Label: UNFD
Released: 13th September 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Encompassing all the darkest depths of the human psyche, Melbourne metalcore quartet Void Of Vision see no light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, there’s just an intense blackness in which they revel on their thrilling second album ‘Hyperdaze’.
The band has never shied away from the bile and fury that characterises their music, and here it’s ramped up to maximalist extremes. Where their previous work harked back to nostalgic Nu-metal of previous decades, here they provide an apocalyptic vision of the future as they career through frenetic electro-metal assaults like ‘Slave To The Name’ and the brutal charge of ‘Year Of The Rat’.
The pace and intensity rarely let up throughout the album, but the frequent use of synths and subtle electronics added to the metal thrash give it an unsettling yet compelling dynamic, especially on the instrumental dance floor banger ‘Adrenaline’.
Singer Jack Bergin is a constant menacing presence as he whips up the crescendo around him. He may not offer much hope, but as a ringmaster of despair and rebellion he flourishes, delivering intensely stark and nihilistic lyrics like, “There is no god, we were all born to rot.’ The album acts as a cathartic release for the band as they let everything out in one fatalistic roar.
‘Hyperdaze’ is an album that packs a massive amount into its 12 tracks but it succeeds in establishing Void of Vision’s manifesto and hammering it home perfectly.
