Australian metalcore band In Hearts Wake released their newest song ‘Worldwide Suicide’ a few days ago. It is a direct and passionate statement against ecological and social injustice. With ‘ECOCIDE IS SUICIDE’ as one of the main messages, it’s supposed to show everyone that it’s time for positive actions now.
Ecocide is the extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished. (proposed amendment to the Rome Statute by environmental lawyer Polly Higgins)
“With 69.2 f (20,7 C) the Antarctic reached an all-time high. The Australian bushfires burned down over 12 million hectares of land and over one billion animals were killed. The climate crisis is coming and we have to react, as long as it can be averted. It is time for a profound system change and modifications on a personal and collaborative level.” ~ Jake Taylor (vocals)
The drum’n’bass intro, which is called ‘Crisis’, samples parts of a speech from climate activist Greta Thunberg from the climate strike in New York City last year.
“Last year I took part in the climate strike in New York City and half a million passionate people have taken to the streets under the leadership of Greta Thunberg. It was the first time in a long time that I felt so much hope for the future. When we gathered at Battery Park, I felt inspired to get my dictaphone out to catch this unbelievable speech from Greta. Some of the elders around me compared it to Martin Luther King and the ’60s when he held his ‘I have a dream’ speech. One week later we wrote the song ‘Crisis’.” ~ Jake Taylor (vocals)
The video to ‘Worldwide Suicide’ shows a burning house. Every room symbolizes one eco-system in which a human is seriously threatened. The survival of the humankind faces major challenges to overcome the laziness in ourselves and start to bring changes with positive actions.
“We are aware, that the video to ‘Worldwide Suicide’ is confronting. We didn’t make this to shock and incite despair, but to encourage positive actions. In this light, the band has agreed to plant a tree for every 1000-views on Youtube and thereby recreate a part of a vital eco-system in the hope that every viewer and his descendants one day will enjoy the advantages of those trees. Art is our platform and I think we have a responsibility as an artist to question the status quo and to scrutinize, which actions have the potential to create changes. Only if we change we can develop.” ~ Jake Taylor (vocals)
In Hearts Wake are amongst the big Metalcore-acts from Australia. In 2012 they released their debut record ‘Divination’. Through innumerable tours around the world, they build a strong fan-base. They released four more records since then, which all had ecological justice and self-responsibility as core themes. Their last three albums – ‘Earthwalker’ (2014), ‘Skywalker” (2015) ad ‘Ark’ (2016) debuted in the Top 5 on the Australian charts and enabled the band to tour in North-America, Europe and Asia. Actually, they were supposed to play mainstage on this year’s Download-festival, but it was canceled due to the outbreak of the corona-virus.
Taylor also took part in a live-stream last Thursday, where he talked about the current world situation and answered questions about the new song. You can rewatch it here:
For more information on the band, follow their social media:
https://www.facebook.com/inheartswake/
Leave a Reply