Northlane - O2 Ritz Manchester
Tonight’s band have travelled a long way to get here, quite literally from the other side of the world but the fans lined up seem keen to show the band their appreciation. Tonight, genre-blending metalcore band Northlane are in Manchester to show the crowd a good time, supported by Novelists and Ten56. It’s sure to be an interesting night.
Ten56. take to the stage first tonight. The French 5-piece stand out a little from the other bands on the line up. Although all the bands definitely fall into the metal genre, Ten56. are significantly heavier than the other bands on the line up. That’s not a bad thing though, it gives the crowd a good warm up early on in the evening, shaking off the Monday blues and energising the room. Whereas, the other bands on the line up lean closer to the metal core, Ten56. seem closer to that of a Nu metal-infused Deathcore, with a combination of brutal break downs and rhythmic vocals, it's a set which hits like a punch to the face. It is however a fun set with the inclusion of a women only mosh pit, making for a great way to start the night off.
Next up we have Novelists. Novelists are a French band, formed in Paris back in 2013. Over recent years they’ve had a bit of a line up change with new vocalist, Camille Contreras joining the band last year, and with the joining of new members, comes a new sound.
Novelist's vocalist, Camille takes the stage wearing some red, glitter covered cowboy boots but that’s not what the music is about. It’s fast paced, it’s heavy and at times it falls into the same category as metalcore titan's Spiritbox. Camille flows between beautifully melodic clean vocals and raw screams with ease, like a switch has been pushed and then switched back. Amongst break downs and thrashing riffs, the clean vocals give a chance for the crowd to take a breather from moshing, until the next breakdown hits and they’re flung back into the chaos.
A stand out moment of the set was a strong playthrough of one of their most popular songs 'Heretic'. If you’ve listened to a metalcore playlist on Spotify any time over the past 2 years, you’ll likely have heard this song. On record, it features Landmvrks but on stage Camille does a fantastic job of covering all the bases, really showing what she can do and proving herself as a talented vocalist who is more than deserving of her spot in the band. It’s going to be exciting to see what direction the band takes next, as it feels as if they may still be trying to figure that out. With that being said, their live show is a lot of fun and really brings out the best in their music.
Northlane haven’t travelled half the globe just to put on a show, tonight’s date is in support of the latest EP, ‘Mirror’s Edge’, which released earlier this year. It’s an EP that was well-received by critics and fans alike and explores the themes of self reflection and moving forward. After an atmospheric intro track, Northlane takes to the stage adorned in black against a backdrop of screens displaying colourful visualisers. The guitarist is also wearing a cyberpunk style eye piece, leaning into their futuristic sound and styling. They kick off the show with ‘Carbonized’ from 2022’s ‘Obsidian’. From the get-go, they give the crowd a taste of what makes this band stand apart from other bands within the genre. Combining a range of genres from Metalcore, Djent, Progmetal and Electronica is no small feat but the band have honed this over years of progression. Amongst crunching guitars and booming drums are layers of electro-inspired synths, from driving bass to high octave soundscapes and obscure tones that just wouldn’t be possible with other instruments. There are other bands who have an electro-infused sound, most notably, Enter Shikari, but Northlane choose to use their electro influences in a different way making for a truly unique futuristic sound. It's one thing to hear these things all come together on album but their live performance is where all these elements truly shine.
As the set progresses the band deliver a set which takes songs from across their entire discography, covering the new EP whilst also treating fans to deep-cuts from 2017’s 'Mesmer', even going as far as to perform a mash-up of 'Ra', 'Worldeater', 'Dispossession' and 'Jinn'. It's always a risk playing material from so early in a band's career but the fans embrace it; it’s also really exciting see quite how far they’ve come as a band, as their sound has been evolving over the years. Vocalist, Marcus Bridge brings an epic vocal performance tonight, whether it's clean vocals over synth soundscapes, growls over chopping bass, or all out aggressive screams over blast beat drums, he remains consistent throughout. As the set draws to a close, there's time for one last chance for the crowd to burn off any energy they have left as Northlane perform ‘Citizen’. It's the perfect way to close out the night, taking things back to their earlier work and reminding the crowd once again quite how musically talent they are as a band. With an impressive stage show to match maybe when they next come to the UK, it will be bigger venues and an even bigger stage show.
