Italian deathrock punk band Horror Vacui were formed by current singer Koppa and partner Marzia (now on drums) on their return to Bologna after living in a squat in London where they made friends amongst the British capital’s goth scene in the first decade of the new millennium, and although the sound of their four excellent albums to date has been described as “a politicised Red Lorry Yellow Lorry meets The Chameleons”, the project’s commitment to their pure punk ethos continues to this day, as one of the most authentically and overtly political bands on the goth or goth-adjacent scene.
Visiting the UK for a low-key DIY tour for the first time since the release of their outstanding 2020 album Living For Nothing, which unfortunately came out just as the COVID pandemic began, Horror Vacui played their first ever Scottish gig at the uber-cool Bloc+ venue in central Glasgow, a basement bar as famed for its cheap and quality food and beers as for its free music seven nights a week.
Busy at the best of times, the pub was comfortably full of the city’s alternative black-clad youth on Friday night when support band Dr Void and The Skinjob’s (sic), whose studio releases mark them out as a quirky electro-punk trio strongly influenced by the likes of Devo, took to the stage. Although their vocals/synths, bass and drums line-up gives their sound the raw punky edge of early Kaelan Mikla, in the ‘live’ setting, energetic frontman Gary’s retro synth sounds range from Stranglers intricacy to heavy Daft Punkesque depthcharges, with Billy’s visceral bass driving the songs forward at a frenetic pace. Dedicating new song Rave to the Grave to the “creatures of the night” in attendance, DV&TSJ raced through a short set in which Androids and Polaroids and set-closer Inpatient were the highlights, and their manic enthusiasm warmed up the growing crowd nicely.
Bloc+’s musical facilities are more suited to local talent than to touring cult bands, with a low roof and no raised stage in a room barely twice the size of the average living room, but all five members of Horror Vacui, their trusty dry ice machine and Lucretia’s all-important pedalboard (for that trademark edgy glacial deathrock guitar tone which underpins the entire set) squeezed into the minuscule “stage” space and launched into a powerful version of recent single Distressed, with Koppa’s microphone only inches from the front row of the static, mesmerised crowd. Before the last notes had died away, Marzia hammered out the opening rhythm of an ear-splitting rendition of Forward, with Thomas and Vasu (on bass and second guitar respectively) adding the depth to a sound which is the heaviest and loudest I had heard from a goth band in some time, occasionally obliterating some of the subtleties of both the intricate arrangements and Koppa’s potent lyrics in the early songs.
While he may be well into his forties, Koppa has lost none of his political zeal and songs were dedicated to the people of Gaza and to asylum-seekers as he railed against the rise of the far-right and recent racist riots in the UK to supportive cheers. Excellent versions of tracks from Living for Nothing followed, with the vocalist wisely opting not to attempt the very top notes of Consolation Prize, My Funeral My Party (dedicated to a departed friend) allowing a very slight slowing of pace in an otherwise high-speed set, and the wonderful Lost such a highlight that even Marzia applauded the rest of the band at the end of the song. The band’s perfect melange of power, melody and dynamics makes for an invigorating spectacle which was all the more effective for being at such close quarters.
The all-too-brief show ends with a euphoric In Darkness You Will Feel Alright, title track of the band’s debut LP back in 2012 and a suitably life-affirming mantra for both band and audience alike. With no time for an encore (the venue’s band curfew time having been reached) the indefatigable trooper Koppa headed straight from the stage to the busy merch table where hopefully the band recouped the additional costs of their first sojourn north of the border.
The band’s UK and European tour, organised as ever by the band themselves with the support of the goth and punk communities, continues during the rest of the month, a rare and highly-recommended opportunity to catch one of the scene’s most consistent and under-rated acts in their ‘live’ prime.
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