LIVE REVIEW: Holding Absence, Void of Vision, Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, 21/01/2023
Photo Credit: Jack Geddes (Edinburgh – 25/01/2023)
Holding Absence are a band on a huge upward trajectory and have been ever since the release of their sophomore record The Greatest Mistake Of My Life. The record truly propelled the band from small sweaty basements to the likes of selling out established venues such as Rescue Rooms and many other brilliant venues on their latest UK tour.
Up and coming Australian metalcore giants Void of Vision made the trek from Australia to grace the English fans, to what was a pretty busy crowd in for their chief support slot. Perhaps the band were a little heavier than what you’d expect for a Holding Absence support, but it is worth noting that Holding Absence do have joint EPs with both Loathe and Alpha Wolf, so they certainly aren’t a far-fetched booking.
Lead singer Jack Bergin brought the energy and attitude as he aimed to get plenty of audience participation flowing through the crowd. Tracks from their latest release CHRONICLES III: UNDERWORLD were received immensely well, they certainly caught the attention of some new fans, whilst perhaps scaring some of the more innocent pop-punk fans.
Admittedly, it took a little while for the crowd to get going but by the end of the set, the band had done their job, the room was certainly warmed up, and ready for the main event. 9/10
It’s always slightly annoying when a band comes on over twenty minutes late. Why publish the set times online, and then keep people waiting so long in a vague attempt to create an air of suspense and excitement? Of course, it’s not just Holding Absence who do this, but sometimes you just need to rant. Now we’ll move on to what continued to be a great night.
As lead singer Lucas Woodland graced the stage, as always, him and the rest of Wales finest brought the energy. Opening with fan favourite Monochrome was as strong a start as you can get. Something about that chorus just gets people so riled up and singing with such vigour, it’s brilliant to see live.
Although the ‘classics’ such as Like a Shadow, Penance, and Dream of Me will always be crowd favourites for the hugely devoted Holding Absence fanbase. For a lot of people, this will have been the first chance they’ve had to hear some of the tracks from their sophomore LP TGMOML, and they would not have been disappointed.
Aching Longing from the band’s recent joint EP with Alpha Wolf is always a fun watch live. It’s a great tune, and it also catches a lot of people off guard.
When seemingly innocent looking guitarist Scott Carey starts bellowing some rough lows, some people’s reactions can be hilarious, and when the breakdown hits it can send your head off, especially when the band were joined on set by Love Is Noise lead singer Cameron Humphrey to hit some nasty lows.
It was a surprisingly short headline set spanning just the twelve songs and before you knew it, the band went off for their encore. Arguably, a lot of what would have attracted people to the band in the first place with single Afterlife now surpassing 25 million streams on Spotify.
The band finished as well as they started with Afterlife getting even the most stubborn of the crowd singing and putting their hands up, and closer Wilt is an ever reliable to send people home with a positive taste in their mouth after what had been a great night at the packed-out Rescue Rooms. 9/10
Written By: Joe Loughran
Photo Credit: Jack Geddes (Edinburgh – 25/01/2023)
