by John Kindred
— Publisher —
Chicago’s Voice of Addiction return with a new album, The Lost Art of Empathy. The Punk outfit led by In Tomele continues to push forward its take on modern societies social woes.
The album contains 12-songs that never take more than three minutes to get the band’s point across to the listener. Attitude is the protagonist of the Punk genre, and Voice of Addiction, drive that point home song after song.
The music is driven by the guitars, with the bass and drums holding the arrangements together, allowing Tomele’s angsty-lyrical-commentary to ride over the top of the instrumentation. For all the Punkish attitude the band does deliver some melodic overtones, and Tomele actually sings in key, when he is not screaming …
There is no denying that Voice of Addiction put all their energy into these 12-songs… with all the angst that can be mustered in nearly 32-minutes of Punkish revelry … VoA strikes a dissonant chord in calling out the wrongs of modern society. Hitting on raw nerves, the band takes its shot at what’s wrong with the world and walk away with positive reviews from critics and fans.
The band is set to release the documentary film Punk Band, which Madness Maker Films recorded during the bands 4 ½ 2016 Midwest and West Coast Tour. The film features live performances and pre and post-show interviews will premiere August 17 at Beat Kitchen in Chicago.
Genre: Punk
Band:
Ian Tomele – vocals/bass/acoustic
Dennis Tynan – drums
Jake Smith – guitars/backing vocals
Luke Ostojic – backing vocals
All songs written by V.o.A. LLC & Ian Tomele
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Mr. Precision at Bombshelter Recording Studio. Produced by V.o.A., Mr Precision and Wrecking Ball Production.
Track Listing:
1. Rustbelt 03:00
2. Dead By Dawn 02:28
3. Unity 02:04
4. Petty Schemes 03:09
5. Corporate Pariah 02:39
6. Lockwood 03:03
7. I Can’t Breathe 02:44
8. Everything Must Go 01:56
9. Ad Nauseum 04:14
10. Eviction Notice 02:40
11. Alcorn Queen 03:11
12. Are We Even Human Anymore 04:08
Web: https://voiceofaddiction.bandcamp.com/album/the-lost-art-of-empathy-2
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(7 / 10)
