IN HEARTS WAKE – INCARNATION
Release Date: 12th July 2024
Label: UNFD
Bandcamp
Genre: Metalcore, Metal, Progressive Metalcore.
FFO: Feed Her To The Sharks, Breakdown of Sanity, For All Eternity.
Review By: Mike Leighton
Australian metalcore titans, In Hearts Wake, are preparing to drop their much anticipated sixth full length album titled Incarnation on 12 July 2024 through UNFD! In Hearts Wake formed in 2006 in Byron Bay, Australia, and consists of Jake Taylor on vocals, Eaven Dall on lead guitar, Ben Nairne on rhythm guitar, and Conor Ward on drums. Incarnation will be the band’s follow-up to their 2020 album Kaliyuga, and foundationally the opposite (from a lyrical and thematic standpoint) to their debut album Divination, released in 2012.
Incarnation fundamentally describes the embodiment of something at its beginning. Essentially, this album presents us with a new ‘incarnation’ of In Hearts Wake; a new beast all together. First track, Spitting Nails, starts off strong and fast. Almost giving a hardcore punk vibe blended with metalcore elements. Heavy and in your face, Spitting Nails sets the stage for what In Hearts Wake are bringing to the table this go around, and it is exciting!
Next, Hollow Bone, one of the first singles and a heavy-hitter of a track, brings in elements that all fans, new and old, will enjoy. The groovy guitar riffs mix with quick and gritty vocals and stand in sharpened relief against the background of a grand group chorus. It’s a song that leaves no doubt how the band has been around for almost two decades, and shines with the potential for many more great years to come. The Flood is one of the standouts for this album, and every facet of this track is top tier. From the onset, we get a crescendo of building guitars and tension, before a profoundly piercing (and satisfying) scream rips through the mix. This track not only delivers on a musical level, but the lyrics are also amazing, and I can’t wait for its live debut!
Orphan almost feels like a continuation of the first track; more of that hardcore, gritty in-your-face kind of vibe. One of the heaviest tracks on this album, the drums really shine through as the skeleton holding everything together. The percussives feel really fresh and a new direction from some of their other works.
Generation Doom is another solid track, starting off with a synthetic almost ambient feel, leading into the sound we’ve come to know from In Hearts Wake. Shortly after, we get some dark, electronic sounds mixed with some heavily modified, menacing vocals. Pretty standard fare for the album for most of the track, things ramp up when the breakdown hits. They build tension and then smash it once again for a viciously satisfying and thunderously heavy release.
Next, we have Shishigami, blending all the elements we have heard so far while also bringing a strong nostalgic feeling. It’s hard to explain so you’ll have to judge for yourself, but every part in this piece had a vital role in the song, and it all came together perfectly. Tyrant and Feeding the Dead are strong tracks, but they felt a little lacking compared to all the tracks prior. They may grow on me over time, and I felt they had really strong instrumentals throughout, but overall, they were missing something for me.
Michigama comes in hot and brings that energy from the first half back. Clocking in at just under 3 minutes, this track hits like a train. The drums, vocals and guitars are top-notch and there’s some shining vocal delivery from Jake Taylor. I found myself pleasantly surprised halfway through the track, and I cannot wait to hear what other fans think. Shellshock is a great song, and I loved the composition throughout. The clean chorus really highlighted this track, as it was one of the only clean choruses on the album (aside from the group vocals). This track has something for all fans, especially those that enjoy a softer side to peek out in their metalcore (although I still wouldn’t say this track is ‘soft’ by any stretch of the word).
Lastly, we get Transmission, which is an amazing final track. Lyrically and musically, this track really brought everything together and was a perfect closer to a much-anticipated album from In Hearts Wake! 
(4 / 5)
