drums. Between 1995 and 2000, the band developed a sound built on dark melodies, dense atmospheres and the melodic approach of 1990s black metal. HAGEL dissolved in 2000 after Luis Galindo left, with songs still unreleased.
Velázquez reactivated HAGEL in 2014. The returning project retained its original musical foundation while adopting more modern production, with Juan Reyes on drums, Elizabeth Castillo on bass, and Saldaña on guitar and vocals. Galindo returned in 2018, and the band entered the studio the following year to record its debut album, Veneration of the Black Light.
Personal Records released that album in 2021. Its material was written primarily between 1995 and 1997. The announcement reports that specialized press praised its authenticity and adherence to that era's aesthetic, bringing further opportunities within Mexico's and the international extreme metal circuits. The new mini-album continues that connection to HAGEL's origins while introducing the changed vocal lineup and a more introspective thematic focus.
- The Withering Tongues — 5:02
- Flesh Of The Gods — 4:45
- Effluvium — 4:28
- Obsidian Mirrors (The Veil Of Shadows) — 5:01
- Echoes From Beyond The Veil (Chaconne in D Minor) — 1:45
