HORROR VACUI + BONES ATE ARFA + LOOSE ENDZ – THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON 14.8.25
I’m rather annoyed with myself in coming really late to the party in discovering Horror Vacui who are an Italian post-punk/goth rock/death rock band from Bologna who formed way back in 2010. They remained under my radar until very recently, and then I got doubly annoyed as I noted that they had come across from Italy last year as part of their ‘Shadows Sanctuary’ UK & EU tour, which witnessed them playing live here in Brighton at Daltons on 12th August 2024. I’m not sure how I missed that gig, but judging by the style of the 2024 tour poster, it’s likely that I might have assumed that they were a death metal act, which doesn’t really float my boat.
Looking at photos of their frontman, Koppa, you might think that he’s a member of punk outfit Conflict, as he has the look and the vibe, or at least possibly a member of Lords Of The New Church, but musically this isn’t really the case. They in fact blend early ’80s goth with post-punk in a horror-tinged sound. Their name is a Latin term literally meaning “fear of empty space”. In art, it refers to the tendency to fill every available space in an artwork with detail, leaving no empty areas. The concept is also found in philosophy and physics, where it relates to the idea that nature abhors a vacuum. There certainly isn’t any “empty space” in their sound, certainly not if eye-catching drummer Marziona has anything to do with it. Plus there is a duo of guitarists, Lucrezia Peppicelli and Sola, who along with female bassist Gigi Fagni, ensure that there is a solid wall of sound on offer this evening at The Hope & Ruin.
Fans of Sisters Of Mercy, Killing Joke, UK Decay, 1919, Clan Of Xymox, ST///LL, Christian Death, Bauhaus and Corpus Delicti sit up and take note….
Tonight we are in Horror Vacui’s company for 56 minutes on the Brighton date of their 16-date UK & EU ‘Sleepless Nights’ tour, which has already witnessed them play in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. This evening is their opening night in the UK and from here they will be heading off to Bristol, Liverpool, Coventry, Leeds and London, and then back across the Channel to France, Switzerland and finally back home in Italy. Thankfully by the time the quintet grace us with their presence, the venue is relatively packed.
The band take to the stage around 9:30pm and set up shop by setting the mood. They place 10 cream coloured mock candles of varying sizes at various selected points across the stage as well as a trio of lanterns, all for added atmosphere. I’m starting to wonder if they have elected to ditch all of the house lighting, which would have been a nightmare for our photographer (David Gyokos) this evening, but thankfully the lighting does remain on. Although it would have been rather novel if it wasn’t. That would have certainly added to the gothness of the performance. Like Horror Vacui’s image, tonight’s punters are a mixed bag, but obviously one colour dominates the room, it’s black! All of the band are wearing black as are a majority of the punters, and a handful have also impressively gone the whole hog by applying the white and black face makeup.
The music begins at 9:35pm with an ‘Intro’ which is listed according to their setlist in front of me as ‘Lupo’, which I believe is yet to be released. It’s a creepy horror moody affair that sets the tone. The tour doesn’t seem to be promoting a brand new release as far as I can tell from their social media, but is a blend of old songs and as yet to be released compositions. Gigi then gets to work on her bass and they are away with ‘Distressed’ which is from their 2023 ‘S/T’ single. The other trio of musicians join in and Koppa gets down to his vocal duties. It’s immediately apparent that we are in Sisters Of Mercy territory here. Koppa’s microphone is set to echo delay during all of the songs and even in between tunes when he addresses us. I find it really hard to understand what he is actually saying and singing about, and this isn’t because of his Italian accent, as his English is good, it’s the echo situation. I read that “Their lyrics explore identity, darkness, society and the human psyche” but I sadly can’t pick these out.
One thing is certain tonight and that’s that they are loud and offer a raw, punk-rooted urgency that also defines their live presence and political ethos. I know I’m standing at the front but boy they are certainly packing a punch. According to the setlist we are next served ‘Forward’ from 2018’s ‘New Wave Of Fear’ album, which is followed by ‘5000’ from 2014’s ‘Return Of The Empire’ album. During these tunes I’m drawn to comparisons with ST///LL and Clan Of Xymox. Then with the unreleased ‘Skyless Eyes’, ‘Lost’ from 2020’s ‘Living For Nothing’ album, and the unreleased ‘Shadows Sanctuary’, I’ve noted UK Decay, Siouxsie & The Banshees, 1919 and Killing Joke as similarities. Around the time of ‘My Funeral My Party’ from 2020’s ‘Living For Nothing’ album and ‘Grey Shadows’ (which we are told is about refugees) from 2018’s ‘New Wave Of Fear’ album, I’m beginning to wonder whether they might very well be a decent wild card option for next year’s 30th anniversary ‘Rebellion’ festival in Blackpool, on account of Koppa’s image, vocal delivery and the band’s wall of sound. I mean ‘Grey Shadows’ isn’t that far off sounding like Lords Of The New Church and there’s even a rock ending to it.
Horror Vacui are certainly all singing off the same hymn-sheet tonight, and Marziona’s drumming is impeccable. In fact I’ve found myself studying her playing just as much as I’m watching Koppa out front. There’s a similarity to the drumming on Theatre Of Hate’s ‘Do You Believe In The Westworld’ and some UK Decay numbers as well. The setlist then is showing as “Nuova (‘Sunny’, ‘Writings’, ‘Eventide’)”, which I’m guessing means that they are going to select a new (nuova) one from the three words, but I know it’s not ‘Sunny’. I do know that ‘Consolation Prize’ from 2020’s ‘Living For Nothing’ album is up next as Koppa informs us it’s about religion. This commences with a ‘Killing An Arab’ (The Cure) beat before morphing off into Sisters Of Mercy territory, but at a speedier pace and the vocals are at times akin to ‘Message Distortion’ by UK Decay. For me, this is their best number thus far and possibly even shading it from their modern goth anthem ‘In Darkness You Will Feel Alright’ from the 2012 album of the same name.
After this the band make it clear that they have finished their set, but the punters shout and clap for more. They relent, but the setlist was showing ‘Corvus O Una Nuova Scartata’ anyway, but Koppa informs us that they are going to play two numbers, one old and one new. The new being ‘Sunny Day’, which I’m assuming was one of those three options above and it’s this that just sneaks in as the choice tune of their set. They sign off with one final tune, which actually was ‘Corvus Corax’ from 2012’s ‘In Darkness You Will Feel Alright’ album, with its repeated earworm chorus: “Are you singing for me?; Are you singing for me?; Arе you looking for me?; Are you waiting for me?”. I felt that this wasn’t as strong as the previous number, which is I guess a sign of the fact that they are moving in the right direction as the newer tune is better.
At 10:31pm that was it. Their catalogue (which can be found on their Bandcamp page HERE) reaches far beyond nostalgia, and it’s great that there are still many bands around just like Horror Vacui, but quite possibly this outfit are the Ramones of their scene, in which there isn’t a massive deviation in the tracks. If you like one Horror Vacui song, then it’s likely that you will enjoy them all!
Horror Vacui:
Koppa – vocals
Marziona – drums
Gigi Fagni – bass
Lucrezia Peppicelli – guitar
Sola – guitar
Horror Vacui setlist:
‘Intro Lupo’ (unreleased)
‘Distressed’ (from 2023 ‘S/T’ single)
‘Forward’ (from 2018 ‘New Wave Of Fear’ album)
‘5000’ (from 2014 ‘Return Of The Empire’ album)
‘Skyless Eyes’ (unreleased)
‘Lost’ (from 2020 ‘Living For Nothing’ album)
‘Shadows Sanctuary’ (unreleased)
‘My Funeral My Party’ (from 2020 ‘Living For Nothing’ album)
‘Grey Shadows’ (from 2018 ‘New Wave Of Fear’ album)
‘Nuova (‘Sunny’, ‘Writings’, ‘Eventide’) (unreleased)
‘Consolation Prize’ (from 2020 ‘Living For Nothing’ album)
‘In Darkness You Will Feel Alright’ (from 2012 ‘In Darkness You Will Feel Alright’ album)
(encore)
‘Sunny Day’ (unreleased)
‘Corvus Corax’ (from 2012 ‘In Darkness You Will Feel Alright’ album)
Who locally would I have personally selected to have supported Horror Vacui this evening in order to keep it in the same ballpark? Jopy, Swallowtail, Francis Pig, ST///LL or someone similar is the answer, but the promoters have opted to spread the sound this evening, and gone with Bones Ate Arfa who I have encountered before and Loose Endz who I haven’t.
Brighton based Bones Ate Arfa consist of Sonny Whittington aka ‘Bones’ (guitar and vocals), Herbie Wilson aka ‘8’ (drums), and Arthur Wilson aka ‘Arfa’ (vocals and bass) and the lads have been bigged up by local Radio DJ’s Vince and Jo for quite some time now. Surprisingly they are nowhere to be seen this evening, which is a shame as to cut a long story short Bones Ate Arfa were on fire tonight! Something has clearly clicked with them now, and I’m guessing it ties in with the dropping of their new 6-track ‘Just Bananas’ EP. Punters tonight are rewarded five of the six tracks as part of Bones Ate Arfa’s 8 song 29 minute performance which ran from 8:47pm to 9:16pm. It’s a totally different set of tracks from when I caught them at Daltons back in February and all the better for it.
Fans of Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Gorillaz, TySegall and Them Crooked Vultures need to take note of Bones Ate Arfa.
Their performance commences with rapid flashing of the stage lights with a train sounding intro tape and then the first of almost five in a row from ‘Just Bananas’ is blasted at us, this being ‘Vineyard’, and wine not! Immediately you get the Nirvana connection, which lasts throughout the whole set. I’m particularly struck by Arthur’s cool looking star shaped bass guitar, and then Herbie’s number 8 top (the penny’s dropped!). Sonny I saw previously with a band called Mindframe, but they weren’t as good as BAA tonight. BAA are not a barbers friend, but it goes with the territory I guess.
The lads are very tight this evening as they lead into the EP title track which has a 70’s TV theme vibe at the beginning. Arthur’s vocals and screams are truly guttural and the punters cannot fail to notice them. But just in case they do, then Herbie briefly vacates his drumkit and jumps off the stage with a blue cowbell in hand and wanders in amongst the crowd whilst playing it, whilst his chums deliver the musical feedback. ‘Don’t Leave Me Now’ came next and there was a photo opportunity mid-tune as Arthur stood on top of one of the speakers and then launched himself and bass off of it.
‘Don’t Leave Me Now’, ‘Chew So Easy’ and ‘Mary Molotov’ were all unleashed, but around this time I’m pretty sure they also played their 2023 ‘Asbestos’ single as well, which seriously showed what they are all about. They are treading the fine line between grunge, punk and metal at this point and Arthur refers to ‘Mary Molotov’ as being “slow and really boring”...he lied! The trio are clearly having fun tonight, and I know Herbie has the biggest smile of any drummer I know, but both Sonny and Arthur were in on the act and this vibe transferred to the crowd. They signed off with their forthcoming ‘It’s All Good’ single, followed by ‘Akimbo People’ from 2024 EP of the same name, and I enjoyed watching Herbie as he often reached out the the cymbal that he just hit in order to stop the sound, it’s a very effective trick. Now being totally honest, BAA aren’t what I usually gravitate to, but crikey are they getting good!
Bones Ate Arfa:
Sonny Whittington aka Bones – guitar, vocals
Herbie Wilson aka 8 – drums
Arthur Wilson aka Arfa – vocals, bass
Bones Ate Arfa setlist:
‘Vineyard’ (from 2025 ‘Just Bananas’ EP)
‘Just Bananas’ (from 2025 ‘Just Bananas’ EP)
‘Asbestos’ (a 2023 single)
‘Don’t Leave Me Now’ (from 2025 ‘Just Bananas’ EP)
‘Chew So Easy’ (from 2025 ‘Just Bananas’ EP)
‘Mary Molotov’ (from 2025 ‘Just Bananas’ EP)
‘It’s All Good’ (forthcoming 2025 single)
‘Akimbo People’ (from 2024 ‘Akimbo People’ EP)
Kicking off proceedings this evening are Loose Endz who are certainly not to be confused with the British R&B band, Loose Ends, who had a handful of Top 40 hit singles from 1985 to 1992. These Sussex lads are more cred than that and are supporters of their local scene over in Eastbourne. Is there one? Clearly there is! Although drummer Henry actually resides in Hailsham, oh well they can’t have it all! Henry is joined by SamCa on vocals, Lee on bass, Finn on guitar as well as Will on guitar. They play a very aggressive style of nu metal with strong influences of hardcore and sludge. If a riff makes them grimace then they know they are on to something.
Unfortunately as they are the opening act, the venue from the outset is relatively sparsely populated, and those punters that are present, clearly haven’t warmed up yet. The quintet try their best to get some action and acknowledgement from us lot, but in all honesty, we are seriously failing them! No matter, as they are clearly going to be having a ball without us anyway across their 25 minute 9 unreleased song set, which ran from 8:02pm to 8:27pm.
Musically they aren’t my bag, but I can’t like all genres, but I totally get that these are actually good kidz! I’m even guessing that their vocalist has either been awake since the early hours this morning, or he was the last to arrive, on the account of him sporting totally different coloured socks. Is this a grunge noise merchant thing? Who knows?. They commence with a couple of nu metal tunes, ‘Intro’ and ‘Konkrete’, before launching into the even faster ‘F*ck Bilk’. After this we are informed that ‘Burn’ was one of the first songs they ever wrote, and then Lee kicks it off with some meaty basslines, followed by a long guttural scream from SamCa. Oh the energy of youth! It’s pretty certain that Loose Endz are the sort of band that you would expect to be rockin’ on up and playing at The Pipeline or at Daltons, as they perfectly fit those Brighton venues.
We are then told that one of the guitarists only joined their ranks last week and that he’s doing very well. I didn’t actually catch whether it was Finn or Will, but I did catch that their next tune is titled ‘Spunk’ and was dedicated to Eastbourne! Not a word one usually associates with Eastbourne is it! None of their songs outstay their welcome, which is great for the genre. We are then given a music lesson on the history of modern music, which leads them nicely into ‘Rock N Rolla’ which features dual vocal deliveries, and it speeded up near the end and got fast and frenetic. ‘Figure Of 8’ and ‘Stay Loose’ followed, with the former (as far as I can recall) being sat within punk territory for its first half, prior to the lads really going for it. They signed off with ‘Get Loose’ and they certainly did, and at the end Henry deliberately knocked over the cymbals and partially attacked the Horror Vacui drumkit. He’s from Hailsham you know, there’s nothing to do, so that’s what their entertainment is like around there! I am joking of course! Or am I?
Loose Endz:
Henry – drums
Lee – bass
SamCa – vocals
Finn – guitar
Will – guitar
Loose Endz setlist:
‘Intro’
‘Konkrete’
‘F*ck Bilk’
‘Burn’
‘Spunk’
‘Rock N Rolla’
‘Figure Of 8’
‘Stay Loose’
‘Get Loose’
(All unreleased)
www.instagram.com/looseendzmusic
