Album/EP

In Hearts Wake - Incarnation (Album Review)

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Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Jul 9, 2024

7 min read

In Hearts Wake – Incarnation
Released: July 12, 2024

Lineup

Jake Taylor // vocals
Eaven Dall // lead guitar
Ben Nairne // rhythm guitar
Conor Ward // drums

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It’s been a strange twelve months for In Hearts Wake: they had a successful run playing debut album, Divination, in full, but earlier this year longtime bassist/clean vocalist Kyle Erich announced his departure via stand-alone single ‘Farewell’, before the rest of the band quickly announcing the release of Incarnation. It’s a spiritual sequel to their debut, dealing with the eleven remaining tarot cards from a standard 22 card set. Erich’s replacement hasn’t been named yet, since he’s joining them for the initial Incarnation Tour as a goodbye to fans. But if I’m honest, the band have already moved on musically with their sixth album. It’s an angry, determined record, capped by the (almost) complete absence of clean vocals, with Jake Taylor’s growl dominating proceedings.

Erich’s decision might have forced their hand, but the creative direction is one the band embrace from the moment you click play on ‘Spitting Nails’. Infused with EDM loops and a frenzied drumming display, Taylor is razor sharp in his delivery, especially when he spits “so sick of the same old shit”. It’s a clear statement of intent that the band backs up as you head deeper into the album. It turns out first single ‘Hollow Bone’ was a great indicator of what they had planned, it’s a balls-to-wall burst of furious energy that uses backing vocals to add some melody without clean vox. It’s actually hardcore in its approach and has an epic breakdown to snap necks.

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Part of linking this new record back to Divination is the presence of guest vocalists. Specifically, they bring back some of the singers from their debut. First up, on the third track as he was before, is Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall.

‘The Flood’ reflects the band’s environmental concerns, especially telling as they and McCall are from Byron Bay. The Taylor/McCall duo is utterly devastating on the mic and the rest of the band wisely keep it straightforward to give them the stage. Garret Rapp (The Colour Morale) is back as well on the djent-fuelelled ‘Shellshock’, adding clean vocals for the chorus. It’s a change from Taylor’s growls and the track’s placement late in the album helps it stand out.

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The album is textured in a way that stands apart from other metalcore acts, even if plenty of bands now combine EDM and metal riffing. The second single ‘Orphan’ walks the line combining the sounds and the loops-meets-live drumming effects is freakin’ diabolical. It’s an intense face-melting experience with lyrical savagery that leaves a lasting impact. The coda just tops it off with another full on breakdown that ends with Taylor screaming “born into a world of shit.” There’s a slight reprieve on the intro to ‘Gen Doom’, but then it’s breakdown heaven. In the course of exploring different styles, there’s distorted vocals to evoke AI and some slower, melodic guitar lines. The lyrics turn from expressing frustration to calling for rebellion and it’s just so damn heavy. The call to arms continues on the violent anthem ‘Tyrant’, another tune that pushes the tempo into hardcore territory.

The guests continue with Paledusk’s Katio Nagai jumping in on ‘Shishigami シシ神’. This song fits more comfortably among In Hearts Wake’s recent output with melodic vocals and electronic ear candy on an otherwise standard metalcore tune. The whole notion of guest vocalists goes up a notch on ‘Michigama’ with the song featuring Chad Ruhlig (For The Fallen Dreams), David Gunn (King 810), Alfonso Civile (Heartsick) and um, Don Bauer (who chimes in at the end). The crew trade rasps, raps and bellows with Taylor in a fun celebration of the scene.

‘Feeding the Dead’ uses electronics more liberally and has a sparse guitar riff on the verses, giving the song room to feature synths and some killer drum fills. It is nicely complemented by the final track, ‘Transmission’, which uses guitar leads to create a melody that is closer to melodic death metal but with recognisable metalcore structures. The effect and longer track length moves it wonderfully into prog territory, which is a damn cool twist on what has been an aggressively heavy album. In Erich’s absence, they’ve found other ways to capture melody and express themselves in a way that still feels true to who they are.

There were all sorts of emotions in the IHW fandom when Kyle announced his departure and the coming tour will be bittersweet. But clearly In Hearts Wake have no intention of stopping or slowing down. Incarnation shows a band determined to push their message and their next phase is off to a cracking start – it is a full bodied metalcore attack with some interesting melodic moments.