LIVE REVIEW: Void Of Vision & Modern Error @ The Black Heart, London
Fresh off the back of a support slot with HOLDING ABSENCE, Australian modern metalcore outfit VOID OF VISION swiftly announced they’d be playing two intimate headline dates alongside friends MODERN ERROR and supported by shoegaze metallers LOVE IS NOISE. Intimate here being Camden’s legendary The Black Heart and the cramped confines of its upstairs room that holds no more than 150 people.
Openers LOVE IS NOISE have quietly been making something of a name for themselves as one of the UK’s latest hotly tipped bands; the LOATHE comparisons, though, certainly are more than a little obvious. Their opening number veers between ALCEST-esque blackgaze in its blastbeats and shrieks but the clean singing and atmospheric bent is pure LOATHE; even the crunch and weight of the guitar is reminiscent. It’s daring to get the crowd to sing your lyrics back to as the opening band but to their credit, at least a couple of people do know them and happily bellow them back, albeit a little tuneless. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with their music; they play well and the songs are solid, though certainly the stage presence and banter could use a little work – that’s easy enough to chalk up to relative inexperience as a band, though. Sadly they simply can’t escape the shadow of the Liverpudlian outfit they’re so clearly pulling from, and the performance never goes beyond solid. Maybe given time they’ll experiment more.
Rating: 7/10
By comparison, MODERN ERROR layer their metalcore with synths and glitching electronics while leaning further into soaring choruses than ambience or gazing elements. There’s a strange discrepancy between the more EDM tinged moments and their emotive choruses but to their credit, it works. Sitting somewhere between the dance metalcore of NORTHLANE and BAD OMENS, who push a similar sound to near breaking point, MODERN ERROR still succeed in stamping their own identity clearly on the music. Cuts chiefly come from last year’s well-received (though ultimately overshadowed by the aforementioned BAD OMENS) Victims Of A Modern Age, and while the songs are consistently solid at worst the mix isn’t entirely in their favour. For some reason there’s occasionally no bass at all and it entirely robs parts of their impact they should’ve had. Glitchy interludes and songs alike are paired with tube lights to elevate the experience beyond the usual confines of an intimate venue and overall it’s an enjoyable, emotional set from a band that it seems are starting to discover and deliver on their promise despite flagging in its second half.
Rating: 8/10
VOID OF VISION might have just wrapped up one tour and dived straight into this (admittedly very short) run but there’s no sign of exhaustion. If anything they sound hungrier then ever and their techy metalcore explodes through the PA. Irrepressibly energetic, the mood is infectious and quickly turns the tiny room into a sweaty press of bodies. Touring their recent run of EPs that saw them embrace electronic glitches and skronks more than ever, they still haven’t sacrificed heaviness or catchiness. The sub drops sound heavy enough to grind down mountains and are counterpointed by huge choruses that are shouted back from the hundred-plus throats in the room. They’re certainly the most aggressive prospect on the bill, preferring to keep the aggression levels sky high as they tear through their set. Peppering in fan favourites like Year Of The Rat alongside those newer cuts ensures constantly high crowd energy, with limbs and bodies flying while throats run themselves ragged. In short, the Aussies prove in less than hour just why Australia has one of the most exciting metalcore scenes in the world right now, and that they’re surely destined for big things.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in London from Anne Pfalzgraf here:
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