In Hearts Wake - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 12th September @ The Forum, Melbourne, VIC
In Hearts Wake
The Forum, Melbourne, VIC
September 12th, 2024
Supports: Paleface Swiss, King810 and Gravemind
As Australia's beloved In Hearts Wake shed their skin and evolve into their newest Incarnation, this live performance not only represents a celebration of the group's latest era as they move forward as a quartet, but also honours the vital role that bassist/clean vocalist Kyle Erich has played in the band's growth and development up until this point as he parts ways with the Byron Bay outfit.
The bittersweet jollification drew in thousands of concertgoers, equating to a long, slow-moving queue wrapping around the venue. As the clock struck 7:30 pm, Melbourne-based act Gravemind opened the festivities, displaying their deathcore prowess on the big stage to an already half-filled venue. As someone who has seen this group perform countless times, I was sure that I knew what to expect. However, I continuously found myself figuratively picking my jaw up from the flaw throughout their thirty-minute set. It has been a couple of years since the demonic-sounding Bailey Schembri took on the challenge of filling the ever-so-large shoes of Dylan Gillies-Parsons, which would never be an easy standard to uphold. However, Schembri has done so seemingly effortlessly, while leaving his mark on the group's growing history with their latest, critically acclaimed album Introsphere and an on-stage reputation that he manages to captivate all of those in attendance.
With a setlist focused heavily on the four-piece's new record, a receptive crowd showed their signal of approval - particularly throughout a sizable wall of death during 'F.E.A.R', and sing-alongs to the high-powered, fan-favourite closer from 2019's debut album Conduit, 'Volgin', demonstrating their desire to continue seeing the hometown act on more prominent stages in the future.
Michigan-based act King 810 was next to display their nu-metal sound to the crowd who seemed to take a moment to adjust to the group's slower tempo following Gravemind's aggressive sound. Dressed in overalls with mysterious masked instrumentalists on either side of him, vocalist David Gunn continuously stalked the stage from left to right and back again while maintaining eye contact with the crowd, as if to say, 'Are you fucking listening?' which of course the answer was yes. Well-known singles 'Alpha & Omega', as well as 'Brains On The Asphalt', saw crowd excitement growing steadily, then piquing at the sight of Paleface vocalist Marc Zelli appearing on stage for a guest feature later in the set.
As the group concludes their performance with 'Vendettas' and 'Killem All', I can't help but feel as if King 810's inclusion on this lineup is somewhat out of place, standing out from the other metalcore/deathcore acts, resulting in mixed reactions throughout the crowd. This enjoyable nu-metal set lost touch on the sea of -core loving attendees.
As the night progressed, every stranger I started a conversation with, whether it be in line for the toilet, at the bar, or in the crowd, all mentioned to me that Paleface Swiss was their most anticipated act of the evening. The group's long-awaited Australian debut is well overdue, with the band seemingly touring the entire world before making their way down under. The energy amongst the venue was palpable as the Swiss deathcore act walked on stage and began performing 'Please End Me'. Without a moment to spare, a violent slew of bodies were suddenly hurled throughout the moshpit as punters expressed their joy in seeing the group live in action.
Demanding further crowd involvement vocalist Zelli goes on to ask the crowd "When I say this world is, you say fucked. When I say, and the people are, you say fucked. Then when I say our lives are, you say fucked" as the group led into performing 'Best Before: Death', seemingly however, this involvement from the rowdy crowd wasn't satisfactory for the European deathcore delights as they ceased performing at the song's breakdown, and demanded more from the audience before continuing, which ensued scenes of chaos throughout the mosh area. Zelli's rap-influenced unclean vocals are uniquely impressive, as his abilities stay true to his studio recordings as he emulates their quality flawlessly. As the group closed with 'The Gallow', chants of 'One more song! One more song!' ensued from the crowd, making it known that this support act is welcome back in the southern hemisphere's live music capital, hopefully next time for a headline tour of their own.
Finally, it was time for homegrown heavyweights In Hearts Wake to display their talents to the Melbourne crowd. As they took to the iconic Forum stage, the love this city has for them was proven to run deep, with mere sights of the four members setting off an abundance of cheers and screams. Opening with track number one from their recently released album Incarnation, 'Spitting Nails (ǝunʇɹoɟ ɟo lǝǝɥʍ)' amidst an impressive lighting display, I found myself experiencing sensory pleasure to the greatest degree. Following the second track on the setlist 'The Flood (ǝɔᴉʇsnɾ)', vocalist Jake Taylor went on to acknowledge that "In honour of moving forward, we must also honour the past. This man [Kyle Erich] has been a part of this fellowship for the past twelve years. Since he joined, he has been paramount to our growth and direction as a band. We wouldn't be where we are today without him. Please welcome to the stage Kyle Erich". At which point Kyle joined IHW on a Melbourne stage for the very last time. Paying homage to every era of the band, the group shifted the focus of their setlist from the new songs to the 'Kyle Erich' tracks, stretching as far back as their critically acclaimed debut album Divination with 'Traveller (The Fool)' and 'Departure (Death)' then progressively moving forward through the groups back-catalogue.
Fans took the chance to sing along, with this being the last chance to do so with the older offerings, particularly the more clean vocal heavy songs such as 'Earthwalker', 'Skydancer', 'Breakaway' and of course 'Wildflower, which never fails to cause someone to ask 'whose cutting onions?' with watery eyes. Before performing 'Refuge', which consisted of a sizable wall of death sparked by Taylor simply saying the words "open sesame", the event was briefly paused, with an injured individual requiring help to make it out of the crowd. With the surrounding punters being quick to gain the attention of those at the sound desk, and on stage, the hurt punter was able to make it out without furthering any damage to himself or others.
As the performance progressed, the band collectively performed 'Hellbringer', then the venue suddenly darkened with most lighting being turned off. Kyle took a moment to reminisce on how he came to be such an integral part of this world touring band by saying "before joining In Hearts Wake I put my phone number online and two things happened from that. The first being that the woman who is now my wife called me randomly. I had never met her before but she had seen me at a party. She wanted to hang out, which we did, and we have been together for fifteen years. Not long after that, I got a call from Jake Taylor. I had never met him before, either. He had seen me play and loved my voice. He wanted me to be their new member. I was blown away because I was a big fan of In Hearts Wake at the time. I went down to jam with them and they showed me ten seconds of a song which turned out to be 'Neverland'".
To further reflect on Kyle's journey with In Hearts Wake, Jake Taylor added "We're really going to miss Kyle. Kyle is the joker. He is the one that makes us laugh the most on tour, which is a quality that continuously brings joy into a space that can be so dark when on the road." At which point a lengthy slideshow was projected onto a screen, commemorating Erich's funny, serious and sad moments as a long time member of In Hearts Wake. As the presentation finished the band performed recently released single 'Farewell' and fans said goodbye to Kyle one last time.
The band proceeded to perform 'Orphan (lᴉʌǝp ǝɥʇ)', 'Worldwide Suicide' and 'Hollow Bone (plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ)' before bringing the nights festivities to an end, ending any doubts of whether the band can hold their own without Erich. Taylor is a powerful vocalist who, in the opinion of Wall of Sound Co-Editor Ricky Aarons, could easily front a deathcore band. Backed by impeccable instrumentalists, this experienced band continues to flourish at the top of their game.
A sliver of disappointment sat with me as I exited The Forum, as only four songs from Incarnation were performed on this Incarnation album tour. I was personally excited to witness tracks such as 'Shishigami シシ神 (ssǝɹdɯǝ ǝɥʇ)', 'Tyrant (ɹoɹǝdɯǝ ǝɥʇ)', 'Michigama (uɐᴉɔᴉƃɐɯ ǝɥʇ)' or even 'The Flood (ǝɔᴉʇsnɾ)' presented in a live setting for the first time. However, I haven't let that bother me, as I know it was paramount to give Erich the send-off he deserves, and there's no doubt I will catch the band performing those songs again in the future.
In Hearts Wake has proven that in the face of adversity, they have the ability and willpower to overcome the challenge. This fact is backed by their recent, critically acclaimed album, as well as a sold-out Melbourne show at The Forum, which is monumental for any Australian metalcore act. In Hearts Wake are currently a powerful act who are on an upward trajectory of grand proportions.
Gig Review by Adam Rice
Setlist
Spitting Nails (ǝunʇɹoɟ ɟo lǝǝɥʍ)
The Flood (ǝɔᴉʇsnɾ)
Traveller (The Fool)
Departure (Death)
Gaia
Earthwalker
Wildflower
Aether
Skydancer
Breakaway
Refuge
Ark
Passage
Hellbringer
Farewell
Orphan (lᴉʌǝp ǝɥʇ)
Worldwide Suicide
Hollow Bone (plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ)
Photo Gallery by Jade Vassiaras Insta: @a.snapshot.of
Please credit Wall of Sound and Jade Vassiaras if you repost photos.
Gravemind
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King810
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Paleface Swiss
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In Hearts Wake
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