26th October 2021

Review: “Chronicles I: Lust” from Void Of Vision

Our first meeting with Melbourne Australian Nu-Metalcore quartet Void Of Vision came in 2017 with their EP “Disturbia” and from then on in it has always seemed like frontman Jack Bergin’s Mental Health has been something of a hellscape upon which the band can find no end of inspiration from which to vent upon. It was no surprise to see a band of such supreme talent sharing stages with Northlane on the European leg of the “Alien” tour after the release of their well received follow up album “Hyperdaze” and the redux version that followed due to the bands inability to tour sees them joined by a curious myriad of guests. So where does that leave them with “Chronicles I: Lust“? The photographs of the band that have surfaced with the release see them dressed in the the kind of gear you’d expect from an Industrial Metal act like German pioneers KMFDM…

…and that is part of the soundscape that we are introduced to with “Ohne Sicht” with Bergin screaming “Das ist Void Of Vision, Die Chroniken beginnen, This is Void Of Vision!
The Chronicles’ beginning!” against a backdrop of programmed beats and deep slow chugging guitars that border on Deathcore tones. It’s a dark and crushing atmospheric piece that sets the tone for the violence to follow in the three remaining cuts that form the short sharp electric shock to the senses that is the 671 second run time. Those foundations are built on by the spine shattering “Gothika” that brings the guitars in heavy with a visceral churn of introspection as it charges head long into the abyss with as much bounce and swagger as we have seen from the band as they go toe to toe with the likes of Alpha Wolf and the absence of the kind of melancholic clean vocal parts that were a double edged sword on “Hyperdaze” means it has that much bigger impact. By the time “Vampyr” hits it seems that the band have decided to augment their already weighty sound throughout with layers of synths and electronics to build textures and go for as a big a sonic as they can. That works incredibly well with haunting and creepy aspects crawling out of the mix as you listen while being just as bleak and punishing as their previous works, leaving you wondering just how deep the well of tears that Bergin draws from is. The sheer angst and darkness of “The Lonely People” is nothing short of tortured as the breakdowns and staccato riffage begin to pile up like bodies in the mosh pit and honestly, this is over before it has even started. Please sir, can we have some more? [7/10]

Track Listing