Void Of Vision, Gideon, Unity TX, Knosis @ The Gov, Adelaide 21/2/2025
When Void Of Vision dropped their stunning album What I’ll Leave Behind late last year, there was no inclination that their headline Australian tour six months later would be the last. A band, a singer, that had gone through hell, poured every last drop into creating that masterpiece and it was time to let it loose onto the world.
A stint on the mammoth Parkway Drive tour followed and America was next, until it wasn’t. Then the sad news of this tour.
It’s hard to fathom that a band is so cruelly stopping when right at the precipice of greatness, however that is probably apt for a band that has always danced on the edge.
Well, tonight on the bands farewell tour, they bring it all, bands included, to The Gov one last time.
Opening the night is Japan’s Knosis ,decked out in Japans favourite sporting attire, baseball gear, and they get the place bouncing. Like Japan’s biggest baseball export Shohei Ohtani, they can play both ways, pitching strikes in rap metal and hitting home runs with a deathcore growl. Singer Ryo Kinoshita even jumps into the crowd to get a pit started like a fine short stop, and the band complete a full cycle of landing on all bases with a cheeky cover of Davidian thrown in between all the jumping.
Unity TX bring all the sweat, grooves and energy that drinking three cans of red bull in five minutes would give you. I don’t like comparing bands to other bands however I can’t help feel this is what the Public Enemy/Anthrax crossover should’ve been if taken seriously. The hip hop crowd interactions, the metal mosh pit, the crushing down tuned guitars, the dance beats. Everything is primed for optimum impact. This ain’t a band you can stand with your arms crossed, this is a band that incites you to move your body and soul. Basement Ghost is on the barrier, he’s in the air, he’s in your face and it’s brilliant.
Gideon bring a truck sized power to the stage. Enormous heavy riffs that leave no space to breathe in songs such as More Power, More Pain have the pit stretch out to the back. Singer Daniel McWhorter rocks the cowboy hat and the band rock the stage, the vibrations of every beat shuddering though the venue. Bringing Rye From Knosis up on stage reminds you that Gideon have the presence to match their songs and could easily be a headliner here.
However, all this is merely appetiser for the main course, Void Of Vision.
Jack Bergin health concerns are known, however it is not played upon tonight, it’s merely a footnote for an evening of electricity, good vibes and cracking music.
Opening with Beautiful Things, the opening solitude is replaced with fervour, chaos and no shortage of crowd surfers. Bergin has the room bouncing like it’s a jumping castle, over the nineteen songs or so including Neurotic, Gamma Knife and Ghost In The Machine.
Whether it’s the red light ambiance of The Lonely People or the searing Midnight Sweat, Void Of Vision keep slamming the tunes down. Ten years in the making has come to this and it’s near perfect.
Bergin takes a moment to address what Adelaide means to the band, from their first sojourns at Fowlers and since departed Enigma Bar to now a sold out Gov show, it’s a heartfelt and touching interaction that feels like it’s just you and him in conversation.
A last request from Bergin is to keep supporting the scene, before the crowd leads us into the final track for the final time, Empty.
No is leaving feeling empty though, our hearts full of music, joy and that we all were part of something that was close to heaven as possibly can be. The band may be gone however their music will live on forever. Thank you to Void Of Vision for enriching not only my life, but also my friends.
Live Review By Iain McCallum