Vision of Disorder is an American metalcore band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 1992, the band initially released three albums before disbanding in 2002. They garnered attention for blending melody and groove into a traditional hardcore framework, but their attempts to pursue an alternative metal direction on their fourth album were met with limited commercial success.
Vision of Disorder signed with Roadrunner Records' subsidiary, Supersoul, and released its self-titled full-length debut in 1996. The band was later praised for its impact upon the popularization of hardcore music: the debut album was "metallic hardcore that no one had heard, released for a mass audience on a big label. It had its merits; powerful, screamed vocals often layered over depressing clean vocals combined with fresh 'un-hardcore' guitar sections and unfamiliar drum patterns. For anyone into hardcore at the time, this was the album to have." Williams said that Jake "was a good bass player, but was horrible for VOD", and he was fired following a tour with Madball. The band made amends with Fleischmann and began touring again in December 1996.
After the label strife, Vision of Disorder kept a relatively low profile. However, they eventually returned in 1999 with For the Bleeders, consisting mostly of re-recorded demo songs, released on Go-Kart Records.
In 2001, Vision of Disorder released From Bliss to Devastation on TVT Records. The album marked a shift towards a traditional verse-chorus-verse songwriting structure. Kennedy described the album as "fitting in with the nu-metal scene" Williams and Kennedy formed the band Bloodsimple while Cohen and Fleischmann played in Karvnov.
Vision of Disorder reunited briefly in order to play three songs during a show with Bloodsimple and Karnov. The band played several one-off shows and shot footage for a DVD before formally reuniting in October 2008. Williams described the material for the reunion album as similar to Imprint. While the album was ultimately delayed several times, in July 2011, the first single, "The Enemy", was released on Candlelight Records. On September 18, 2012, The Cursed Remain Cursed was released. The album was celebrated as "largely a return to the confrontational metallic hardcore that gave Imprint its cult following," although "some elements of From Bliss to Devastation...creep in on occasion".
Around this time Matt Baumbach left the band, and former Mind Over Matter and dayinthelife guitarist Josh Demarco took his place in the line-up. VOD's next album was released on November 27, 2015, 'Razed to the Ground', via Candlelight Records (and was produced by Zeuss). AXS contributor Terrance Pryor named the release one of the best metalcore records of 2015, calling it "a definite rager from start to finish".
Band members
upright=1.2|thumb|Vision of Disorder at [[Hellfest 2016]]
Current members
- Tim Williams − vocals <small>(1992–2002, 2006, 2008–present)</small>
- Mike Kennedy – guitar <small>(1992–2002, 2006, 2008–present)</small>
- Mike Fleischmann – bass guitar <small>(1992–2002, 2006, 2008–present)</small>
- Brendon Cohen – drums <small>(1992–2002, 2006, 2008–present)</small>
- Josh Demarco – guitar <small>(2015–present)</small>
Former members
- Matt Baumbach – guitar <small>(1992–2002, 2006, 2008–2013)</small>
- Jake – bass guitar <small>(1996)</small>
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures
! rowspan="2" |Title
! rowspan="2" |Details
! colspan="2" |Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" |US<br />Heat.<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" |UK<br />
|-
! scope="row" |Vision of Disorder
|
- Released: October 22, 1996
- Label: Supersoul/Roadrunner
- Format: CD, CS, LP
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | Imprint
|
- Released: July 14, 1998
- Label: Roadrunner
- Format: CD, CS, LP
|10
|197
|-
! scope="row" | For the Bleeders
|
- Released: August 24, 1999
- Label: Go-Kart Records
- Format: CD, LP
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | From Bliss to Devastation
|
- Released: June 19, 2001
- Label: TVT Records
- Format: CD
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | The Cursed Remain Cursed
|
- Released: September 18, 2012
- Label: Candlelight
- Format: CD, LP
|11
|—
|-
! scope="row" | Razed to the Ground
|
- Released: November 27, 2015
- Label: Candlelight
- Format: CD, LP
|—
|—
|-
| colspan="4" style="font-size:90%" |"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
|}
DVD
- Dead in NY (Koch Entertainment, 2008)
EPs
- Still (Striving for Togetherness Records, 1995)
- N.Y.H.C. Documentary Soundtrack (Striving for Togetherness Records, 1996)
- Resurrecting Reality (EP) (Crisis/Revelation Records 1998)
Demos
- Demo '93
- Demo '94 (The "Extra Shit" Demo)
- Demo '95
Miscellaneous
- Vision of Disorder/Loyal to None split 7-inch (Hearsay Records, 1994)
- Vision of Disorder/Loyal to None Live on WUSB Riptide Radio (split cassette, recorded live, 1994)
- Vision of Disorder Live on WUSB Riptide Radio (distributed on cassette tape, 1995)
- Vision of Disorder/Nanchaku - split 7-inch (Japanese Import) (Dea Records, 1997)
- Landslide/Twelve Steps to Nothing - split 7-inch w/ Dive, Uzamaki (Dea Records, 1999)
- What You Are/Jada Bloom - split 7-inch w/ Minor League, Wrongside (Dea Records, 1999)