Void Of Vision: Searching For Hope From The Unforgiving Chaos
The Anthropocene has recently taken a disappointing and scary downward turn. Spiralling noticeably out of control as politics leans further towards the extremes to garner any attention, and leaders move the spotlight onto their increasingly devalued regimes with little care for their surrounding environments. With the very real threat of complete global unrest knocking on the door every morning, we often turn inwards. We often look inside ourselves for hope and respite from the unforgiving chaos of contemporary life. This was the experience of Jack Bergin, the savant vocalist and visual director of Melbourne’s VOID OF VISION during his darkest moments of lockdown.
But when he faced in, he no longer found the self-loathing and vibrating vitriol that has laced his discography. Instead, he found optimism, and somehow, peace. The result of that is a series of chronicles, or as Bergin refers to them, his “stages of learning”. 2021 marked the initiation of these chronicles, with Part I titled Lust. This presented VOID OF VISION as a band in flux, at the whim of Bergin’s ever-changing moods. But Part 2 Heaven sees Bergin find the light he has searched longingly for, and in turn embrace it lovingly. This is like no record these Australian rockers have ever set out to make before.
Chronicles II: Heaven is best seen as the younger, more hopeful brother of Chronicles I: Lust. Bergin has always been a vocalist to exorcise his demons over the screeches of VOID OF VISION‘s chainsaw guitars and chinook rotor percussion, but Lust marked an unexpected turning point in his suffering-centric lyrics. With Lust, Bergin fortunately, seemed to have run out of demons to purge, his mind free from their stranglehold on his creative output. Lust’s lyrics shifted, and the themes did too. Instead of waxing about substance abuse and broken relationships, he speaks about the possibility of an afterlife on ALTAR to finding a sense of safety in a loved one’s arm on DOMINATRIX despite the kinky undertones.
It’s hard to talk about VOID OF VISION without namedropping their antipodean contemporaries NORTHLANE, and their similar (although divisive) move into a more electronic-heavy production. It wouldn’t surprise you to learn that Jon Deiley, NORTHLANE’s producer, resident analogue synth fiddler and guitarist, is in fact a huge inspiration for the outfit. VOID OF VISION and NORTHLANE’s relationship runs far deeper than this sole album cycle, however. Bergin shares, “they are such a huge influence. We’re quite close with Jon from NORTHLANE, who’s obviously the machine behind that band, creating these electronic influences and accompanying them. Last night, we talked for hours about really bizarre elements of the tiniest moments in songs we’re building.”
Bergin continues. “They [the fans] put it all under one umbrella – EDM. But it’s just like metal, there are so many different little umbrellas. And a metalhead would turn his nose up [at EDM]. It’s like when you hear someone play really hard techno. There are such little intricacies to both sides of the genres and they’re so similar but so far away in the same sense.” There have always been harmonies between EDM and metal, especially in the heavier realm. Electro-rock band PENDULUM and contemporaries THE PRODIGY are perfect examples of this, seamlessly fusing the two worlds into one. Even SKRILLEX gets a mention by the frontman. “Look at the guy who made dubstep as popular as it is,” Bergin states. “He came from a heavy emo background with FROM FIRST TO LAST.”
This full-circle approach has allowed VOID OF VISION to grow beyond their own expectations. What began as a project in confronting heaviness has now started to take the shape of something entirely new, with Bergin acting as a cultural conduit that elevates the band through his own absorption of literature and history. “To be completely honest, a lot of these influences are from pop culture that I’m currently a fan of. I’m a massive fan of the Nosferatu movie from 1922. It’s part of the whole German expressionist era. My influences from German culture are not only in the electronic music aspect but also in the heavy stuff. I’m a massive RAMMSTEIN fan now and I’ve been taking a lot of influence from that.” Listening to VOID OF VISION is an exercise in maximalism, and not for the faint of heart. Bergin’s controlled yowls often break free and follow the band into a full descent of chaos, barely holding on to sanity whilst still maintaining that melodic-rhythmic balance that makes metalcore so accessible.
“I never knew what it was like to see large acts like RAMMSTEIN. There was such an effort into the presentation and I feel like it’s disappeared. You definitely see it in a lot of pop acts nowadays, like LIL NAS X catches so many eyes, but you don’t see it in the heavy realm as much. That’s what I wanted to slowly transform VOID OF VISION into. Something that people recognise as a vibe itself. I think we’re starting to head in that direction.” With Bergin’s control and direction over the band’s nu-wave German expressionist aesthetic, they have certainly become far more recognisable and have humble plans to slowly reveal a world they’ve crafted behind the scenes. “I really want them to bite into it and think why does this resonate with me so hard? Why do I want to look further into this band and look into all the Easter eggs that we put in the videos? I just want to create a world.”
There is a fizzing atmosphere accompanying Bergin’s chatter – he’s gearing up in his tour van a few hours before a performance at Canberra’s The Basement, near giddy to don his vaudevillian make-up and cause an uproar in yet another Australian city – showcasing their new vision for the band. There is, however a fair reason behind this, as recently they debuted the caustic club-thumper Into The Dark to a captivated audience and the reception blew them away. “My memory is fairly hazy from when we’ve debuted songs in the past.” Bergin recalls, “But it was just so shocking to see the reception straight off the bat for a brand new song.”
The new record in question, an EP that acts as a follow up to 2021’s Chronicle I: Lust, is VOID OF VISION’s most visionary work to date. Combining their new look with an audiovisual world has proved valuable, as the band are moving swiftly up the ranks of Australia’s metalcore scene. Bergin however, embarked on an unexpected personal journey when beginning writing the record.
Self-discovery was a surprising output of the recording process for both EPs in the Chronicle series Bergin reveals. He found himself with ample time to look inward due to the ongoing pandemic and used this newfound headspace to write music that was less influenced by his bubbling nihilism, instead fuelled by a novel light in the once-pitch black corners of his mind. “We’ve come quite a long way, and lyrically I’ve definitely developed myself a lot. I’m very proud of where we began and where we’ve ended up because the transition has been crazy. But I don’t think the self-loathing will shine through as much now because I’ve truly discovered there’s so much more happening. I’m in my late 20s now, and I guess that I stepped out of that funk and brought in this new light into my life.”
“I think it’s a purge in a way,” Bergin starts. “l was left with a lot of time on my plate to not only think about music in the grand scheme of things but also myself. It was the first time I got to sit down with myself and think about everything in my life, lay it all out on a table and pick it apart.” A far cry from 2014’s vitriolic Broken // Bones which possessed a clean, chopped sound, and likewise 2019’s more mature yet angrier Hyperdaze, the Chronicles series promises to showcase a more hopeful band, with a clearer future.
However, things were much heavier in the depths of 2020, surrounded by the overbearing weight of a pandemic, Bergin shares that it was impossible for it not to have affected his writing. “Not necessarily referencing straight to it. But obviously, it’s impacted a lot of us in a major way. I just wanted to put it in a bit of a different light. In particular, it’s about growing from the mistakes that you’ve made in the past and being able to use these darker times to put you into a new realm. Heaven is a grandiose word to represent the truest expression of VOID OF VISION so far.”
When questioned about part III of the lauded Chronicles series, Bergin is careful not to reveal too much but picks his words with confidence. “The next phase is definitely another evolution. I won’t spoil too much of the sound at this time. But it is different. I think it’s not necessarily expected what’s going to come. But yeah, it’s definitely a lot more electronic music influenced.” Bergin further divulges, “we have teased a part III. In the Into The Dark video, there’s a little teaser of the next logo, and the next track brings in that trippy, crazy world that I’m teasing.”
Having come out of a mid-pandemic slump fighting with his fists up, Bergin and VOID OF VISION have established and embodied a new lease of life. No longer treading the same murky metalcore waters, trying to keep their heads bobbing above the surface, but now instead toying with experimentation outside of their typical wheelhouse to bring exciting new elements into their music. This may be the VOID OF VISION we are presented with now, but this continually evolving band could quickly transform in a year’s time, innovating their aesthetic, sound or both. In Bergin’s own words “It’s a truly special time in the [VOID OF VISION] camp.”
Chronicles II: Heaven is out now via UNFD.
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