NORTHLANE // Connection Established with 127.0.0.1

Northlane + August Burns Red/Like Moths To Flames/Buried In Verona (in spirit)/Ocean Grove
6 November, 2015 // 170 Russell, Melbourne

Northlane have finally brought their Node album tour back home to Australia.

Packing the bill with local and overseas talent, it’s exhausting to read the tour poster, let alone think about surviving the evening, especially when it’s a sold out show. But with this much talent, complaints translate to ‘too much of a good thing’ and that’s never a bad situation.

Playing to a sizeable crowd nearly three hours before the headline act Ocean Grove make the most of appealing to a crowd which seems to be at the tail end of its 20s. With a significant part of the venue perfectly content to stand around, vocalist Luke Holmes is stuck with the difficult task of not only getting them amped, but keeping them sufficiently pumped. Leaping to the front of audience to shove a microphone in their face during Backbone does the trick, and the security guards are none too happy about the sweaty bodies suddenly amassed in front of them. It’s only going to get worse from here on in boys, so best get prepared. With enough energy to coerce a lulled crowd into waving their hands in the air, Ocean Grove are one of Australia’s premier on-the-cusp-of-breaking-out live acts. However, with bassist Dale Tanner’s clean vocals arguably some of the best in the local scene, cutting Blud—his time to shine—from the setlist is the first step in the wrong direction. You’ve been warned.

OCEAN GROVE // Photos: Cian Marangos

Despite the bill being stacked so heavily, Buried In Verona were stuck in Bali thanks to a volcano. No matter how ideal a place to be stranded, but let’s pretend they put on the killer show they pretty much always do and move on.

Like Moths To Flames manage to kickstart the floor into moving itself around, even when it’s not the most inspiring of soundtracks. Rise Records’ fingerprints are all over the verse/chorus/breakdown/repeat format, but vocalist Chris Roetter has an incredible range that moves out of the typical ‘whiny’ sound that metalcore tends to attract. Starting songs with breakdowns seems like a cheap way to engage the audience. Bass drops seem to keep coming with barely a pause. With a few solos dropped here and there, variation in the band’s sound would be welcome considering they have an obvious skill managing it. Building off the plan can be a case of growing pains, but with half a decade of experience it’s disappointing that there isn’t much to differentiate the band with the rest of the pack.

Thankfully August Burns Red take to the stage and within ten seconds have already shown why they’re leading the way in metalcore. The skills that drummer Matt Greiner and lead guitarist JB Brubaker possess with their respective instruments will be well known to fans of the genre, but it’s vocalist Jake Luhrs’ magnetism on stage that cements their title as leaders. Swapping from bone-rattlingly low screams to salsa style dance moves, he clearly doesn’t give one single fuck as to what people think of him.

AUGUST BURNS RED // Photos: Cian Marangos

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This tour should be the one that finally removes the introductory byline ‘after a turbulent year with the loss of vocalist’ …

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As a result, he fits in extremely well with the Australian crowd who reach their arms out further each time he makes looking like a drunk uncle dancing into the epitome of cool. Ranging from old material—perennial set closer Empire and nearly decade old Back Burner—to killer new tracks—Identity and Ghosts—they have the audience captivated. Even the fear of being hit with Luhrs’ wild microphone swings isn’t enough to dissuade crowd surfers that all reach out to high five the singer, who gleefully reaches right back to please them. With a number of people leaving after their set, they’re clearly still a big enough drawcard to purchase a ticket based solely on them alone. From that display, it’s almost justified.

But come on, Northlane are on stage, despite the fact it seems to be a badge of honour to deride the band you dropped $50 on a ticket for. Even in the first moments of the band launching into their set, a group of drunk dudes ‘cleverly’ jeer in the immediate vicinity “play a good one/is that Adrian?/why won’t anyone love me?” That last one may not be real, but with that many cries for attention it must be in the ballpark. If they’d bothered to listen to Bridge during opener Obelisk and follow-up Leech instead of themselves, they’d realize that he’s unquestionably a better vocalist live than Fitipaldes. This tour should be the one that finally removes the introductory byline “after a turbulent year with the loss of vocalist… etc.” from any reviews, as Bridge should silence critics with his vocal range that reaches both extremes. The screams that follow his perfectly pitched singing have been fine-tuned compared to earlier performances, and it’s for the better. Timed alongside jets of smoke, strobe lights and pulsating LED triangles, striking visuals match the intensity of Bridge’s performance.

NORTHLANE // Photos: Cian Marangos

Despite being hidden behind the singer, drummer Nic Pettersen has more than enough opportunities to show his flair on the kit in Soma, Singularity and opener Genesis and so takes them. Guitarist Jon Deiley—masterminding the Northlane juggernaut—moves around the stage with clear enthusiasm behind new material Impulse and Node, contrasting his usual subdued performances. Keeping the die-hard fans happy with Quantum Flux, and Dream Awake, the crowd undoubtedly responds stronger to the old material. Node is divisive, so a few more months to settle may well be what it needs to pull the screams that Dispossession does. Finishing with breathtaking track Weightless that allows Bridge to show off his vocal talents, and Masquerade with guest vocals from Earth Caller’s Josh Collard doing his best Drew York impression, and our night turns to morning. Despite claiming we’re all “so alone in a digital world”, the seemingly over-capacity cheerful crowd that spills out of 170 Russell show that Northlane aren’t totally correct about the world going anti-social.

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Remaining Node tour dates:

SAT 7 NOV ARROW ON SWANSTON, MELBOURNE AA
SUN 8 NOV 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE 18+
THU 12 NOV ROUNDHOUSE, SYDNEY LIC AA
FRI NOV 13 CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE 18+
SAT 14 NOV THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE 18+ SOLD OUT
SUN 15 NOV THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE LIC AA

Grab tickets via UNFD