Jack Bergin – Void Of Vision ‘Magnetic Resonance Imaging’

“That’s like my day spa time. That’s therapeutic for me; I tune out the noises now. I know I get to lie down there with my thoughts for a little bit.” – Jack Bergin, Void Of Vision.

An “MRI” or “magnetic resonance imaging” scan takes detailed pictures of the inside of the body. The machine uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate signals from the body, that are processed by a computer to create detailed pictures. The patient will lie on a table that enters the “tunnel” of the machine and the device scans the individual as part of the imaging process in a very noisy manner. If the person suffers from claustrophobia, this procedure can be an agonising and terrifying ordeal; more-so the reason why the patient is undergoing this particular method of radiology is in all likelihood, more distressing.

For the enigmatic vocalist Jack Bergin of industrial experi-metalcore quartet Void Of Vision, this experience is just one part of his life’s new routine. He endures this and other diagnostic processes, as well as medical procedures, rather regularly. Assuredly the thought of this existence would be harrowing for countless people; Mr Bergin however, finds light in these clouded times.

Jack has discovered that he can utilise the time undergoing numerous medical treatments and investigations for reflection, for understanding and to let his artistic imagination magnify to realms that had possibly been beyond approach prior to 2022 (more on that soon).  What is most remarkable about the entirety of Bergin’s regime, is his infectious positive attitude, especially when discussing the band’s new opus What I’ll Leave Behind – he literally shines with immeasurable zest at the opportunity of discussing any part of this electrifying LP. With his gleaming aura, it felt too flawlessly fitting to discuss the exhilarating electrocore track ‘Supernova’ and specifically, his passionately howled poetic question: “What are you waiting for?”

“I’m actually asking this question to myself. Well, it started off as me calling it ‘myself’. In regards to that question, I feel like nothing in this life lasts forever, and I think you need to have these hard conversations that I was talking about in order to move on to bigger and better things.” Bergin expresses with stirring insight before continuing – “I think sometimes you just need to make fucking harsh calls on those difficult life elements – whether it be a relationship or a job or something that you’re doing at that current point of time, you do need to make the call. You can let something go on and on; at some stage it is going to peak and I think just calling something at the right time is just the beauty in making that decision.”

But why ‘Supernova’?

“‘Supernova’ is when a star explodes and it had its perfect moment – it has had its time glowing, and it’s a beautiful thing when it ends. I think sometimes there is the beauty in ending something like that, because it is a special moment in time.”

He elaborates further with a captivatingly deep sincerity – “I think that just does beg the question: ‘what are you waiting for?’ And yes, it is to have these hard conversations with yourself and your friends; we should be welcoming change. I think I’ve been that a lot myself in the past year, and really taking on those words for myself. I am hoping, this is not just for myself. If people listen to this and it is a wake-up call, that’s a job well done. I really hope on this record that people take interpretations from every angle and can turn it into something for themselves. Because for such a long time, as a musician and as a fan of musicians, all I’ve wanted to do is invoke emotion and take that out of it as well.”

In 2022 Jack Bergin encountered a truly frightful ordeal of waking up in an ambulance with little to no recollection of how this situation had come to be. He was informed he had undergone a seizure due to an arteriovenous malformation (AVM); this is essentially a tangle of blood vessels in the brain which was later discovered by MRI and CT scans. In true ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ resilient fashion, the vocalist pushed forward, keeping his artistic visions and pursuits open and his health matters shut out from his ambition.

In April 2023, this approach was to alter again. Further hospital visits and diagnostic scans revealed that the tangled blood vessels had ruptured; Jack Bergin was suffering from a life-threatening brain bleed. Surgery was vital and required immediately; Void Of Vision’s plans were understandably put to a halt and the frontman was hospitalised with no real indication of what may happen in the months to come.

Full-length number four is the courageous and charismatic creation of this devastating occurrence, and it is in all probability, the outfit’s pièce de resistance.

Opener ‘Oblivion’ can be interpreted as the reactionary narrative to the devastating news of grim morbid nature. A mourning musical to some degree, delivered in techno-driven-metalcore. Haunting synth-guided nu-metal overtones invade the spectators’ spirits and an empathetic metal symphony is the guidance to VoV’s exhibition. The lifeblood of the entire production though is Bergin’s admittance lyrically: “I might destroy everything”. Is it to do with his vulnerability through his near-death experiences? Or is it one of strength for Jack to defeat the daunting health issues that have arisen?

“That’s a fucking awesome interpretation, I’ve got to say, because I have definitely thought of that double edged sword before. It’s funny, because a lot of these lyrics have kind of turned into a positive affirmation, in a sense. That lyric definitely came out of the darkness.  ‘Oblivion’ is just kind of kicking off the record, but that was the moment where I thought it could all disappear. That was the moment where I was really scared and I thought I was really going to just lose it all.” He pauses in reflection, but with amazing aspiration adds more detail – “‘Oblivion’ reflects, well, if I was to kick the bucket at that stage or just not be able to continue on with anything – “will I destroy everything?” Is me asking the question of, as I’m like, going through all these fucking machines on these beds; ‘is this it? Is this how I run, my run, etc?’ And I don’t know, it was a very dark conversation I had to have with myself, and it sucks being in that hospital for like, a month because, that’s where a lot of these hard conversations and hard questions I was asking myself first formed while I was just alone with my thoughts in a hospital bed. ‘Oblivion’ is most definitely the way that I wanted to kick off the record with the hardest question of just ‘what do we keep going with, and if it’s going to be possible?’ Very fortunately so, it was, and I’m very happy that it got to this stage where I can share this in that light. Especially that there is this whole new version of it as well. Like, will I destroy everything? It is just another fucking line. Will I just go and keep on moving forward and beat this fucking thing in my brain? It’s an important way to look at it.”

‘Beautiful Things’ is the most cinematic exploration of LP number four and simply, brilliant. An alternative trance composition that has the mystifying enterprise of Radiohead’s KID A but with more definition and eeriness; considering the topical nature of the song, this is rather transparent. Fascinatingly though, this is where the album’s title is heard, What I Leave Behind in Jack Bergin’s sombre serenade. It plagued this writer to ask if he actually knew the resolution to this existential examination, what the statement’s meaning actually is and how it became the poetic portrayal of album four?

“So, yeah, I do. I think What I Leave Behind, is an aptly titled record and it is just our legacy, it’s Void Of Vision, it is kind of everything to do with us. It’s what we will leave behind. This is our quintessential record. And I don’t know, I just feel like there’s no better way to, kind of, put it out there like this.” He describes analytically, but also knowingly depicting there is more over the horizon.

“That song was really just a stripped back version of the most raw that I’ve possibly been with it. The idea of that song was, well my friend Sam (Bassal, Ocean Grove), who produced the record, said: ‘Picture this as a song that you would have played at your fucking funeral’. Originally it had MRI sounds at the end of that song. But we took that out because that is really DARK; as if you want to hear that?! So we just put something beautiful at the end; literally just kept the mic on and the sounds from outside, and hence, beautiful things.”

How about the name: What I Leave Behind?

“It’s very funny, because that track we showed to our friends Make Them Suffer when we were overseas last year, when we were sharing our new music with each other. Sean (Harmanis, vocals) heard that last lyric, just like you did, and yeah, first thing he said was: ‘Why don’t you call the album what I leave behind?’ And it just sat for months and months and months, and then finally got the question asked: ‘What are you calling the album?”

“I said What I Leave Behind.”

“I think this is what we will leave behind. And I’m very proud to do so.”

Interview by Will Oakeshott @teenwolfwill

What I’ll Leave Behind is out NOW via UNFD. Get it here