Photos and Writing by Olivia Rozinski
When Invent Animate announced their Heavener tour back at the end of June I was absolutely thrilled. Not only was I excited for them to go from being the opener to headlining, but their own openers (Aviana, Thrown, and Void of Vision) were bands I already had on steady repeat. I keep saying: if there’s one thing I love, it’s bands who mix catchy choruses with breakdowns. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas in…almost July present from the chaos that is the music industry. Come night of, that excitement absolutely was validated.

Aviana opened the night and it was such a great way to ease myself out of the post concert withdrawals from seeing Sleep Token live. If you’re looking for a Sleep Token-esque performance that’s significantly more accessible, Aviana is the band for you. With only their vocalist, Joel Holmqvist, showing his face, the rest of the members go by Dark (Drums), Fear (Guitar), and Death (Guitar). While the bands have a lot of similarities on paper, they both have distinct sounds. Any similarities beyond them both being in the metal genre is opinion based and moot in my option as both the bands and genre are constantly evolving. I will say, if you need a comparison, Aviana’s consistent sound is that of Sleep Token’s “Gods” and “Vore” but mixed with the melodic tone of Spiritbox. While “Rage” may have been the first song to pull me in, I stayed for songs like “Anomaly” that have me (attempting to) sing along and I have no intention of leaving any time soon. Not only are they great people, but their stage presence is fantastic and I will always be in awe of masked performers being able to convey so much emotion and personality just through body movements while playing an instrument well. Aviana is absolutely a band that I look forward to seeing what they do next but also seeing again whenever they’re close by.

Thrown followed up and was such a brilliant opener since they’re such an energetic metal group. Coming into the night, I was overall excited but definitely apprehensive about the pit and energy that the crowd would exude for Thrown (keep in mind I’m carrying a camera through the crowd). With them being on the heavier side of the metal genre, I fully expected a lot of chaos and that’s exactly what the crowd gave. If you haven’t heard them, Thrown could easily be compared to Ten56 or Wage War (I’m thinking “Manic” specifically). If you’re looking for a local (to North Carolina, anyway) comparison I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that Dark Signs have a similar sound. With that in mind, I was incredibly excited to see what they brought to the show. I don’t think anyone left disappointed. Of the night, I had the most trouble working my way through the crowd during their set- which is to say that the crowd was focused on the pit and the music, just as nature intended. If you’re wondering where to start song wise, I would bet a shiny penny you’ve already listened to “Greyout.” I had similar thoughts when I was preparing for the show and was pleasantly surprised to find they had been on steady repeat and I was just paying more attention to my day job than the music playing (not as nature intended). They were absolutely a band I’m happy to have crossed off my ever growing list and were the main draw for more than one concert goer that I talked to.

While not related to their sound, if you’re a concert goer, both Aviana and Thrown are from Sweden so don’t take their concert dates for granted when they’re nearby. Also, if you want to grab merch, it might be helpful to both parties if you brought cash to avoid the conversion rates for them and for your bank to not potentially lock your cards (Although… worth it- they’ve both got a great selection).

Following Thrown, Void of Vision was the final opener and the wildcard in my book. While they’ve been on repeat, I genuinely had no idea what to expect from their set. I do love a good surprise. While Aviana could be said to be mainly “Vore,” Sleep Token, and a little “The Void,” Spiritbox, I would say there’s a small argument to be made that Void of Vision is the inverse. With an absolutely brilliant stage energy and performance, they pair it well with melodic songs that have me, again, attempting to, sing along before the unclean vocals come in (I know my limits). Of the performers of the night, I have to say that the unclean vocalist from Void of Vision, Jack Bergin, absolutely took the gold- I can only hope the pictures I grabbed do the band’s energy justice as a whole. I shouldn’t be surprised, really none of us should be, we all know that metal bands from Australia just hit different and why I expected anything else, I’ll never know. If you’re looking for a band that is, somehow, metal, melodic, catchy enough to bop your head long to (notable difference from head banging), and even sing along with, Void of Vision is your band.

While I’ve already mentioned Bergin, he wasn’t carrying the band solely on his back. James McKendrick is the other vocalist, and guitarist, in the group and I was, and still am, consistently surprised when I hear his sections. Again, not sure why I’m surprised, but hearing his melodic vocals with their metal sound is such a delight to me and somehow they make beautiful, beautiful music with that combination. In my write up of Echonest (They opened for The Anchor if you want to find that write up) in August I noted that you could tell that they were, simply put, technically good at playing their respective instruments; a similar comment could be made for Void of Vision as a whole. Not only could I tell genuine skill, but also joy while playing. Overall, Bergin may have gotten the gold for performance and Void of Vision is one of the more cohesive bands I’ve seen where I could tell all band members just worked well together. This might not be a big detail for the casual concert goer but I think it’s a detail that absolutely comes through in their quality of performance.

With much anticipation and excitement from the crowd, Invent Animate closed out the night. With a younger crowd, I was interested to see how Invent Animate’s fans were going to act, especially coming from the recent tour Invent Animate opened for and the rap the fans got from said tour. While I don’t think there was a large difference in behavior of fans from aforementioned tour to this show, I will say Invent Animate did a great job involving them and with crowd work as a whole. Coming off their recent Heavener album release, of which the current tour is obviously named, and the even more recent release of their single, “Heavener,” I’ll absolutely give credit where credit is due- they were clever for building up anticipation for that absolute delight of a song. They also did a great job of balancing new songs with older songs throughout their set to cover their bases and appease the masses (it’s me- I’m the masses).

As I’ve been talking to more and more metal heads, Invent Animate has been a fun band for me to talk about because most people have an opinion. To me, someone’s reaction to Invent Animate tells me how much they’ve actually listened to them. I think their most commonly played songs, which are more often than not their more recent, are far more melodic and ‘easy listening’ which leaves people slightly confused and possibly at odds. Conversely, I’ve also had someone describe their old work as ‘scene’ and it just makes me chuckle. Invent Animate is such a great example of the breadth of what a band can do within the metal genre (and also how there will always be a critic in the crowd). I’m incredibly excited to see how they continue to develop their sound. Their older work is undoubtedly harder and less melodic than their recent releases (can you imagine…a band…with growth?) so I’m looking forward to seeing how they continue to hone their talents and make more music uniquely their own while pushing boundaries of what’s expected of them, either by themselves or anyone looking to box in the ever expanding genre that is metal.
With all that being said, I do want to talk about their actual performance. First off, props for them for have B.A.L. aka Bright Ass Lights. As a photographer that really does help out- they’re homies for that alone. Those lights also created an amazing environment that helps them put on a more impactful show in a smaller venue. Secondly, they have a great stage presence that I’ve most commonly seen from far more veteran bands, but I suppose after ten years of touring they’ve definitely earned their stripes. I mentioned previously that they did a good job of mixing older and newer songs in their set and it was great to hear their vocalist, Marcus Vik, cover their full range of songs. To my delight, he’s one of the few vocalists I’ve seen that sound better in person than recorded. While the other bands of the night might have donned a mask or make-up, most of Invent Animate chose their hair to shield their face most of the night, whether intentionally or not. I can’t say I blame them with how bright their lights are. While there was crowd involvement from their bassist, Caleb Sherraden, and energy from Keaton Goldwire (Guitar), their vocalist was the main performer handling the show, which he had no problem with. Whether it was bouncing around on stage, helping crowd surfers, or simply doing crowd work, Vik maintained the energy for the band and keep the crowd, and the show, going with ease that I’m envious of, and the energy didn’t drop off even when the show ended. From their varied songs to their energetic frontman, Invent Animate puts on a great show. I’m so excited to be able to see what else they make in the future and how they continue to develop as artists all while enjoying the work they’ve already put out.