ALBUM REVIEW: Hyperdaze (Redux) – Void of Vision
With their plans for touring sophomore album Hyperdaze in 2020 sent straight down the plughole for obvious reasons, Australian upstarts VOID OF VISION decided that, instead of resting on their laurels and waiting for the pandemic to be over, they’d roll up their creative sleeves instead. After reaching out to close friends and peers in the music industry, followed by bands they were meant to share a stage with throughout the last year, the Melbourne metalcore outfit set about a brand new version of Hyperdaze that saw every track on the album either remixed or featuring a special guest. Now, that record sees the light of day, titled simply Hyperdaze (Redux).
It would be unfair to say whether or not this is better than the original, because that’s not the point. This is Hyperdaze‘s rebellious twin, that saw what its sibling did and decided “Hey, I want in on this, but I want to do it my way.” The vast majority of the songs present haven’t changed much stylistically, given that all the special guests are vocalists, but the added voices bring out something new that wasn’t immediately noticeable before.
Bobak Rafiee from JUSTICE OF THE DAMNED provides a layer of guttural screams on Babylon that are far deeper than what Void singer Jack Bergin can usually manage, allowing for a three pronged-attack when guitarist James McKendrick‘s clean vocals are thrown in to the mix and the track comes at you with voices on a triumvirate of levels. Jacob Charlton, of THORNHILL fame, makes his mark on opening tune Year of the Rat with an eerie cameo that swirls around to send shivers down the spine and HOLDING ABSENCE‘s Lucas Woodland joins McKendrick in If Only for a more-rounded and catchier chorus.
They all make a significant impact, but Kadeem France from LOATHE edges them with his frenetic delivery on latest single Splinter; combined with the blast beats from George Murphy and thunderous guitar work by McKendrick and Mitch Farlie, there’s an added snarl on top of the already vicious bite that the track has behind it, and it makes for a sumptuous listening experience.
Of the songs that have shifted stylistically, lead single Decay featuring South African rapper Ecca Vandal is the one most likely to turn heads. The electronic elements present throughout Hyperdaze are more prominent here and the contrast between Bergin‘s gruffer pipes and Ecca‘s soul-filled yet spiteful chords is a nice juxtaposition.
Ken Koie from CROSSFAITH lends himself to the stomp and swing of Hole In Me and makes his presence felt right from the start; as with Decay, there is far more of a techno feel to proceedings and, given the output from his usual outfit, Koie is immediately at home; there’s no mistaking his voice charging out at you.
As for the two remixes, Jon Deiley has taken industrial-tinged interlude Adrenaline, doubled its length and taken the intensity down ever so slightly; the result is a more immersive track that is still very much something one can dance to, but with more of a sway than desire to throw shapes. The other comes courtesy of Up Late, the new project from WOLLONGONG vocalist and producer Max Pasalic; the closing title track sees shifts in vocal effect and guitar passages replaced with beats, but maintains the fury of the original and even throws a delightful curveball in right at the end too; a whispered ‘Deafening’ a final jab to the senses just when the listener thinks they know what’s coming.
For VOID OF VISION to consider doing something like this so early into their career shows confidence and aptitude towards their subgenre; they’ve also found the balance of giving each song on Hyperdaze a new coat of aural paint without destroying the original canvas. If you liked the 2019 original, you’ll love this just as much.
Rating: 8/10
Hyperdaze (Redux) is out now via UNFD.
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