14 February 2024 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Tracy McLaughlan
2025 has been the year of the Farewell Tour. And Friday night saw another one roll through town, with Melbourne metalcore act Void of Vision set to call it a day, playing their last ever show in Perth on February 22nd. We were lucky enough to be on site for the first show of this final run, to honour the career of Void of Vision, while showcasing the bright future of metalcore with bands like Gideon, UnityTX, and Knosis.
Opening this monster four band bill for the night, was Japanese metalcore act Knosis. These dudes were nuts. I missed a bit of the start of their set due to issues with traffic, but as soon as I walked into the venue, I was met with a wall of chaotic, brilliant noise. I didn’t learn this until after the fact, but Knosis is the new project of former Crystal Lake singer, Ryo Kinoshita. I love Crystal Lake, and I love Ryo, so loving Knosis made so much sense once I put two and two together. Couldn’t name you a single song, but man, these boys will be a band to watch for the future.
Knosis – Tivoli – photos by Tracy McLaughlan
UnityTX are an act I’ve heard the name of for a little bit, but knew very little about before tonight. And I regret not having checked them out sooner. In what might be surprising news, UnityTX actually drew the biggest crowd for the entire night, as after they performed, a chunk of the crowd left. But after seeing them live, I understand now why people would have come out just for them. From start to finish, an absolutely explosive show. Lead vocalist Jay Webster’s energy is infectious, and never lets up once, and the riffs slammed throughout every song. If they’re not on your radar, change that. Immediately.
UnityTX – Tivoli – photos by Tracy McLaughlan
When the lineup for this tour dropped, Gideon was the band everyone seemed to be the most excited for on the line up outside of Void of Vision. The Alabama metalcore quartet have been rolling their way around the world since 2008, and seemed to have really carved out a loyal following here in Australia. In their first Australian shows in seven years, they came locked and loaded with a bunch of new material that slammed for about an hour. Circle pits, walls of death, and crowd surfing was in full effect during the entire hour, as lead singer Daniel McWhorter encouraged the mayhem. While not my favorite band of the night, the crowd went nuts for the entire time, and ultimately, that’s what matters.
Gideon – Tivoli – photos by Tracy McLaughlan
After a venue wide sing-along to Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, the sound inside The Tivoli changed to bassy static, as spotlights hit the middle of the stage. Lead singer Jack Bergin was under these spotlights, wearing the famous gas mask, as the band opened with the debuting ‘Beautiful Things’. It’s weird to think on a farewell tour, that songs are being played for the first and final time in Brisbane. But that’s the nature of the farewell tour, also being a new album tour at the same time. ‘Oblivion’ went off huge, as to be expected, as did ‘Blood For Blood’.
Void of Vision – Tivoli – photos by Tracy McLaughlan
Bergin had a question for the crowd. And that question was “Oh, when the venom kicks/Can you fuck with this?”, as ‘BERGHAIN’ started up. ‘BERGHAIN’ is the first Void of Vision song I ever heard, as I caught them opening for Alpha Wolf at Full Tilt 2022. I remember at the time being blown away with how good they were then, and I didn’t even know them. Three years later, and getting to experience ‘BERGHAIN’ one more time made me incredibly happy. Following up with ‘INTO THE DARK’ was so sick too. Another of my favorite songs.
After ‘Neurotic’, the middle of the set had some pretty insane throwbacks. Celebrating the bands history, we got some deep cuts, like ‘Decay’, and ‘Year of the Rat’. A small portion of ‘Kill All My Friends’ played, before we got ‘Sunrise’, which I discovered later hasn’t been in the bands setlist in over 7 years, and also drew a monster response from the crowd. ‘Nightmare’ closed out the nostalgia, before we got back to the newer material like ‘Gamma Knife’. I don’t remember exactly where in the set it was, but I also remember ‘ALTAR’ playing, because I sang my heart out to the chorus, which totally rips.
Void of Vision – Tivoli – photos by Tracy McLaughlan
‘Angel of Darkness’ and ‘DOMINATRIX’ also got loud pops from the crowd, before set closer ‘THE LONELY PEOPLE’ played out the final part of the main set. There was a small encore tease, but it didn’t last long as Jack came out to talk about the history of the band, and all the cool shit they’ve done, and all the places they’ve played in Brisbane. It was emotionally stirring listening to Jack reminisce, before sending Brisbane off with a final farewell, and ‘Empty’ to close out a beautifully introspective night of music, from a band I feel are wrapping up before their time. Hopefully we see a reunion later down the line. But for now, an incredible way to wrap up and incredible career.
