Welcome Back: Northlane

It’s been a rollercoaster couple of years for Australian tech crew Northlane. Only a year ago they were one of the most hotly tipped bands to emerge for some time and superb second record Singularity showed there was substance behind the hype. But then vocalist Adrian Fitipaldes announced that he would be leaving, citing ill health.

Although, as guitarist Josh Smith tells Hammer, Northlane “never really thought about quitting”, he does admit that finding the right man to fill Adrian’s shoes was quite a hurdle for the band to negotiate./o:p

“We never knew exactly what sort of person we were going to get,” he admits. “It’s hard to put your finger on that charisma, you know? We realised that when we saw the right person we were just going to know. And that’s exactly what happened with Marcus.” Marcus is new vocalist Marcus Bridge. “I’m a singer,” he states. “So I know it’s a stylistic change. But this is Northlane, a band I’ve been a fan of for a long time. They used to play shows in clubs close to where I’m from and I’d always go see them. It’s a huge honour for me.”

There will, of course, be those who have a firm idea as to what Northlane should be and how they should sound, but these concerns are swiftly brushed off.

“I don’t see this purely as a change in vocalist and nothing else,” Josh says. “I see this as just another step in Northlane as we evolve as a creative entity and a band. What I mean by that is that album number three was never going to sound like album number two anyway. For Marcus to come on board, it adds a flavour that we might not have had before.”

The new-look Northlane have just released a new single, Rot, and will now head over to Europe as support for Parkway Drive.

“We can’t wait for people to experience Northlane v2.0!” says Josh. “See you on the road!”

NORTHLANE’S NEW SINGLE ROT IS AVAILABLE NOW VIA UNFD. THE BAND ARE ON TOUR IN THE UK RIGHT NOW/o:p

Stephen joined the Louder team as a co-host of the Metal Hammer Podcast in late 2011, eventually becoming a regular contributor to the magazine. He has since written hundreds of articles for Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Louder, specialising in punk, hardcore and 90s metal. He also presents the Trve. Cvlt. Pop! podcast with Gaz Jones and makes regular appearances on the Bangers And Most podcast.