''Equinox'' is a collaborative EP by Australian heavy metal band

Northlane Northlane are an Australian Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Sydney, formed in 2009. The band comprises guitarists Jon Deiley and Josh Smith, drummer Nic Pettersen and vocalist Marcus Bridge. Northlane have released six studio albums: ...

and

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band

In Hearts Wake In Hearts Wake are an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, formed in 2006. The band comprises vocalist Jake Taylor, guitarists Eaven Dall and Ben Nairne, bassist Kyle Erich, and drummer Conor Ward. They have released five studio albums: ' ...

. It was released on 20 April 2016 through

UNFD UNFD (pronounced as an initialism ˈjuːˈenˈefˈdiː/ is an independent record label based in Melbourne, Australia. The label is home to a number of Australian artists including Thornhill, Ocean Grove, Hellions and In Hearts Wake, and int ...

. It was produced by Will Putney and recorded in January 2016 at Holes and Corners recording studio in

Southbank, Victoria Southbank is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 1 km south of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne a ...

, although the drumming was recorded at Sing Sing Recording Studios in

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

. It peaked at No. 75 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. A limited edition vinyl was released of only 600 copies.

Background and promotion

According to In Hearts Wake guitarist Ben Nairne, a collaboration between the two bands had been in the works since at least 2015, however both band's busy schedules didn't permit them any free time. The extended play was recorded in secret and released without any prior announcement on 20 April 2016. To promote the EP, Northlane and In Hearts Wake co-headlined a tour in June. Supporting them were

Hands Like Houses Hands Like Houses are an Australian rock band from Canberra. Formed in 2008, the group is currently signed to Hopeless Records and UNFD. Their debut album, ''Ground Dweller'', was released on 13 March 2012 and charted at number 141 on the Bil ...

and Ocean Grove. A music video for the entire EP was released on 19 October.

Writing and composition

In Hearts Wake frontman Jake Taylor described it as a "surprise twelve-minute EP odyssey". ''Equinox'' contains messages and themes of environmental preservation and other politically relevant issues. The track "Refuge" concerns the then-current issue of

illegal immigration to Australia Illegal immigration to Australia is defined by the ''Migration Act 1958'', which distinguishes between "lawful non-citizens" (those in Australia holding a valid visa) and "unlawful non-citizens" (those without a valid visa). The extended play's genre has been described as

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

and

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

Critical reception

The EP received mostly positive reviews. ''AAA Backstage'' rated it positively and said: "Melding their two distinctive heavy sounds together, the new unique sound brings a more aggressive, metal aspect to the bands' sonic products." Jack Ford from ''SpeakerTV'' gave the EP an 8 out of 10 saying: "Frontmen-in-crime Marcus Bridge and Jake Taylor unite to create a vocal soundscape that adheres simultaneously to both their styles, and pushes them to unforseen [sic] boundaries whilst also staying true to themselves, as their merry bands of metal misfits take musical depth to staggering new highs." Rod Whitfield from ''Beat'' rated it positively, however stated: "I expected a little more than just two songs with two minutes of ambient noise in between." Alasdair Belling from ''Howls & Echoes'' in a positive review said: "The ''Equinox'' EP is a fabulous gift to the Australian music scene, and an exciting indication of how far the metalcore community has come since the days of

Parkway Drive Parkway Drive is an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2003. As of 2018, Parkway Drive have released six studio albums, one EP, two DVDs, a split album and one book, titled ''Ten Years of Parkway Drive''. The ...

and I Killed the Prom Queen." Evan Conway from ''Metal Machine'' gave it a negative review saying: "The truth about the ''Equinox'' EP is that it is uneventful, uninspiring, and unremarkable, no matter how you attempt to describe it."

Track listing

Adapted from

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Personnel

;Northlane * Marcus Bridge – lead vocals * Jon Deiley – lead guitar * Josh Smith – rhythm guitar * Alex Milovic – bass * Nic Pettersen – drums, percussion ;In Hearts Wake * Jake Taylor – unclean vocals * Eaven Dall – lead guitar, backing vocals * Ben Nairne – rhythm guitar * Kyle Erich – bass, clean vocals * Conor Ward – drums ;Additional personnel * Will Putney – production, mixing, mastering

Charts

References

{{In Hearts Wake 2016 EPs Northlane EPs In Hearts Wake EPs UNFD albums Albums produced by Will Putney