Cutting their teeth as UNFD darlings in the world of mathy, mosh-primed metalcore, Northlane started dipping their toes into the realm of a more electro-centric style with their third album, 2014’s Node. It wasn’t until their fifth, however – 2019’s career-defining Alien – that the Sydney trailblazers would go all the way, twining to their signature slate of tearing riffs and brutalised breakdowns a shimmery palette of thumping trance and visceral bass music. They were unfazed by the prospect of throwing off their fanbase, but they needn’t have worried to begin with: Alien was a monumental success.
So, for its follow-up – , the band’s first wholly independent offering out in April – Northlane have pushed themselves further outside the box by cranking up well past 11. The riffs are thicker, faster and more intense, the electronic elements more explosive and defined, and Marcus Bridge’s kaleidoscopic vocal prowess taken to a whole ‘nother level. To find out how they did, caught up with Josh Smith and Jon Deiley, the band’s guitarists, producers and core songwriters.
