Invent Animate Release Their Latest, Heavener

By Phil Hawkins

It’s interesting how an album can connect with you on any level and carry such a vital impact. Especially, when it is a very personal connection. Heavener, the latest release from Invent Animate carries themes of death, delayed grief and relationship breakdowns, but moreover this is a record pinned on growth and self-acceptance. It’s about finding the learning in the toughest of life circumstances while still allowing yourself the grace to process your pain too.

I have spent weeks trying to find the right words to describe this album as I have continued to come back to it over and over again. It felt necessary for my current stage in life, but I could never pinpoint the “why.” It is deep and layered intricately from beginning to end thematically against a sonically driven soundscape. And after spending a considerable amount of time with the album it finally clicked. Where a lot of their prior material is more grief-stricken, Heavener carries more of a subtle shift of embracing the dramatic and/or sad experiences but demonstrates that you can work through it and move on to the next level.

Grief effects us all differently and in varied time tables. Heavener clicked with me as I am still grieving the death of my younger brother (3 years as of the 03.17.2023, which was the album’s release date). The thematic element of this album resonates with my own process of death, grief and moving forward. It’s a very heartfelt and personal album that is sure to connect with fans who might be on a similar journey.

Heavener opens with “Absence Persistent” which brilliantly embraces a sense of urgency that gives vocalist Marcus Vik a gravitas and sense of confidence more than on their prior efforts. The sense of freedom found in his vocal approach is one of the true highlights of the album. “Shade Astray” hits hard and fast and showcases some brilliant drum work from Trey Celaya. This mixed with Vik’s sonic vocals on the chorus make this track stand out amidst the rest. “Labyrithine” is an impressively constructed track with some well contrasted moments between the verse/chorus structure.

“Without a Whisper” is probably the most melodic track and showcases more of the softer side of Vik’s vocal ability. Flirting between both light and heavy rock elements, “Without a Whisper” is a tentpole moment on Heavener both musically and thematically. “False Meridian” is equally as chaotic as it is melodically urgent. “Reverie” starts off soft and gives the album a bit of atmospheric ambiance midway through. For some it might be considered an interlude of sorts, but it plays well as a prelude to “Immolation of Night.” “Immolation of Night” is intricately composed chaos and feels a bit reminiscent of something that might be found on an album by Silent Planet (in all the best ways) showing the band’s ability expand their sound in various ways.

“Purity Weeps” softly opens with a more melodic vocal but quickly shifts back in to a higher gear. The melodic contrast really gives the track a depth much different from the rest of the album. “Void Surfacing” opens with some amazingly intricate guitar riffs from Keaton Goldwire before transitioning into a more crunchy approach and then eventually back to the intricacy yet again. “Emberglow” is more ethereal and atmospheric in nature as it brings in some additional elements musically that are not as prominent on the rest of the album. “Elysium” brings the album to a close culminating in a brilliant display lyrically and musically. The track finds Marcus [Vik] moving on from the death of his grandfather over a decade after the fact. Lathered in urgent and pulsing drums that whisk the listener away, its lyrics uncover him trying to comprehend his delayed mourning. “Perhaps at the time he passed I didn’t want to see what was happening or I was too scared to, but I didn’t feel it,” he shares. “It took me 12 years to wake up one day and embrace it… this is the story of me looking back on that, searching my inner self and moving forward.”

Throughout the album the band demonstrates how they have elevated themselves significantly in every sense of their musicality. Each track seems to stretch the walls of the band’s wheelhouse whether it be chaotically heavy to more cinema-score like sounds. The album carries a dynamic that is far more prevalent than what the band has offered in their tenure.

Heavener is available now, via UNFD, on all major streaming and digital platforms. Physical copies can be purchased here.