Photo Credit: Daniel Anderson
Australian metalcore outfit IN HEARTS WAKE will release their fifth studio album KALIYUGA on August 7 via UNFD, marking their first new music in three years. Known throughout their career for their passion and dedication to environmental awareness, the band have minimized their environmental footprint on the release by carbon offsetting the entire process and using recycled materials to create physical products for the music.
IN HEARTS WAKE today have shared a new single/music video for the track “Son Of A Witch” (see below) that follows the previously released debut single/video for “Worldwide Suicide” for which the band vowed to plant one native tree per every 1,000 views it receives.
“Son Of A Witch” is influenced by IN HEARTS WAKE frontman JAKE TAYLOR‘s experience of the devastating Malibu Fires in 2018. This experience kindled the creation of the single, which was penned before the great burning of the Amazon Rainforest and the destructive 2020 wildfires in Australia. Filming for the song’s live action clip was restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coronavirus turned our video cartoon,” says TAYLOR of the animated video. “These challenging times are forcing us to adapt, evolve and discover new ways of doing things. I scoured the internet for an animation team who could bring to life this emotive, sensitive and archetypal narrative about humanity’s neglect and mistreatment of Mother Earth. I’ve never written or directed animation before, but it opened up new possibilities and for that I’m grateful.”
IN HEARTS WAKE calculated the recording process of the album to be 26.37 tonnes of CO2e which has been entirely offset through the purchase of carbon credits in the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor of Western Australia. The album will also be packaged and manufactured plastic free.
“During the recording process for ‘Kaliyuga’ we measured every power socket, counted every light, pound of freight, food consumption, driving mile and airfare taken,” says TAYLOR. “We were then able to find the total carbon footprint and offset it by supporting a rewilding project in Australia on First Nations land.”
He continues, “Our mission to help support and sustain life on Earth has made us realize that less is more. Many industries are evolving, and as musicians we feel it’s time to do our part. It’s been challenging to navigate the retail hurdles, find sustainable materials and successful companies that embody our ethos, but through a bit of research we’ve discovered that there are many solutions out there.”
KALIYUGA is accompanied by a brand-new website, https://thehouseofkali.com/, which is now live. The site offers album news, insights, exclusive content and clues as well as a host of important information.
IN HEARTS WAKE are long time champions of the earth, with their last three albums themed around the natural elements that make life here possible. Earthwalker (2014) explored the element of Earth, Skydancer (2015) explored air, and Ark (2016) focused on water. All three albums debuted in the Top 5 of the ARIA charts with the themes of social and environmental justice and self-accountability steady throughout. It is uncanny that the band’s fourth album, KALIYUGA, would be born of fire, inspired and bookended by the devastating fires that occurred in California and Australia throughout 2018, 2019 and 2020.
KALIYUGA takes a surgeon’s scalpel and a sledgehammer to cut and smash through dysfunction. A ruthless scrutiny of self and the social and eco injustices and abuse at play today blazes throughout the album as IN HEARTS WAKE aim to break the barriers of apathy, distraction, disinformation, anxiety and despair to spread the band’s purpose and passion like wildfire.
“Ancients from different cultures spoke of Four Ages of Humanity,” says TAYLOR. “The Hindu ancients called the Age we are in right now, ‘KALIYUGA’ – a time when negativity such as discord, greed, materialism and fear create strife and imbalance for life on earth. We’re seeing this in the world around us and in the chaos of recent events. But I believe we were born into this age for a reason-that we can transform the challenges we face by seizing the opportunity to grow and change the way we live on the earth and with each other.”
KALIYUGA is geared for inciting widespread positive action and breaking new ground in order to tackle the most pressing crises on the planet today. This is inspiring conscious heavy music for these times.
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