Jul
14
3.40pm

IN HEARTS WAKE // Sail Their Largest Sea Yet

In hearts wake

In Hearts Wake with Crossfaith + While She Sleeps + Polaris
The Forum Theatre, Melbourne
13 July, 2017

The Forum Theatre is despairingly empty as we walk in. The doors only opened 15 minutes ago and there’s a line still round the block.

Spooky Scary // Photo: Ed Mason

That means that openers Polaris have their work cut out for them as they kick off the evening. Unsurprisingly for those who caught their legendary UNIFY set earlier this year, they rise to the challenge with Regress showing off vocalist Jamie Hails’ vocals and imposing stage presence.

Anyway, here’s Wonderwall // Photo: Ed Mason

Bassist/singer Jake Steinhauser’s performance of Hold You Under doesn’t hold a candle to the impressive feature of Northlane’s Marcus Bridge, but that’s a pretty lofty goal to match. Elsewhere in Unfamiliar he shines. Given they had a venue that managed to fill to a decent crowd as they finished, Polaris worked up a few fans who clearly had no clue their band existed.

while she sleeps live

While She Sleeps Innit // Photo: Daniel Anderson

Sometimes a heavy hitting opener like Polaris outclasses their followup. In the case of While She Sleeps, that’s not the case. Bolstered by their recent support slot with Bring Me The Horizon, While She Sleeps’ fanbase has grown exponentially. It’s still a fraction of their legion in the UK but opener You Are We sees them easily winning over new fans by the minute.

Surfin’ AUS innit // Photo: Daniel Anderson

Crowdsurfing with reckless abandon, vocalist Lawrence Taylor throws out liberal high fives and jumps into people’s faces with his shirt torn open. It may be their second song but Seven Hills has the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand. With a meaty breakdown and the first real circle pit opened up, Brainwash has people already holding their arms out in front in anticipation. While She Sleeps do feel restrained on the small stage offered to them; Taylor makes the most of it by taking running high kicks off the drum riser and windmilling his hair around. Silence Speaks closes their set abruptly, but still serves as a satisfying conclusion.

while she sleeps

Falcon Punch The Sky // Photo: Daniel Anderson

 

Drummer Conor Ward deserves props for his thumping double kicks that soundtrack Taylor’s journey across the great Forum sea. Some try to jump and pit while others rush in an attempt to hold Taylor aloft.

 

crossfaith

Got a light? // Photo: Daniel Anderson

For all the effort While She Sleeps put into their performance, it simply can’t match the unbridled mania of Crossfaith. It’s hard to keep an eye on one member without feeling like there’s a missed gem somewhere on stage. A launched drumstick here, a bottle of Jack Daniels poured into a mouth there. It’s hard to tell the difference between songs sometimes but honestly, who cares when the show on stage is so engaging?

crossfaith live

Solo master ichiban // Photo: Daniel Anderson

Monolith is still one of their strongest offerings, but Jagerbomb has the circle pit fired up at its highest level so far. Keyboardist/backup screamer Terufumi Tanano whips from role to role; one moment he’s headbanging behind the keys, the next he’s launched into the crowd and shoving the mic into their faces. During a particularly heavy breakdown, he front flips even further in and disappears. Meanwhile frontman Kenta Koie’s stage presence reverberates around the venue as he marches through spat out clouds of JD courtesy of bassist Hiroki Ikegawa. Any other band this would border on cringe but Crossfaith are so willing to throw themselves into the set that it’s impossible not to be entertained. Their energy and enthusiasm is almost wasted on a support slot; can someone please get them over here for a headline set?

Tennessee Prefecture // Photo: Daniel Anderson

On the energy front, In Hearts Wake were never going to match the Japanese madmen. In terms of production for a venue like the Forum though, they’ve outdone themselves. Vocalist Jake Taylor arrives on stage solo to herald us into the Ark. A delayed curtain drop for the initial break in Passage is a slight misstep leaving Taylor alone for a brief moment, but the pyro bang that follows removes any doubt that they’ve gone all out for their staging.

Flash! Ah-Ah! // Photo: Daniel Anderson



Barrels are filled with air cannons that give an extra sense of oomph to tracks like Badlands and Skydancer. The latter sees Crossfaith’s Koie back on stage for guest vocals, who manages to nail his spot. A brief breather sees bassist/singer Kyle Erich take the reins during Wildflower. His voice can often be hit and miss as of late but he hits notes with ease during tonight’s performance.

Erich bin Gittaren spielen // Photo: Daniel Anderson

It’s lucky we’ve been given a moment of calm as it’s the sound guy’s birthday, and Taylor produces an inflatable boat and a cake. He’s not going around; that boat is coming over the top of us, and as Survival kicks off, it’s chaos. Drummer Conor Ward deserves props for his thumping double kicks that soundtrack Taylor’s journey across the great Forum sea. Some try to jump and pit while others rush in an attempt to hold Taylor aloft. He’s directly above the middle when the call of ‘Motherfucking bounce!” arrives, and it’s a miracle the crowd can keep him up while being battered by swinging arms. He successfully makes it though, and it’s impressive the singer held on to the microphone, cake and the raft during his journey.

His outfit is entirely made of hemp // Photo: Daniel Anderson

Frequency, the band’s ode to the loneliest whale, sees a heap of inflatable animals dropped onto the crowd with another blast of pyro. Lead guitarist Eaven Dall’s solo is one of the better moments on their latest record, and he grabs the moment with ease. Completing the international duo of guest vocals, While She Sleeps’ (the other) Taylor arrives during Earthwalker to assist his Australian counterpart. Closing with standout track Refuge, the crowd response is one of the largest of the night with cries of “Welcome to mayhem!” It’s honestly surprising this is In Heart’s Wake’s largest headlining show to date, as we’ve become so accustomed to seeing them in larger venues across the city. With performances like tonight’s, they’ll be taking them on as their own stage soon.

Who is steering??? // Photo: Daniel Anderson


Catch In Hearts Wake at their remaining dates:

Friday 14 July – Enmore Theatre, Sydney (Lic/AA)
Saturday 15 July – The Tivoli, Brisbane (18+)

Ticketing and details at inheartswake.com



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