Void Of Vision On Their New Surprise EP, CHRONICLES III: UNDERWORLD, Knotfest & More

Void Of Vision released a surprise EP today, completing the CHRONICLES saga with CHRONICLES III: UNDERWORLD. The three-track collection of songs finds the Melbourne metalcore band stretching their music's boundaries and embracing electronic elements, which they had only hinted at before on their second album, 2019's Hyperdaze, and the previous two EP releases, CHRONICLES I: LUST, from October 2021, and CHRONICLES II: HEAVEN, from April this year.

The EP opens with lead single HELL HELL HELL, a ferocious ripper of a track with menacing synth work, the gradual build-up of insane guttural vocals from Jack Bergin, and a The Prodigy meets metalcore blend of heavy guitars and in-your-face electronics. 

The first track written for the EP was the Nine Inch Nails-esque ASMR, to which Bergin attributes the band's longtime love for both electronic and metal music. NEUE SIGHT resembles Rammstein, another band the vocalist loves and wishes more groups took cues from. 

Discussing the new EP, Bergin is wearing a Slayer top when we catch up from his new home studio - Bergin is in the process of moving; it's a lovely-looking space, though. The inimitable singer is far more chilled than he is on stage. 

Void Of Vision meets Perth icons Pendulum makes sense, we agree. "Pendulum is probably one of the biggest influences of HELL HELL HELL, in particular. We drew heavily from the Pendulum remix of Voodoo People by The Prodigy; that was like a template at the start of this project," Bergin says. 

"Other out-of-the-box influences for this EP were The Presets - can't look past the kings of Australia! Golden Features, too. We were influenced by a few Australian gems," he shares. Listening to CHRONICLES III, the choices are not at all surprising. "On the industrial side of things, we definitely drew a lot of Nine Inch Nails influence and from Trent Reznor's brilliant work."

More often than not, when Void Of Vision are writing heavy songs, they begin from an electronic backdrop before guitarists James McKendrick and Mitch Fairlie and drummer George Pfaendner layer their instruments on top.

"We were kind of introducing new ways to write and work into our environment because otherwise, it was the same style leading up before COVID," Bergin tells. He and his bandmates were keen to mix things up. "We've been blessed with great company from people that are so talented; Jon [Deiley] from Northlane helped put a lot on the record before COVID hit, and I don't know, it was just so nice getting a fresh perspective on ways to write and ways to tackle song ideas."

As an artist, Bergin finds that metal and electronic music subgenres are scarily similar in culture, "we just haven't connected the dots yet," he laughs. "It's the same energy level and similar creative process. We're still putting a lot of emotions into these songs; you can still be a very heavy band with electronic elements, as we wanted to showcase on this EP," he enlightens. Hearing the EP now, it's clear that Void Of Vision have successfully blurred the lines between metal and heavy metal music, which Bergin couldn't be happier about. 

"A lot of people in this generation listening to our music have probably never listened to Nine Inch Nails before, and if we can be a gateway band for people to dig back or dig into a new genre, then that's honestly mission accomplished. That's all we really set out to do," he confirms; the band put new ideas on the table, and hopefully, the fans are on board with it. "I think it's so invigorating for us personally. This is something we've wanted to do for quite a while. Heavy music has always played a big part in our lives, so it was cool to finally express that through our release.

"People always associate the infamous Blade blood rave scene and The Matrix club scene with what we're doing, and I think there's a bit of Queen Of The Damned jammed in there sometimes," Bergin laughs. Ever the film ambassador, the vocalist finds ideas from the visual side of art, especially in how the band presents itself in music videos. "I think that revitalising that 90s culture that was just like chock full in Blade and The Matrix into music is a perfect partnership.

"It's awesome bringing that nostalgic feeling back into this world in 2022. The pop world definitely hits [nostalgia] and tackles it and presents it on this grand stage, but I don't know, heavy music? It seems like it's died down from the days when you'd see bands like Rammstein and Marilyn Manson presenting themselves back then. I felt a bit of a void in that era of presentation. So we wanted to claw back into that world and show everyone that it still exists."

While Void Of Vision are keen on showcasing musical ideas from the past, they're certainly looking to the future. The up-and-coming metalcore quartet are on the incredible inaugural Knotfest Australia line-up, which means a lot to Bergin as a former Soundwave festival fiend. 

"We heard rumours about it at probably the start of this year, and it was on the grapevine for a while, but I never thought it would be a big thing," he says, but then the band's manager told them to keep late March 2023 free and mentioned the venues, to which Bergin assumed Download Festival would return down under. 

"Then we got the offer," Bergin smiles, and the holy shit moment arrived. "To be a part of any inaugural festival is a massive thing. But such a culturally iconic one for our genre is just crazy. We're all big Slipknot fans; we're pretty late bloomers, admittedly, but still massive fans of Slipknot. It's honestly a dream come true. To be associated with those artists on that lineup, I guess they considered us the fresh blood that Slipknot fans will experience on the day, which is just crazy. I'm very honoured."

As a teen, Bergin would take the day off school to attend Soundwave festival, which was always on a Friday in Melbourne. "Oh my god, it's a rite of passage for every music fan," he laughs. Does he realise that Knotfest's stop in Melbourne will also take place on a Friday? "I saw! I noticed that it's 15+ again, which is awesome. The fact that young faces can potentially experience a mammoth-sized thing for their first festival is so cool.

"It feels like Soundwave. This lineup is like something that I would have seen announced on a Soundwave lineup in 2015 or 2013. It's awesome seeing that again, especially on the other side of a pandemic. It's just what we need; it's what heavy music fans need now. And I'm so glad that Destroy All Lines and everyone else participating is giving it to us again."

Void Of Vision's regional tour begins tonight in Hobart, a city the band haven't visited in six years. "I think the best part is that we still treat these shows as we would a regular city headline run," Bergin says. "We like to bring along all the production and everything and give these - I guess not neglected areas, but sort of - give them a little more love than we usually do. I'm excited to be in a position where we can do that now." Fans will hear the new EP performed live for the first time, as well as choice cuts across their energetic discography.

After the COVID-19 pandemic wiped the slate clean of live music, Void Of Vision had to present themselves in a new way, or as Bergin puts it, "a new beast in all shapes, sizes and forms to prove what we're capable of. We're not a one-trick pony anymore; we have these new tricks up our sleeves. I think releasing music [as a series of EPs] is interesting," he says. "Especially in this generation with TikTok culture and everyone's attention span not necessarily being as long as they used to be, this EP release format and single release format that a lot of bands are working with is definitely working a lot more than I thought it would."

The band have indeed broken the mould. The new EP is undoubtedly left-field, and Bergin knows that not everybody will like it, but their music still has something for everybody. For a heavy band to release something like CHRONICLES III, it's clear that it's no longer frowned upon to incorporate elements of different genres, dress, or look differently. 

"I think that's what's most important, Bergin begins, "for everyone sticking out a pandemic, and still involved with music after going through the emotional and financial stress and still holding on to what they love is it's such a thing of beauty because it truly means the passion is still there, and it never dies. As long as the music is alive, then so are we."

CHRONICLES III: UNDERWORLD is out now. Listen to it here.

Void Of Vision are currently on tour in regional locations across Australia. Tour dates are below.

VOID OF VISION
HELL HELL HELL REGIONAL TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS
DIAMOND CONSTRUCT & THE BEAUTIFUL MONUMENT
TOUR DATES:
 
FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2022 - ALTAR - HOBART
SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2022 - ROYAL OAK HOTEL, LAUNCESTON
WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2022 – BABY, RINGWOOD
THURSDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2022 - BARWON CLUB, GEELONG
FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2022 - PELLY BAR, FRANKSTON
SATURDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2022 - FROTH AND FURY FESTIVAL, ADELAIDE
THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER 2022 - BEER DELUXE, ALBURY
FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2022 - LA LA LA'S, WOLLONGONG
SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2022 - OCEAN VIEW BEACH CLUB, CENTRAL COAST
FRIDAY 2 DECEMBER 2022 - MO'S DESERT CLUBHOUSE, BURLEIGH HEADS
SATURDAY 3 DECEMBER 2022 - KINGS BEACH TAVERN, CALOUNDRA

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT DESTROYALLLINES.COM.AU