Few bands in Australia have worked as hard as Melbourne-based metalcore quartet Void of Vision
For the better part of a decade, the four-piece have played the undercard to some of the biggest names in the game, including the likes of Polaris, Amity Affliction, and Ocean Grove, keeping their nose to the grind and mastering the art of beat-down metalcore.
However, unlike their name suggests, the band has never been lacking in ambition when it comes to innovation, and with the global pandemic receding, the time for the band to flex their creative wings has arrived.
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“We fell – not out of love with heavy music – but we got to the stage where we had done everything we wanted to do in that area… we’ve been working in the same wheelhouse for quite some time with the breakdown tropes,” says frontman Jack Bergin.
“We don’t listen to a lot of heavy music anymore… whether it be revisiting old classics of the genres, or new stuff, there’s a lot of influences that are working their way in.”
Those influences have been on display for the world to see recently, with the band gearing up to drop their new EP Heaven, the second in their Chronicles series.
While part one – titled Lust – explored the band’s heavier, doomier side, things take a turn for the bolder and more experimental in part two, with elements of electronica and even hyper pop seeping into the band’s trademark metalcore sound.
“This EP is a bit of a test dummy program, I think that the best way to get an idea of what people think is to just put it out to the public,” Bergin says of the band’s new sounds.
“There’s definitely more confidence and experimentation injected in everything… within the musicality, the song writing, and the lyrics.
“I’m exuding emotionally in ways I never have before; for example these are the first love songs from us ever created – I’ve never touched on love, romance or heartbreak before.
“The blurred lines between heavy and dance music are a lot less prevalent nowadays, we also wanted a massive image to go along with this chapter.
“We’ve been really taking influence from more experimental acts – everyone from Nine Inch Nails to The Prodigy – just finding that magic balance between total energy and darkness, but also that amazing capacity those bands have for melodies that really suck you in.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by a lot of their contemporaries, with young overseas stars Code Orange, Loathe, and Sleep Token all investing heavily into the electronic elements of their sound, creating an exciting, forward momentum for heavy music typically bogged down by the same old tropes.
When combined with striking visuals – enter Void of Vision and their cyberpunk gothic aesthetic of the ‘20s – you have the golden ticket of ear and eye-catching.
It’s a tradition that once dominated heavy music – and one that Bergin wants to see come back into the fold.
“‘90s pop culture and the music industry had such extravagant images, bands like Korn, Rammstein, it all looked so cool and people really associated with it and fell into it.
“I miss that culture in heavy music, you see it in the pop world for sure, it sucks you in and I like to think that music, as much as it is about the music, is something where you can treat the art as much as the ears.”
The new EP also sees a slew of guests coming aboard the Void of Vision train, with Creeper’s Hannah Greenwood making a guest appearance and Architects drummer Dan Searle jumping on co-writing duties for the band’s recent banger ‘Into the Dark.’
Having already dabbled with guest appearances of the band’s mesmerising Hyperdaze (Redux), the band shifted focus from the traditional “15-second verse appearance” to a more egalitarian collaboration.
“We wanted to fully invite these guests in to really put their own creative mark on these songs – so they’re far more of a team effort,” Bergin says.
“Having Dan from Architects on co-writing duties was a real trip for us because that’s a band who have had such an impact on what we do,” he continues.
“To have someone who we’ve followed for years… that was a total dream for us.
“I’m also doing some clean singing on this record for the first time ever as well – that’s been a real trip for me, but really special – especially on ‘Into the Dark’, it was a really big step up for me creatively.”
While the new music retains the signature Void of Vision sound, the beginnings of an exciting evolution are evident – something that Bergin promises will continue throughout the rest of the year.
“We’ve been leaving some easter eggs behind… there’ll be more EP’s coming out – at the very least.
“This next (EP) is a far more powerful and defining Void of Vision piece of work – this one coming out now is the EP that shows where we’re going to take the future sound.
“We have another after that which will be very interesting to see how people react… and there’ll be a piece of work at the end, a culmination if you will – but I think that’s all I’ll say on that for now.”
Alongside that doozy of a tease comes a whirlwind national tour to promote their new work, one which will see the band play their biggest venues at home to date, with support from the excellent UK act Holding Absence, before they head off to the US for a stateside run with August Burns Red and We Came As Romans.
“The venues (are) all down to the production choice we’re going for,” Bergin explains.
“It’s going to make a lot of sense when people see what we have planned – it’s going to be a real treat.”
Chronicles II: Heaven will be released April 29 via UNFD.
