Metalcore has continued as a thriving subgenre, so its no surprise Aussie natives Void of Vision have continued to explore it in more depth in the form of sophomore album Hyperdaze. Although, as other bands in the scene have moved on from certain genre tropes, it seems they missed a rather important memo. The record gets off to a decent start with ambient opening track ‘Overture’ seamlessly transitioning into the chugging ‘Year of The Rat’. However, it quickly becomes apparent that that’s the only strong example of production throughout all ten tracks. Heavy vocalist Jack Bergin is faded out beyond comprehension in almost every song, which is made even more obvious by the intense velocity put into the guitars. This is especially prominent in the final two songs ‘Splinter’ and the title track, as the strong instrumental sections build into an anti-climax as his grand entrances manifest as him merely sneaking through the door. While the first few songs fall into the generic Metalcore category mirroring the likes of Amity Affliction, Hyperdaze almost represents a mid-life crisis. Highlighted during the outro of fifth song ‘Slave To The Name’ (which is, for the most part one, of the strongest tracks on the album), a Stranger Things-like synth section comes in, layered under a heartbeat, it’s counterproductive at best. This then leads to the quite frankly bizarre ‘Adrenaline’, heaving with techno beats reminiscent of Asking Alexandria’s 2009 gem ‘Hiatus’. This sudden genre transition was barely hinted at prior and is unsettling. It continues into following track and lead single ‘Hole In Me’, which shows similarities to Hollywood Undead, and rears its head again randomly throughout the remaining four tracks, despite doing nothing to enhance them. Although Void of Vision state they weren’t content with their debut album Children of Chrome (2016), unfortunately Hyperdaze is another step backwards for the four-piece. While breakdowns laced with electronica was all the range in the late 00s, it wasn’t in their best interest to attempt a revival. Score: 4/10 Facebook:/voidofvision Twitter: @voidofvision