First allow me to say that the Verite and Aeolus are considerably lighter,and thus much more comfy than the previous ZMF offerings. Still,the Empyrean is the most comfortable headphone I've ever worn.
Both the Verite and Empyrean have outstanding 3D imaging,layering,impact,warm sound(Empyrean has a cool,minty flavor in the mids vs. a more organic Verite),kind of distant sound in the vocals,with the higher guitar notes more upfront,creating this 3D image,with the drums rolling behind your head. However the Verite does all that better. More depth,more width, more height,etc.
With fast metal,like melodeath,the Verite is fast. The Empyrean is faster. Perhaps even a tad bit faster than my original AD2000,which is the fastest dynamic headphone Ive heard to date. However,when you factor in dynamic(Verite) vs. planar(Empyrean) the speed difference shouldnt be shocking.
Yeah I suppose both are all arounders,but not top of the top for metal. The metal i listen to isnt mastered to be appreciated with extra 3D instrument placement(perhaps proggy stuff like Opeth would be an exception),so IMO the best traits of both headphones arent being maximized listening to metal.
I would reach for my Auteurs,Sextetts and AD2000s before the Verite for metal,all of which are aggressive sounding,but for stuff like jazz,trance, modern/well mastered blues,acoustic stuff the Verite would be my choice over the Empyrean for the above mentioned reasons in this comment and the previous response I made.