NORTHLANE SHARE EVERY EMOTIONAL FEELING AND CREATIVE THOUGHT WITH ‘OBSIDIAN’

Forming over 12 years ago, Australia’s Northlane are set to release their sixth studio album, Obsidian, on April 22, 2022. Following their best selling album globally, 2019’s Alien, Obsidian was self-recorded and self-produced, with the help of Chris Blancato.

Obsidian was created as a follow-up to Alien. Throughout the album, vocalist Marcus Bridge shared his personal life story and pointing out some of his weaknesses. Bridge stated, “There was a bit of backlash from my family and people close to me who were referenced in the songs from ‘Alien.’ I felt like I had upset these people who were close to me and, well, I don’t really want to be diving that deep into my personal life anymore. I’m quite a sensitive person to what other people think of me.”

Unfortunately during lockdown, as many of us were, Bridge was struggling mentally and became unsure of how to present his wellbeing with the band. Eventually, he told the band of his emotional, creative block and they all banded together helping him to regain his confidence.

The opening track to Obsidian, “Clarity” shows how Bridge is able to find his voice and confidence again to continue his story and end the chapter in his life that caused so much pain. Northlane wanted to be as creative as possible and it truly shows throughout the effort, as the album is a perfect mixture of heavy and electronic sounds. The track that I enjoyed the most was “Clockwork,” as I appreciate the sound and lyrics. The other tracks I played on repeat were “Carbonized,” “Dark Solitaire” and the title track. Overall, you can tell just how creative and adventurous Northlane was able to be with Obsidian. Each song has a different catchy sound and lyrical meaning creating that perfect blend. It’s clear that Northlane put every emotional feeling and creative thought into the album.

“I did realize as I was writing a lot of these songs that it is depressing with no moral to the story. The thing to take from this album is that things aren’t always great and I’m sure people know that after these past couple of years. I think it’s more so just an exploration of those feelings and how someone whose stuck in their own head is dealing with that and trying to move forward with awareness of how you feel, as opposed to pretending like everything’s okay when it’s not.”
Marcus Bridge

“I like music that focuses around rhythm, pulse and being able to easily move your body to it. A lot of songs on Obsidian came from curiosity playing with synths and bending electronic genres that I like.”
Jon Deiley