To know A Veil is to know Chad Ackerman

“A Veil just released our next single, ‘Calyptra,’” reports frontman Chad Ackerman (Destroy the Runner, As I Lay Dying, Chapter 14) of the band’s first new music in around a year. “The song is about a vampire stalking its prey, and we collaborated with horror artist Chelsey Franklin, who I found on Instagram, for the sleeve artwork.”

“Calyptra” harkens back to the band’s early goth-ish track “Tombs,” for which an elaborate cinematic video was shot. “If you know me, then you know that I love horror. ‘Tombs’ was the very first thing that I directed, and zombies have always been one of my favorite genres in horror...you can call it goth or dark, but I’m a musician that loves horror.”

Ackerman founded A Veil in 2012 with his old Destroy the Runner/Chapter 14 bandmate Tanner Sparks and Chapter 14 bassist Edwin Peraza. “I got the idea for ‘Calyptra’ a while ago as a horror short film that I wrote. Lately, I’ve been focusing on singles as their own entities. I love working this way at the moment, and I have no intention currently of releasing an album or EP. This way, I can take my time on each song/story and build it into something it wouldn’t have the chance to be on an album necessarily.”

It’s only the band’s fifth single since the release of their 2012 debut album The In Between, mainly due to distance between members. “Tanner is still based in San Diego, Edwin is in Los Angeles, and [drummer] Rob Herbert is in Orlando,” says Ackerman. “I’m also having some guest appearances by fellow San Diegans on future A Veil material.”

Guitarist Tanner Sparks keeps busy with projects such as engineering the latest Weezer album (nominated for best rock album at the Grammys this year) as well as working on full-lengths from Switchfoot, Third Eye Blind, and others. “Tanner is a machine. I think he may be an android. For real.”