Northlane is a band with an ocean’s worth of faces. No matter how hard anyone tries, they remain a band that is unable to be pinned down by a singular genre or label; rather, they take an ever-changing shape, changing skins like a shapeshifter from record to record. No two Northlane efforts can ever be the same, it seems, as the band continues to shift and avert expectations with each and every passing year.
Leaving their djent-y metalcore sound behind, the band seemed to hit their stride with their magnificent, hammer-pounding nu metal effort in 2019’s Alien. Despite this sound being pretty much universally loved by fans and critics alike, the band then opted to move into a more ambient electronic direction with 2022’s massive Obsidian, which, somehow, was at just about the same level of quality as its predecessor.
So then, now that the band has proven themselves a true chameleon, where do they go from here? Their brand new 2024 EP Mirror’s Edge certainly provides answers to said question, but yet, I can’t help but feel torn after hearing this project in full.
The EP opens with the minute-long sonic prologue that is Mirror’s Edge, which serves little to no purpose outside of transitioning you into the EP’s true opener in Afterimage. While this track in particular is perhaps the least noteworthy from this record, that’s not to say that it’s a bad song. Quite the contrary, in fact. It’s hard to argue with cacophonic chugs and soaring, melodic choruses, standard song structure aside.
It’s where we hit the fiery, erupting Miasma where things become a bit more interesting. While I don’t think heavy Northlane is always necessarily the best Northlane, I can certainly appreciate them going full balls out for this track, bringing in the legendary Winston McCall of Parkway Drive for a guest feature on the tail end of the song. McCall sounds the best here that he has in years, delivering a barrage of cutting growls interlaced with chaotic chugging guitars and a meticulous electronic backing soundscape.
The onslaught doesn’t let up there, however. Kraft is perhaps the most nu metal-y that Northlane has sounded since Alien, showcasing rap-like delivery on the vocals and destructive guitar grooves overlaying what could almost be electronic melodies from a BONES song. The track is a tug of war between spacious, ominous singing passages and spine-tingling breakdowns, with an excellent ebb and flow, perfectly transitioning from part to part. However, nothing will prepare you for what the next track has in store.
In its opening, Let Me Disappear almost has the tone of a mid 2000’s rock song, and that in itself sounds excellent. However, the song quickly crescendos into absolute chaos, with its soaring choruses and absolute mammoth of a breakdown. Marcus Bridge’s vocals seem to be at the very best on this song, with Bridge delivering certain passages that will leave you saying “how the hell does he do that?” The aforementioned breakdown in the song’s mid section is truly one of the most impressive sections the band has ever pulled off, perfectly intertwining brutal, devastating eight-string chugs with over-the-top, almost dubstep-like electronics. It’s a moment that will truly leave your jaw on the floor, rounding off what is one of the best songs Northlane have ever produced.
The video game-esque soundscapes of Dante close out the EP on a high note, with gorgeous instrumentals that leave you feeling like you’re lying on a bed of 1’s and 0’s, slowly fading into a rich, digital atmosphere. The song is truly beautiful, and makes use of every second of its near six-minute run time. It’s a different song for Northlane, but that’s where I’ve always felt that the band is at their best—taking risks.
That being said, one of the first things I wrote in this review is that I am torn on this EP. While it’s obvious at this point that I really do enjoy Mirror’s Edge from a songwriting perspective, the EP is seriously bogged down by what is easily some of the worst mixing that Will Putney has ever produced in his entire career. I mean, it’s damn near completely unlistenable. The guitar chugs sound like a wet dish rag being slapped against a slackline, the vocals are so muddy that you can hardly understand a single lyric, and the EQ levels are so out of whack that it can actually be painful on the ears to listen through your car stereo. It truly is so bad that it completely ruins the experience, making it difficult for me to return to Mirror’s Edge.
So then, what Northlane have given us here leaves me feeling massively conflicted. On one hand, I give them props for putting together yet another fantastic musical experience, with their songwriting skills clearly being elevated far beyond most of their peers in the metalcore genre. However, what good is a well-written song if you can hardly listen to it? Granted, the dreadful production is hardly Northlane’s fault, but it’s absolutely a factor in the listening experience that is hard to ignore. Regardless, I’m certainly looking forward to whatever lies in Northlane’s future.
For fans of: Northlane being weird
‘Mirror’s Edge’ by Northlane is released on 12th April.
Words by Hunter Hewgley
