IN HEARTS WAKE - Skydancer (2015) CD

Byron Bay and heavy music shouldn't work together, but In Hearts Wake have always existed on their own terms. Skydancer, released in 2015, is the record where that contradiction became a strength, blending metalcore's serrated edge with something almost spiritual, lyrics about environmental collapse and interconnectedness delivered over riffs that hit like a falling tree.

This is Australian metalcore at a point where the local scene was punching well above its weight globally, and IHW were right at the centre of it. Skydancer sits between the raw aggression of their earlier work and the more expansive sound they'd chase later, which makes it the record a lot of long-time fans keep coming back to. If you were in a sweaty Sydney or Melbourne venue between 2014 and 2016, you already know every word.

CD format. Australian pressing. Fans of: Northlane, Architects, Polaris, Miss May I, Hand of Mercy.