Void Of Vision – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 28th May @ Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide SA
Void Of Vision
Lion Arts Factory
Saturday 28th May 2022
Support: Holding Absence, Bloom, Heartline and SIGNV/S
Greek Philosopher Epicurus’ intelligence was beyond remarkable amongst it’s controversies, his teachings of the system of philosophy: “Epicureanism” have been active and utilised for thousands of years after his death. One such quote which reads as following: “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” still has an incalculable relevance to this day. The pandemic in essence, put a stop to performance arts for an unbearable amount of time; the idea of a touring band from overseas gracing Australian stages again was a “hope” at best - it was a near impossibility for even an interstate artist to travel and showcase their talent. What we have now is progress, on this night in Adelaide there were multiple events being hosted at practically all of the iconic venues with capacity crowds, and South Australians’ desires (especially heavy and alternative music enthusiasts) were more than met, we were spoiled.
Local experimental nu-moshcore quartet SIGNV/S kicked off proceedings with their ballistic off-centre breakdowns which provoked their fans in the audience to bust out their best ninja mosh moves. Vein.Fm and Alpha Wolf are clear comparisons and influences on this very young four-piece, however their youth is undoubtedly their strength. Their musical formula and stage presence is thunderous, so much so that it is easy to forget that the four gentlemen are barely out of their teens. ‘Waste Away’ from the band’s Disgrace EP was the highlight, but the whole presentation was enthralling as the outfit’s recent touring has established their already sound capabilities further.
Adelaide’s own Heartline followed with their take on melodic nu-metalcore and their impression was felt immediately by the crowd. ‘Where The Crow Flies’ emitted a combination of latter day Northlane with flirtations of While She Sleeps and a booster shot of ERRA - the quartet quickly proved that they were a very suitable support for this show. A moment where Heartline requested that those within the Lions Art Factory sit on the ground as they led into a “bouncy” section worked rather superbly and amplified their showcase with willing audience involvement. It was hard to believe that this was not even the halfway point to this event.
First time visitors, Sydney’s Bloom were met with a huge uproar from the large fan base which took even the quintet by surprise as they admitted that they had some hesitancy towards Adelaide and our response to the five-piece. This hesitancy quickly turned to havoc, as Bloom pulsated their emotional melodic hardcore similar to the mayhem of Niagara Falls, the audience moved, moshed, danced and bounced similar to the whirlpool rapids of Niagara River. ‘Daylight’, ‘The Service’, ‘Sink Into The Soil’ and ‘Cold’ (featuring a massive crowd sing-along) surpassed the notion of being peaks of the set, they were all above memorable. The fantastic emotional hardcore or the wave of genres that Bloom subscribe to sees the five-piece as not only motivated by acts such as Being As An Ocean, Counterparts, Defeater and Touché Amoré - they should be seen as fellow luminaries. Vocalist Jono Hawkey is euphoric in his delivery and builds a genuine friendship with his onlookers and listeners, it is impassioned and stirring to say the least. Full credit and adoration must be administered for his comment: “You make Sydney look like shit” (and it was); a promise of return as soon as possible was understandably met with a rousing cheer and we will assuredly count the days until this happens.
The only international band on the bill, UK’s Holding Absence marched onto the stage at Lion Arts Factory and were met with a deafening cheer of worship. Undeniably this was in part due to the fact the quartet had travelled so far and blessed Australia as one of the first UK bands to visit since the pandemic began; however and more-so, this acclaim was matter-of-factly due to the band’s uncanny and infectious alternative rock with punk spirit. ‘Celebration Song’ promptly induced a pandemonium as Adelaide belted out the opening lines “I’m Alive” with vocalist Lucas Woodland who would trigger an almost fear for singers such as Cove Reber and Josh Franceschi with his majestic and astonishing voice. ‘Like A Shadow’ was momentous which was impossibly intensified by ‘Beyond Belief’ - ‘Gravity’ would have terrified Jared Leto and ‘Afterlife’ would have Anberlin motivated to write another album.
To finish ‘Wilt’ a progressive number that feels like a sequel to Jimmy Eat World’s ’23’ of sorts, but far more theatrical in the best way possible. In a twist, the four-piece actually gave Adelaide a standing ovation when the adventurous track concluded, guided by the more-monster-than-man drummer Ashley Green. This was going to be very hard to top.
It had been an extended yet excellent wait for the headliners and Melbourne’s Void Of Vision had their intent glowing from the first beat of ‘Into The Dark’ - they were here to delightfully destroy Adelaide. ‘Berghain’ had a maliciousness similar to what The Prodigy embraced both live and recorded, proving that VoV are separating themselves from the ocean of melodic metalcore outfits with expansive experimentation. ‘Kill All My Friends’ was heavier than the earth itself and ‘Dominatrix’ was honestly more metallic electropunk in soundscape and rather sensationally. The entire stage room of Lion Arts once again sat to the ground in a rather captivating crowd control moment by vocalist Jack Bergin, when the observers arose though, it sincerely felt like the Earth moved and this was heightened when the outfit launched into ‘Ghost In The Machine’ which was threatening in a thrilling manner.
An intermission that called for the encore ensued in a brilliantly different manner to the somewhat overdone process, the band returned with front-man Jack Bergin dressed as if he was in Mad Max: Fury Road - ‘Altar’ and ‘The Lonely People’ almost felt like the soundtrack to a dystopian future quite dazzlingly and the Wall of Death that was executed reminded us all that Heavy music is a beautiful and unifying energy that we should be proud of desiring.
Gig Review by Will Oakeshott @TeenWolfWill
Photo Gallery by Dani Brown. Insta: @dcb.photo
Please credit Wall of Sound and Dani Brown if you repost photos
SIGNV/S
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Heartline
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Bloom
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Holding Absence
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Void of Vision
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