In Hearts Wake guide us track by track through their new album ‘Incarnation’, out now via UNFD.
Spitting Nails (ǝunʇɹoɟ ɟo lǝǝɥʍ)
“‘Spitting Nails’ was one of the final songs written in frost-bitten-Michigan. At that point we all had cabin fever but were still digging deeper in search of gold. Meanwhile, I was having to lodge the band’s quarterly tax documents to keep us all up to date–Uncle Sam never sleeps, not for anyone. Ultimately we choose to be part of the system, but sometimes we can feel like a slave to it–the groundhog day that seems to never end. So it became part of the song’s motive and hook: “I’ve paid it over and over again.. Will it ever fucking end? Murder the System!”
Hollow Bone (plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ)
“Going through a death-of-sorts with Kyle having left the band, ‘Hollow Bone’ became our reclamation anthem for our band to live on. Since high school we’ve given everything and we weren’t about to give up. Not yet… Picking up the microphone as a group, together we delivered a melodic chorus for the first time. We used actual bones as percussive instruments–symbolic of deaths transformation. This track acting as our stake in the ground. “What would you die for?!””
The Flood (ǝɔᴉʇsnɾ)
“It was February 2022 and torrential rains hit our home region in Northern Rivers NSW. Entire towns swallowed two stories underwater. Homes and lives were lost. The floods were biblical. My step-dad narrowly escaped out of a second story window by jumping onto a floating mattress.
In the weeks that followed, I was out in Lismore NSW delivering emergency supplies with the rest of the band and I bumped into Winston (vocalist of Parkway Drive) who was helping out on a food run. We couldn’t believe the destruction we were seeing, and yet at the same time, the resilience and strength of the people.
Twelve years since Winston’s last feature on ‘Divination’ and it felt right to reconnect and collaborate on such an important event that happened to our community”
Orphan (lᴉʌǝp ǝɥʇ)
“‘Orphan’ is the fear, fury and frustration whilst watching the systemic serpent eat it’s own tail. Writhing in the shadows of the human psyche and psychotic in nature. “Stuck in my mind. Like and subscribe. Eating everything inside.”
Eco-grief induced anxiety. The rapid rise of tech, mono crops and mass production. All in the name of growth and profit. Is it evolution or de-evolution? Who’s to say. Orphaned into a world that cannot raise us, we often feel like victims of ancestral fate… and yet somehow we chose this.”
Gen Doom (ʇuɐɥdoɹǝᴉɥ ǝɥʇ)
“For ‘Gen Doom’ we created a post apocalyptic world, where in order to adapt, everyone is forced to become part tech and sub-human. Machines reign supreme… But there is resistance among humanity who will not bow down to this new regime. “A nation of mutation. In separation of humanity from nature… We were sold flesh for steel and chrome. Will we crack the code before our souls corrode?”
Shishigami シシ神 (ssǝɹdɯǝ ǝɥʇ)
“The Shishigami シシ神, from 1997 anime film Princess Mononoke, is a mythic Japanese forest spirit, also known as the god of life and death. The Shishigami is symbolic of Mother Nature much like the Tarot’s Empress—Every cause has an effect. What we do to nature we only do to ourselves.
“Before time and space: create, behold, erase. Before life on earth: conceive, evolve, rebirth. Ocean tides will turn, as ancient forests burn. Life. Death. Nothing and All we can be. Shishigami! 生 死.無であり、全て.” Leaning into this powerful message with Kaito from PaleDusk was a real pleasure.”
Tyrant (ɹoɹǝdɯǝ ǝɥʇ)
“‘The Tyrant’ is the story of the dictator, oppressor and patriarchal shadow aka The Emperor. Wether its Star Wars, The Dark Crystal or Dune we all know that Emperors are dictators. We took the lyrical world into the medieval age because the realm of Kings is way cooler then corporate CEO’s. Plus, ironically in many ways what was happening back then still feels like it’s happening now. Only there are more middle men and the wickedness tries to reign behind closed doors.”
Feeding The Dead (ǝɔuɐɹǝdɯǝʇ)
“‘Feeding The Dead’ was first presented as an instrumental by our guitarist Ben who said, ‘the verses are kinda like Coldplay but in Drop G.’ To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of Coldplay, but when I heard Feeding the Dead I felt an unusual sense of grief oozing through. I chose to explore what is known as ‘The Seven Waves of Grief’. Society does not often talk openly about death or grief. We recognise it but often usher it under the table as if it were too uncomfortable or awkward. Ironically when we sever the grief process, we actually live life less fully.”
Michigama (uɐᴉɔᴉƃɐɯ ǝɥʇ)
“Over the past 12 years we’ve recorded five albums with Josh Schroeder in Michigan. It has become like a second home to us. The friends we’ve made were the ones that took us in (thank you Chad), bought us dinners (David, you didn’t have to) lent us their family cars (grateful to you Alfonso), gave us beds to sleep on (we love you, Don) and offered us our first International stages to play on (nobody tell US Immigration). So, we invited our talented Michigander friends and family, even Don (Josh’s seventy-year-old father in law!) to collaborate on a Michigan themed track. FYI “Michigama,” meaning ‘large lake’, is a word derived from the Chippewa language. It was applied to the entire Great Lakes region by Native Americans.”
Shellshock (ssǝʇsǝᴉɹd ɥƃᴉɥ ǝɥʇ)
“We dived into the Japanese art of Kintsugi (repairing broken pottery with gold seams) as a way to speak about Trauma. Whether it’s event induced or held deep within the body. ‘The scars you can’t see are the hardest to heal.’
But what if we could begin to heal by learning to accept and love our scars? As a way of deeply understanding who we are. ‘Rivers of gold in porcelain. Light up the dark in everything.’ We asked Garett Rapp of The Color Morale to reprise his guest feature role twelve years on. This felt like the perfect track to do so and he nailed it.”
Transmission (uns ǝɥʇ)
“‘Where do I belong when the ones I love are gone? The darkest days. The lonely nights. Will you wait for me?’ There’s a a clear yearning, and longing for connection in this song. Feelings of loss and loneliness. Saying goodbye to those we love.
One of my best friends (star of the 2012 ‘Traveller’ film clip) was tragically burying his first born son in California who suffered a rare brain tumour, and we were stuck in the studio. Looking back I was feeling so much and this song became the outlet. Seven wintery weeks recording in a basement and then ‘Transmission’ came through. Although painful at times, it felt like a lighthouse in the dark and the right way to end the record.”