Well, Australia metalcore band In Hearts Wake don't waste much time announcing that they are a metalcore band circa 2015 here, first couple cuts alone offering every cliche in the book (those clean choruses just do not have any power anymore). I like the instrumental "Oblivion" the best on this disc, probably because the band isn't hammering the usual metalcore routines over the listener's head during its pleasant prog-metal sounds. I even didn't mind "Erase"'s, uh, rap section, just because, hey, it mixes things up a bit, like it or not (and I gotta admit, it did work pretty well). "Intrepid" is just frantic enough to get the heart pounding, exactly what music like this should do.

What else can I say? It's not really enough to mention that "they're talented" or "it's good for what it is" anymore, because these metalcore bands just gotta try harder. It's not impossible: there are ways to break out of the confines but stay in the genre and create music that connects with the listener in a big way (see The Dillinger Escape Plan and Norma Jean; it's unfair to say a young band should be as good as either of those vets, but there should be some signs that they're attempting to get to those lofty heights, or that they even think those heights are a good place to be). A band as talented as In Hearts Wake could be the next band to do that, should they put their powers to use for good; for now, the level of disconnect I feel from this album is insurmountable.