Void-Potions For Bad Dreams; Feral Kid Tapes recorded 1983

 

One of the truly lasting mysteries of the initial Hardcore Punk era, at least for Disaster Amnesiac, is the last recording by Void and its disappearance from the official narratives of that genre's main media representatives. It's not as though Potions For Bad Dreams (was that its title during production?) isn't recognized and loved by seekers of heavy from varied eras of 20th Century Rock/Metal. I can recall reading about it on blogs years ago and it certainly did have a fan base online. That said the party line seems to be that Void stopped after erroneously producing a misguided foray into Heavy Metal which they realized was unworthy of their name and disbanded. One wonders: what were the practice sessions from which the tunes on Potions were conjured like? Were there differing opinions as to where to take their sounds, opinions which lead to disagreements and arguing? Was there a managerial element in the mix, one that pushed the band away from their established mania? It seems as though that any kind of clarity as regards these types of questions have been lost to everyone save those closest to the beating hearts of the Void's members if even with them. Thankfully for some of us Feral Kid Tapes managed to produce and release this bootleg, an easily attainable one at that, for listening. I've enjoyed my copy for two or three years now. Right from the introductory riffs, the band shows a willingness to slow down, to let the sounds ring a bit longer and that makes them in some ways heavier. Guitar master Bubba Dupree evinces more solo moves, ones which show his creativeness on the instrument as he blends bigger melodic statements with purely noisy passages. John Weiffenbach's vocals retain the manic gravelly timbres of the group's earlier recordings but also show a bit of nuance with age. It's not as though they're that far from his sounds on the Faith/Void split; they're definitely not characterized by Cheese Metal aesthetics. Chris Stover on bass and Sean Finnegan on drums push the riffs with more of a Heavy Metal in general and New Wave of British Heavy Metal (eg Mötorhead) specifically feel. There's a picture of the latter going full beast mode at the 9:30 Club, pounding out the rhythm on a battery of tom toms and as Disaster Amnesiac has listened to his playing on Potions I've flashed on that shot plenty of times. It's a rhythm section that is often fast paced in its playing but its syncopation is less unhinged. That being said, I've imagined record industry types being put off by Void's idiosyncratic playing feels as "sloppy". Obviously they sound great to me but I'm just some former grit that still gets enthusiastic about "amateurism" so what the hell do I know any way. Plus this shit ain't about yours truly, it's about Void and a great album produced by them, one that lurks in the shadows, mostly denied for reasons unknown or vaguely explained. Void's legacy undoubtedly lives on within the Hardcore Crossover sounds that began to emerge a few years after their dissolution as a band, and with their contemporary peer band Corrosion of Conformity, and it's through those types of lenses that Potions For Bad Dreams is viewed a mi casita de Tucson.  Here's to hoping that it gets respect and hearing at other music fans' places as well.