2020 was rough for a lot of bands, including In Hearts Wake who were supposed to kick it all off at Download Festival, where they could have showcased tracks from their new album Kaliyuga live for the first time.
After that, the band worked hard to release an album during a pandemic (our review here), create music videos during lockdown and even put on a bloody ripper of a live stream in the process!
It may not have gone according to plan, but they adapted to their surroundings and I believe pulled off one of the best album promo campaigns 2020 had to offer! To wrap it all up, we asked clean vocalist/bassist Kyle Erich for his thoughts on the year that was and the end result is here...
BEST RELEASE OF 2020?
AlphaWolf - a quiet place to die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLbTT89kSFg
BEST SONG OF 2020?
Gojira - 'AnotherWorld'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqrMFNMgVS0
BEST MUSIC VIDEO OF 2020?
Alpha Wolf - 'Akudama'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ENMe1rlA0M
LAST GIG YOU PLAYED BEFORE COVID?
Our last show was the last show of the Never Say Die tour in Paris.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B473jVRD_sP/
HOW DID COVID AFFECT YOU/YOUR BAND?
It's been a tough year for the music industry no doubt about that. It has opened our eyes to how much we rely on touring to stay afloat as a band and shown us that we need to diversify to connect with fans now that touring has indefinitely stopped. In saying that it hasn’t been all bad, we have had time to do things in our personal lives.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDDKdRrlg0e/
BIGGEST THING YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF IN 2020?
As a musician, I've learned that even without touring I will continue to play and write music simply because I like doing it. I also took up reading Sci-fi and fantasy books this year and I am pretty obsessed with that at the moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ANkFM5YJXE
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2021?
Hopefully playing a show to a wild crowd, we have played some acoustic shows this year to a seated crowd and that was fun but there is nothing quite like playing to a Metal/Hardcore crowd.
Words by Kyle Erich. Insta: @kyleerich
