EP Review: Northlane & In Hearts Wake ‘Equinox’

If there was a day to be surprised and rightly stoked with life, today’s the day! On the verge of bringing an almighty co-headline tour to their home land of Aus, Northlane and In Hearts Wake have joined forces and released an EP that has caught the world off guard.

The new collaboration between both acts sees all ten musicians feature across the three-track EP, with plans for both single and dual band performances scheduled for their Equinox Tour across Australia in June.

“Melding their two distinctive heavy sounds together, the new unique sound brings a more aggressive, metal aspect to the bands’ sonic products.”

Whilst it would have been easy to create a series of tracks that sound like the Northlane and In Hearts Wake of old, the two bands have defied expectations. Melding their two distinctive heavy sounds together, the new unique sound brings a more aggressive, metal aspect to the bands’ sonic products. Overall it’s a nice change-up from the metalcore vibes of their previous individual efforts.

First track Refuge is the biggest track of the EP. Beginning with a huge opening riff leading into a clean verse, listeners are thrown in the deep end immediately as In Hearts Wake vocalist Jake Taylor asserts his musical prowess. Consistently intense and wonderfully heavy, singer Kyle Erich is a cornerstone in the chorus, showing off his transformational vocal style. From a once whiney, nasally clean vocalist, to a now ballsy, commanding voice that stands above the mix, credit must be paid to Erich’s ability to develop his voice has been a key element into In Hearts Wake steady rise.

The beauty in the collaboration between the two Aussie hardcore heavyweights is the way the two sounds blend together so smoothly. Often in collaborations it’s easy to lean towards one band’s sound and neglect the other. However, Northlane and In Hearts Wake have created something refreshingly new, making it very difficult to even distinguish the instrumental sounds of the two outfits.

“…Equinox beautifully connects the two booming songs, creating a soothing, almost sci-fi break before the distorted guitar and double kick return to the fray.’

This is no clearer evident than on Hologram. The last song on the EP focusses on versatile vocals of Northlane’s Marcus Bridge whilst still exploring a post-metal vibe. An ascending riff is the foundation of the prog-rock inspired melodic lines before a breakdown enters worthy of a monster wall of death. Meanwhile, instrumental track Equinox beautifully connects the two booming songs, creating a soothing, almost sci-fi break before the distorted guitar and double kick return to the fray.

On the Equinox porject, In Hearts Wake’s frontman Jake Taylor said, “All 10 of us locked ourselves away so that we could weave together our creative efforts into this surprise twelve-minute EP odyssey”.

“Working closely with so many passionate individuals has had its creative challenges and its beneficial learning curves. But like all things that are born to thrive, the Equinox journey has proven both abundant and powerful, showing what can be achieved when we work together,” said Taylor.

Northlane and In Hearts Wake will hit the road together on their co-headline ‘Equinox Tour’ in June. Check out the dates below!

The ‘Equinox’ Tour

FRI 10 JUN
Metro City, Perth
SAT 11 JUN
Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
SUN 12 JUN
Festival Hall, Melbourne
FRI 17 JUN
The Tivoli, Brisbane
SAT 18 JUN
Luna Park, Sydney

Get Tickets HERE