Album review: In Hearts Wake – Incarnation

Over the course of the past year, In Hearts Wake have toured their debut album Divination in full, announced the departure of their long-term bassist and clean vocalist Kyle Erich, and swiftly got to work putting out Incarnation. For what could’ve been turmoil for a lot of bands, the metallers have taken it in their stride and come back with a sense of rejuvenation on this sixth offering.

Like Divination, Incarnation sees each track linked to a Tarot card creating this spiritual connection to their debut. However, it’s not just a quick nostalgia grab, it’s a showcase of their very foundations: delivering meticulously crafted metalcore using urgent subject matter to drive home their message.

Lead single Hollow Bone (plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ) cuts straight to the chase, with crunching riffs, pummelling drums and vocalist Jake Taylor sounding proper fucked off. The Flood (ǝɔᴉʇsnɾ) is a full-circle moment for the Byron Bay collective, with the recruitment of Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall, adding even more guttural angst to this already furious track. Its subject matter reflecting climate catastrophe and drawing on their experience of dealing with the relief effort after floods devastated where they call home back in 2022.

It’s a theme – climate disaster – that’s been ever-present for In Hearts Wake. Their previous album, 2020's Kaliyuga, offered up some optimism, but here in true dystopian fashion it feels like it’s too late for all of us. You can feel the rage erupting from each guitar note, each snare slap and each scream. It’s bleak, gnarly and visceral from start to finish. Shishigami シシ神 (ssǝɹdɯǝ ǝɥʇ) is a crushing, omnipotent number, seeing Paledusk’s Katio Nagai get tagged in, whilst Tyrant (ɹoɹǝdɯǝ ǝɥʇ) is a bellowing, feral monster backed by burly riffs made for throwing down to.

The band still have that innate ability to seamlessly transition between aggressive breakdowns and soaring melodies, with Shellshock (ssǝʇsǝᴉɹd ɥƃᴉɥ ǝɥʇ) being case in point. Garret Rapp from The Colour Morale adds some sweet nectar with his dulcet tones, turning it into an instant metalcore banger.

It’s the beginning of a new chapter for the now-quartet, and a raging one at that. It’s a ride we should all be catching a lift on.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Parkway Drive, Polaris, Bury Tomorrow

Incarnation is released on July 12 via UNFD