Way back in the late 90s the metal and hardcore scene was rather lively at the time with plenty of gigs being put on at the famous Bradford Rios and other venues of course. April 1997 saw my first live experience with Vision Of Disorder supporting Sick Of It All at said Rios. It was all white vests, tattooed legs and shorts, with massively violent pits and caustic music creating a feeling of real ferocity at the time. I wouldn’t say I was fully into Vision Of Disorder more of wanting to dip my toes into a very burgeoning scene, with said Sick Of It All, Biohazard, Life Of Agony, Strife, H2O to name a few acts riding very high at the time. After splitting up in 2002 due to the relative failure of albums, the band was put on indefinite hiatus with members venturing off into other projects. Fast forward four years and a very short live appearance catalysed further interest in VOD to such an extent that gigs were organised and resulted in the release of this new full length of material. More or less continuing where albums such as the self titled debut, “Imprint” and the collection of songs under the banner called “For The Bleeders” left off in the late 90s this is a monumental return to fore for VOD.
It is quite obvious the band has followed criticisms of their final effort not really being purist VOD material with Southern and grunge elements being removed or toned down as “Loveless” opens with the firestorm riffing archetypal for VOD’s onslaught of hostility. Coupled to this you get Tim Williams’s unique razor sharp bark alongside his unique clean vocalising. Judging using today’s genre tagging this fits in with the post hardcore tag though the massive crossover fundamentals are resolutely undamaged in all departments. “Set To Fail” has that balance of up tempo groove along with intense power thrashing crossover with the chorus chanting “Set To Fail” repeatedly.
I fucking love “Blood Red Sun”, one of the best songs this year for me, the tune opens with a monumentally infectious driving riff and some very pissed off singing. The injection of double bass is very metal, but works as more post thrash sledgehammer riffing is undertaken. The choral screams and chants, combined with the clean vocal passages just work brilliantly as the tune does one point changes with no notice; astoundingly good music. More stonkingly great riffs on “Hard Times” are followed by contagious bass lines on “Annihilator”, right before a colossal fuck off hardcore riff is violently injected, similar to the one in “Skullz Out (Rot In Pieces)”. As the album progresses we are introduced to the grunge like elements I mentioned earlier, but don’t worry there’s no flowery wimp out here, with Alice In Chains being my reference point for the style only, not the aggression incorporated on “The Enemy”.
I know that many readers on here probably frown or wince when the word hardcore is mentioned but when you get such a unique blend of savage sonic bedlam but still harnessing textured guitar work then the listening experience is well worth overcoming those ‘core’ barriers. “The Seventh Circle” is packed with groove, and in some respects has a feel like newer Coliseum material. Comparing VOD to other acts is tough as the band basically crafted the metallic hardcore scene so many years ago. Aggression is ingrained in the songs, but so is the melody, the writing is superbly effective at delivering tight three or four minute explosions of incendiary power. What this album also contains is a complexity that belies the vicious assault each track has. The guitar work is dextrously delivered with hooks galore and a cornucopia of excellent riffs.
As you have probably guessed this album sees Vision Of Disorder return big style to the metal and hardcore genre. The band is playing only a couple of dates in UK, one London the other Manchester, so try and get along if you can and witness one of the forebears of the metal/hardcore scene.
(9/10 Martin Harris)
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